Knicely was drafted by the Houston Astros in the third round of the 1974 Major League Baseball Draft as a pitcher. He slowly moved up through their farm system as far as Double-A, reaching that level in 1977. After going 1–5 with an ERA over 5.00 with the Columbus Astros of the Southern League, his conversion to a position player commenced. The next season, back at Columbus, he played mostly shortstop, but by 1979 he was playing mostly behind the plate.\n', '

Knicely played for Columbus once again in 1979, hitting 33 home runs and batting .289. He shared the Southern League Most Valuable Player Award with fellow Astros prospect Danny Heep, and saw action in seven major league games down the stretch, mostly as a pinch hitter, but also playing parts of three games at catcher and one at third base. However, he went 0-for-6 at the plate.\n', '

Knicely was promoted a level for the 1980 season, playing for the Triple-A Tucson Toros. He continued to hit well, batting .318 with 105 RBI, but the Astros had Alan Ashby and Luis Pujols ahead of him, and Knicely\'s defense was not up to par. He was called up once again in September, but his action was limited to a single pinch-hitting appearance.\n', '

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