I apologize for not posting this on his actual Birthday, so Happy Belated to Greg Maddux, one of the all-time greatest crown jewel Starting Pitchers ever to play. Four Cy Young Awards, Four ERA titles, 8-time All-Star, and 18-time Gold Glove award winner. All of that was accomplished during the steroid era. His prime seasons were with the Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves, and the latter part of his career took place with Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres.
Greg Maddux Career Statistics & Awards
355-227 W-L, 3.16 ERA, 5,008.1 IP, 3.371 SO, 1.143 WHIP
4x Cy Young Winner
4x ERA Champion
18x Gold-Glove
Greg Maddux wasn't considered a big-time power pitcher who blew hitters away with high velocity. Maddux used a combination of location and changing speeds to keep hitters off balance. Mostly, his average fastball stayed in the upper 80's. Former Braves Pitching Coach once said, "He can throw you a strike and still not give you anything good to hit," and that "He's a master at that. It's the greatest command I've ever seen consistently." Not being a big-time thrower who depended on throwing every pitch as hard as he could, helped him stay healthy and avoid significant stints on the DL. From 1987, his second year to the end of his career, Maddux threw at least 155.2 Innings. Greg Maddux was also the winner of 18 Gold Glove Awards, the most by any player in baseball history. In 1990, 1995, and 2006 he recorded a perfect Fielding Percentage and led the league in Assists 12 times and Putouts 8 times. Chipper Jones, his longtime teammate and fellow Hall of Famer, said on behalf of Greg Maddux's defense...
"How can you just stick your glove out and catch the ball even when your eyes are turned because of your delivery?"
Braves teammate Chipper Jones rhetorically asked a New York Daily News reporter following a Maddux fielding clinic in Game 1 of the NLCS on Oct. 12, 1999.
"He seems to do it. And when you have that, it's like having another shortstop in the middle of the field."
Greg Maddux is regarded by some as the greatest Starting Pitcher ever. For my money, he's definitely in the All-Time Starting rotation with guys like Walter Johnson, Christy Matthewson, Randy Johnson, and Sandy Koufax. I'll end with this 1992-1998 was the heart of the steroid era and the prime years of Greg Maddux. In 1,675.1 Inning pitched over those seven years, Maddux maintained a 2.15 ERA and 0.968 WHIP and won four Cy Youngs and ERA titles.
Written & Published by Robert Dobek
Follow on Twitter @RobTheYankee
References:
Greg Maddux Career Statistics via Baseball-Reference https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/maddugr01.shtml
Cubs Insider. Cubs legend Greg Maddux's pitching philosophy via NBC Sports. Published April 19th, 2020 https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/cubs/cubs-legend-greg-madduxs-pitching-philosophy-its-not-speed-contest
Thornley, Stew. Greg Maddux via SABR. https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/greg-maddux/
Muder, Craig. Maddux sets record with 17th Gold Glove Award via Baseball Hall. https://baseballhall.org/discover/inside-pitch/maddux-sets-record-with-17th-gold-glove-award
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