There Will Never Be Another Greg Maddux

there have been a lot of smart players in baseball history some were known for their intellectual Feats off the field Mets pitcher Ron Darling for example attended Yale catcher Mo Berg served as an undercover spy for the CIA during the second world war Reggie Jackson was rumored to have an IQ of 160 though Reggie himself might have started that rumor others were known as exceptional students of the game Tony Gwynn and Ted Williams turned hitting into a science with the Relentless pursuit of perfection but perhaps no ball players ever been revered for his genius as much as the professor himself Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddox sure this was partly because Maddox looked apart from his eyeglasses to his wiry seemingly unathletic physique the right-hander appeared as if he belonged in a public library or at an accountants convention not in the mound pitching against the Yankees in game one of the World Series beneath the unassuming somewhat nerdy physique however Greg Maddox was a freak of nature and whatever he lacked in physical advantages he made up for and then some with his ability to identify an opposing bat as weak spots and exploit them the result was a career that included four Cy Young Awards four era titles eight All-Star appearance is 18 Gold Glove Awards and More Than 3 000 strikeouts 300 victories and 5 000 Innings pitched for four Unforgettable years in the 1990s which was one of the best decades for hitters in baseball history Maddox posted a 198 era he was Head and Shoulders above most of his pitching piers and it was because of the head on those shoulders so let's dig into why there'll never be another Greg Maddox maddox's father was in the Air Force so young Greg grew up all over the place ranging from homes as far apart as Texas to Spain but baseball was one constant for both him and his older brother Mike eventually the Maddox family landed in Las Vegas permanently where his brother would get drafted by the Phillies and Greg would leave Valley High School to a state championship on the mound Maddox at the time had a slender build and relied on late movement and a good 12-6 curveball to get hitters out he didn't exactly turn heads with his velocity but Scouts didn't view him as a soft tosser early in his career either just a pitcher with roughly average velocity who's on his way up and would hopefully gain some oomph eventually to go along with his control and movement he still scraping 90 on many of his offerings after all Maddox was drafted in the second round by Chicago Cubs in 1984 with him deciding to accept the bonus they offered and passed on College in Arizona he put that bonus money away in the bank and lived off his Minor League salary and the money he earned from off-season jobs at Sears and Wendy's Greg worked his way through the miners in 1984 and 85 earning a call up with the Cubs in September 1986 when he was still just 20. his major league debut was unusual he was called out in the 18th inning of a marathon game against the Astros it wouldn't be the best debut in history he gave up a run and got the loss but four days later he got his first start and earned a complete Game victory over the Reds in his last start of the Season he pitched against his brother Mike a starter for the Phillies and beat him aside from these highlights a 552 era denoted a pitcher in need of experience and more than a little seasoning 1987 was about as rough in his first full season of the majors Maddox was extremely wild a crazy thought now looking back for sure as his walk rate was an astronomical 4.3 per 9 his era of 5.61 was the worst in the National League and his 76 era plus made him 24 percent worse than an average big league pitcher he was even shipped back to the miners mid-season to help him get his head on straight it didn't seem to help much however in the last six weeks of the season the Cubs lost all seven of maddox's starts with opponents hitting 347 against him after that disastrous season Maddox and his brother played winter ball in Venezuela together Greg focused on improving his curveball getting more grounders overall and building his confidence at this point his Circle change up a pitch that would come to be of the utmost importance to him hadn't even made an impact yet that off season of obsessively working had a major effect Maddox exploded out of the gate in 1988 earning his first All-Star appearance he won 18 games had a 318 era and an above average won 14 era plus this was also the first year of a truly incredible streak even if it's seemingly less so by today's standards for the next 17 years Maddox would win 15 or more games every single season that's something no pitcher has ever done or likely ever will do again in 1989 he was even better winning 19 games the 2.95 era finishing third in the NL Cy Young race he also helped lead the Cubs the National League Championship Series against the San Francisco Giants but in that series The Giant shelled Maddox who gave up eight runs and they would go on to beat the Cubs and advance to the World Series Maddox won a respectable 15 games in both 1990 and 1991 earning his first two gold gloves along the way while posting era pluses of 119 and 116 respectively at this point matix was more of a truly solid pitcher than an old-timer as he was known as an Innings eater who can consistently outperform his FIP Fielding independent pitching but then 1992 rolled around Matic started the year accumulating 10 wins by early July and being selected for a second All-Star game at the break he had a 240 era and four complete games but here's the crazy thing he only got better as the year wore on in his final 16 starts after the All-Star break Maddox logged dazzling 193 era throwing five complete games to go along with a nearly 3-1 strikeout to walk ratio he finished the year with 20 wins a 218 era and a league leading 166 era plus beating out Atlanta Ace Tom glavin to win his first Cy Young Award this wouldn't be the last time Maddox and glavin's name be mentioned in the same breath however after the 92 season Maddox became a free agent for the first time in his career the Yankees looked like the Front Runners to land him but apparently Greg turned down their offer of 34 million to take 28 million from the Braves he thought that Atlanta would be a better place to raise a family than New York and that would be enriching to work alongside a staff that included John smalltz Steve Avery in the aforementioned glavin as fate would have it maddox's first start in a Braves uniform came against his former Club at Wrigley Field Cubs fans treated Maddox to A Chorus of boobs and that he treated them to a shutout by the time he joined the Braves Maddox was already regarded as the smartest pitcher in baseball he studied videotape of hitters constantly looking for weak spots and devising plans on how to best get them out he even watched them take warm-up swings Maddox now relied on a refined repertoire that included a curveball Circle change slider two scene ran for forcing fastball none of these pitches profiled as truly Elite aside from his two seamer at times but his preparation change of speeds and Immaculate control allowed him to set up hitters like no other and keep them off balance consistently in Atlanta Maddox was also joining a team that had won the last two NL pennants and boasted the aforementioned extremely impressive rotation the Braves would indeed give up the fewest runs in the league in 1993 and route to winning 104 games with new rival Maddox again being dominant winning 20 games and leading the league with 267 Innings and an era of 2.36 he would also receive his second straight Cy Young Award unfortunately Maddox again faltered in the postseason after helping the Braves to victory in game two of the NLCS against Philadelphia he gave up six runs in game six and the Phillies beat the Braves to advance the World Series the baseball strike ended the 1994 season early but prior to that Greg Maddox was on his way to one of the greatest Seasons any pitcher had enjoyed in decades Maddox had dominated the league for the past few seasons but in 1994 he absolutely destroyed it before the season was halted Maddox had an almost unfathomable 1.56 era and more than 200 Innings 1.56 and 25 starts he won 16 games and had 10 complete games and his control was simply superhuman he walked only 31 banners versus 156 strikeouts he also posted a 271 era plus meaning he was almost three times better than an average big league pitcher by the Numbers the chasm between Maddox and the rest of the league was greater than it had even been for Bob Gibson in 1968 when he had a 112 era and an era plus of 258. not surprisingly Maddox won his third straight Cy Young but here's what's crazy Maddox was arguably even better when play resumed in 1995. that year Maddox went 19-2 with a minuscule 1.63 era and over 200 Innings again he threw another 10 complete games walking just 23 batters All Season his strikeout to walk ratio and whip of 0.811 were even lower than they had been in 1994. his era flask was only 11 points worse at 260. sports writers were now discussing him being the best right-handed pitcher since Walter Johnson unsurprisingly Maddox won a fourth Cy Young in a row while finishing third in MVP voting this would also be the season he would finally get over the hump in the playoffs and make it to his first World Series Matic started game one against oral Hershiser and the Cleveland Indians the first batter he would face Kenny Lofton would reach based on an error eventually coming around to score after that Matic shut the Indians down completely throwing a two-hit complete game on just 95 pitches the Braves went on to win the series in six games capturing their first world series title in Atlanta Maddox now 30 returned back to Earth a bit in 1996 at least relatively speaking after all most pitchers would have killed the 2.72 era and 160 era plus he posted that year these less than astounding numbers meant he would fail to repeat as Cy Young for the fifth year in a row regardless he would again find success in the postseason helping the Braves return to the World Series where he pitched eight scoreless innings in game two against the Yankees he would be the losing pitcher however in game 6 as the burgeoning dynasty that would come to define the 90s claim the first of four World Series titles they would win in the next five years Maddox returned to form in the 1997 season with a record of 19-4 a 220 era and a 189 era plus and more than 230 Innings he walked just 20 batters he would also lead the league and Home Run rate for the fourth time in his career up to this point at a minuscule 0.3 per 9. this year also contained perhaps the most iconic game he would ever pitch facing his old team the Cubs in the first game of July doubleheader Maddox took his command to a new level the professor needed just 78 pitches shout out foolish baseball that afternoon to beat the Cubs in a complete Game Masterpiece that took just 2 hours and 7 Minutes Maddox allowed zero runs and did not walk a banner while striking out six he started 26 of the 31 batters he faced with strikes and only two Chicago batters even reached a two ball count nowadays if a pitcher throws a complete Game shutout in fewer than 100 pitches it's known as a Maddox in large part due to this the game Maddox should remain one of the top pitchers in the majors throughout the rest of the decade finishing every season in the top five of the Cy Young voting while posting at least 15 wins with an era under or near three every season except 1999 when he had an era of 3.57 during this streak he would also exceed a 140 era plus every year except that same 99 season it was also in this year that the Yankees beat the Braves again in the World Series Maddox pitched the opening game and carried a 1-0 lead into the eighth inning for giving up four runs the Braves ended up getting swept this was part of the overall Narrative of Greg's career he always seemed to pitch well in the postseason with a 3.27 era and nearly 200 postseason Innings but he was never nearly as dominant as he was during the regular season during the early 2000s Maddox was no longer winning Cy Young's or posting Wars above nine but he was still getting batters out and racking up wins Innings and Gold Glove Awards in 2001 Maddox even set a national league record by throwing 72 in a third straight Innings without a walk the streak was snapped by an intentional walk at the end of the 2003 season Maddox again became a free agent and after a mind-blowingly successful decade in Atlanta he elected to return to the Cubs on a three-year 24 million dollar contract and after heading back to the city where he had started his career Maddox began notching some pretty major pitching milestones and that same comes uniform again Maddox won 16 games in 2004 at age 38. however his era swelled to 4.02 the first time his era had been above four since his first full season in Chicago back in 1987 regardless that August he earned his 300th career Victory with an 8-4 win over the Giants this made him just one of 24 pitchers in history to achieve that Mark and perhaps one of the last The Following Season Maddox crossed another historic barrier notching his 3 000th career strikeout Maddox is one of only 10 pitchers in history to have at least 300 wins and 3 000 career punch outs in a career his era was again over four however now at 4.24 the professor's class was nearly out he managed to hang on for a few more seasons having stints in both Los Angeles and San Diego while he wasn't particularly effective he was is working at this point with the low to mid 80s fastball and still surviving enough to give decent inning totals maddox's last game would be in relief for the Dodgers in the final game of the 2008 National League Championship Series Greg Maddox never had Nolan Ryan's fastball or Pedro Martinez's chain drop or Randy Johnson slider his heater topped out at 88 to 90 miles per hour and at six feet 170 pounds he had to be one of the least physically intimidating pitchers of that time period so how did Maddox become the best pitcher in baseball for years in the 1990s an era known for introduced hitters what made him so special Maddox once told a reporter that it's not a speed contest it's a pitching contest and that's what Maddox knew so well the true science of pitching a baseball that knowledge earned him nicknames such as mad dog and the professor but Maddox really was a magician whose sleight of hand on the mound seemed to alter the fabric of how the game is played this sleight of hand can be broken down into five central components number one for late movement as we said Maddox didn't have an excess of velocity but he did have phenomenal late movement one of maddox's best pitches was a backup slider after all a notoriously hard-pitched varieties to throw consistently it would look like an inside pitch designed to back a right-handed batter up and then at the last Split Second it would break across the inside corner oh and he could also throw a front door two scene where that could do the same thing to left-handed batters number two the control to make the most of the late breaking action on his pitches Maddox needed incredible control he used to say that the best pitch in baseball is a well-located fastball an accurate fastball sets up everything else after all and he could indeed throw his two SEMA pretty much wherever he wanted which was especially useful in the 90s when strike zones were seemingly bigger than ever he would take an inch off the edge and if the up gave it to him he'd keep getting further away number three the pitch Arsenal it wasn't just the fastball Maddox could control after all he could throw every pitch in his Arsenal his Circle change his curve his slider his four seamer perfectly in the center of the smallest of targets while also changing speeds in subtle ways to both frustrate hitters and throw off their balance number four intuition there were times when it seemed like Maddox didn't just have control over the mound but over reality itself for example one time Braves manager Bobby Cox visited Maddox on the mound with Runners on first and third in two outs he suggested that Maddox intentionally walk the batter Maddox told Cox that his plan was to get the batter hit a foul pop-up to third base on the third pitch Cox returned to the Dugout and Maddox somehow managed to do exactly that the history of Maddox is littered with stories like this here's another apparently he once told center fielder Otis Nixon to move back and to stand just on the edge of the warning track and not move a muscle the batter hit a ball directly at Nixon who then told reporters the story noting that he barely even had to move his glove to catch it number five the mental Edge part of maddox's hold in reality was in his preparation he was able to read hitters and exploit their weaknesses then file that information away for future use if Maddox struck you out in April he'd remember exactly the pitch sequence he had used so they could get you out again in September there were also smaller more subtle things that added up and made Maddox even more impressive than your average hurler while many pitchers waste a pitch trying to get a batter to chase on an O2 Maddox would instead attempt to throw a strike that would induce weak contact almost as if the count was still a one you might not have gotten the strikeout but he would get the out overall and throw fewer pitches doing it and another thing that Maddox said that he did in order to get a mental Edge on certain hitters was to let them have some success against him usually in a spring training game or in a situation where his team had a comfortable lead that's right he would intentionally help hitters grow overconfident against him so that when they faced each other in a more meaningful situation in the future he had the upper hand Maddox also believed what he called stealing strikes he would study which batters would let him get away with the first pitch strike in certain situations he said there are several circumstances in a game where a batter will just give you a strike and you have to take every opportunity to exploit that when you can Greg Maddox retired in 2008 as one of the best right-handed pitchers in the history of the game being elected to the Hall of Fame on his first ballot his number 31 has been retired by both the Cubs and the Braves what's more his career totals that he spent 23 years accumulating are absolutely nuts and likely will never be reached again 355 career wins the most of any modern pitcher since Warren spawned 5 000 Innings pitched 18 gold gloves including 13 in a row and a streak of four consecutive Cy Youngs at one point that's why we at MTC believe we can confidently say there'll never be another Greg Maddox thanks for watching everyone leave a like if you enjoyed the vid and click this playlist for other essay videos just like this one have a great day

Channel: Made The Cut

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Keywords: MLB, baseball, 2022, mlb baseball, baseball videos, braves, sf giants, mlbscores, stlouis cardinals, houstonastros, espn mlb, shohei ohtani, mlb schedule, babe ruth, ohtani, cubs schedule, red sox schedule, phillies schedule, yankees schedule, mlb rumors, dodgers, dodgers schedule

Id: 9dnsBIVAKLA

Length: 16min 23sec (983 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 09 2023