Greg Maddux shares his wisdom

the ability to simplify the complex is the hallmark of genius Greg Maddux of the Atlanta Braves is one such genius while becoming the only pitcher to win four consecutive siyoung awards and amassing an impossibly low earned-run average over the past six years Maddux has devised an absurdly simple approach to the complicated science of dominating hitters not trying to read their mind or get in their head or any I'm just trying to make good pitches to him and get him out and I get him out the first thing I want to try to get him out again in the third fourth inning 300 game-winner Don Sutton watches Maddux every day as a Braves broadcaster I defy anybody to find me in the era that we're in a more complete artistic picture than Greg Maddux the only thing special about him is that he wins over and over and over and over but pitching wasn't always so simple from Attucks after his stint in the minors he joined the Chicago Cubs in 1986 in his first two seasons he was a mediocre 8 and 18 his e ra at the end of the season a whopping 5.56 don't tell me about your time with the Chicago Cubs your career sort of turned around in Chicago didn't it we asked where it started I loved it mid year first year was rough oh yeah real rough I think anybody out I'd forgot how to throw my changeup my first rat and halfway-decent one of the minor leagues and then you know when I got to the big leagues I lost it and you nervous no mechanically I was doing a lot of things incorrect and I didn't know how to fix it you know I didn't know what I needed to do to get it fixed and so I got killed but between 1987 and 1988 something happened Maddox's record turned around and his er a plummeted to 3.18 and the first complete game of the year for Greg Maddux oh shut up dick pol San Francisco Giants pitching coach coach Maddox in the minors and in Chicago he was very young when he got to the big leagues he really didn't know what it took to pitch in the big leagues I think he was like 6 and 14 s first year 87 he went to winter ball in Venezuela and we just concentrated on change ups and breaking balls and changing speeds and and next year he was like 18 and 8 Maddux thought he had solved the mystery of pitching but his time passed he began to struggle again this time Maddox was sure the problem wasn't mechanical so he sought help of a different kind and consulted a sports psychologist when did you seek him out what made you seek him out what made me hmm I went about two-and-a-half months without winning a game I was going nuts in Chicago like 1991 physically I felt fine my pitches were working but I was just always seemed like I was always making mistakes I just wasn't winning and I didn't feel it was physical I thought it must have been mental so when I tried to get some some help on my head what did he tell you taught me just worry about making a pitch I think he taught me how to like myself you didn't like yourself well I mean I like I've always liked myself but I mean I'm comfortable with the choices I make how I live my life and I think he just reassured that he gave me more confidence so to speak about how to how to live not necessarily how to pitch just how to live my life the way I want to live it and help my marriage out my golf game helped me I don't you know help me out on the mound just more comfortable Maddox won his first side Young Award is a cub in 1992 he became a free agent at the end of that year and signed with the Braves joining the league's premier pitching staff nowadays the words most often use to describe Greg Maddux intense and intelligence after them a lots been written about the way you study hitters that you watch their body language that you've got an almost encyclopedic memory about what they've done with you before and what's just happened on the last pitch and you're processing all that at the same time you're trying to tailor the perfect pitch no it's not I barely got through high school oh come on I did school I was average at best in I mean you know it just goes back to if you make good pitches it makes you smart if a guy doesn't make good pitches when he's stupid and that's just how it works you know I mean I pitch but you're not saying bagging me no I'm not saying why I'm not golfing Greg Maddux is widely considered the best pitcher to come along since Sandy Koufax despite all the attention paid to his extraordinary pitching talent Maddux remains the most enigmatic star in baseball today why are you so hard to get to know I'm not hard to get to know you know maybe being in front of the camera is not something that I'm about I like to have fun I love to play golf I am Who I am I'm very happy with myself you don't have a lot of endorsements you have any endorsements do you why not don't know you want me well you kind of do and you don't you know they're kind of it's you know it's nice to do and everything but it also takes up a lot of time usually they want to do it on an off day and you know when you put on the road for ten days and then you come home you don't want to you know do some commercial all day part of the reason Maddox is such a mystery is that he jealously guards his privacy he rarely allows cameras inside his home I don't like people come to my house you know you want to come to the park that's fine I'm here I'm here early every day I think it's just a place to do it I mean interviews are part of the job so let's doing it work and now that he's made it to the top of his profession Maddox his only rival is his brilliant past got him on a pitch down in the dirt that's a stage in your career you're facing some really extraordinarily high standards in 96 for instance you're er a was 2.72 I think that put you second in the National League and some people were writing what's wrong with granddad that year and I don't know I mean that's it comes with it you know I've been fortunate to have some very good years and I'm proud of those years I really am do I try I do I try to live up to him no I mean I try to be as good as I can be I don't want to throw a good pitch so I can be as good as I was in 1995 or 94 and throw a good pitch to get that guy out gotta blow it off just go out there and try to make good pitches and you know I hope I have another 8 or 9 bad years just like that one last year I'll take I'll take them right now

Channel: bmerritt34

Views: 279,311

Keywords: Baseball, pitching, MLB, Greg, Maddux

Id: G8z0cV2blXE

Length: 8min 7sec (487 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 01 2008

Reddit Comments

[u/hcilierfc]

Make good pitches. Write good sentences.

[u/sk3pt1c]

Oh wow yeh, very similar!!

[u/TheFuckOffer]

True.

[u/eric_clipperton_wins]

I see it too. Nice find.