The Greatest Pitcher of Our Time
Monday will mark the end of an era. Greg Maddux is supposed to announce his retirement from baseball. When Roger Clemens retired the first time, a lot of people were ready to crown him the greatest pitcher of his time. When Clemens retired the second time, more people were ready to jump on that bandwagon. And all those people would've been wrong. Even without the Mitchell Report.
Greg Maddux never had a blazing fastball, he just knew how to get people out. Over the course of his career, Greg Maddux struck out 3,371 batters. I'm not sure how many of those whiffed, but I'm willing to bet a large percentage of those hitters didn't even swing at strike three. Not that they didn't get a chance to get the bat off their shoulders, that last strike was likely a change-up. Maddux had thrown the pitch in the one location where the hitter didn't even have a prayer of making contact.
When players were getting bigger and hitting the ball further, putting up ridiculous home run numbers, Greg Maddux kept the ball in the park. In 1998, when Sosa and McGwire both broke Roger Maris' HR record, Maddux allowed just 13 HRs in 251 innings and finished with an ERA of 2.22.
He was a control artist. In his 22 year career, Greg Maddux put together expansive streaks of innings without walking a single batter. His longest walkless streak was ended with an intentional pass. He then went out and put together another streak nearly as long as the previous. When the Mad Dog retires, he will do so one walk shy of 1,000. Compare that to Roger Clemens career mark of 1,580.
On top of his pitching accomplishments, Greg Maddux fielded his position better than anyone in baseball winning a record 18 Gold Glove awards. In his day, he could lay down a sac bunt with the best of them. And he even stole a base now and then. (Not often, though.)
But what stands out to me about Greg Maddux was that, in an age of throwers, Greg Maddux was a pitcher. Every year, some new kid comes up with "electric stuff." This typically means a fastball somewhere in the mid to upper 90s. But those kids fade. They struggle with control and try to strike out every batter that steps up to the plate. That gets them into more and more trouble. Eventually, hitters are able to time the new guy's fastball and he starts getting rocked. The new kid relies on what has always worked for him through high school, college and the minors: throw harder. But Major League hitters are too good for that, so the new guy falls apart. He has no answer to big league hitting. But Greg Maddux wasn't like that. His fastball was never fast. He didn't try to overpower the guy in the box, he threw the ball in the right spot with the right movement to get a groundball or a pop fly. Young guys start to panic when runners get on base. Not Maddux. He knew the very next change-up would probably mean a double-play. That's the difference between a pitcher and a thrower. That's the difference between a few good seasons early in your career and 20 consecutive seasons with at least 13 wins. That's how you get to 355 career victories and a career ERA of 3.16. That's how you win 4 straight Cy Young Awards.
"It's not your arm that makes you a great pitcher. It's that thing between both your ear we call 'a brain.'" - Greg Maddux
Here's to the people who know that it's the work that turns talent into performance. To those who know how to make the best with what they've got. But, especially, those who take what they've got and make themselves the best.
Thanks, Mad Dog.
Greg Maddux never had a blazing fastball, he just knew how to get people out. Over the course of his career, Greg Maddux struck out 3,371 batters. I'm not sure how many of those whiffed, but I'm willing to bet a large percentage of those hitters didn't even swing at strike three. Not that they didn't get a chance to get the bat off their shoulders, that last strike was likely a change-up. Maddux had thrown the pitch in the one location where the hitter didn't even have a prayer of making contact.
When players were getting bigger and hitting the ball further, putting up ridiculous home run numbers, Greg Maddux kept the ball in the park. In 1998, when Sosa and McGwire both broke Roger Maris' HR record, Maddux allowed just 13 HRs in 251 innings and finished with an ERA of 2.22.
He was a control artist. In his 22 year career, Greg Maddux put together expansive streaks of innings without walking a single batter. His longest walkless streak was ended with an intentional pass. He then went out and put together another streak nearly as long as the previous. When the Mad Dog retires, he will do so one walk shy of 1,000. Compare that to Roger Clemens career mark of 1,580.
On top of his pitching accomplishments, Greg Maddux fielded his position better than anyone in baseball winning a record 18 Gold Glove awards. In his day, he could lay down a sac bunt with the best of them. And he even stole a base now and then. (Not often, though.)
But what stands out to me about Greg Maddux was that, in an age of throwers, Greg Maddux was a pitcher. Every year, some new kid comes up with "electric stuff." This typically means a fastball somewhere in the mid to upper 90s. But those kids fade. They struggle with control and try to strike out every batter that steps up to the plate. That gets them into more and more trouble. Eventually, hitters are able to time the new guy's fastball and he starts getting rocked. The new kid relies on what has always worked for him through high school, college and the minors: throw harder. But Major League hitters are too good for that, so the new guy falls apart. He has no answer to big league hitting. But Greg Maddux wasn't like that. His fastball was never fast. He didn't try to overpower the guy in the box, he threw the ball in the right spot with the right movement to get a groundball or a pop fly. Young guys start to panic when runners get on base. Not Maddux. He knew the very next change-up would probably mean a double-play. That's the difference between a pitcher and a thrower. That's the difference between a few good seasons early in your career and 20 consecutive seasons with at least 13 wins. That's how you get to 355 career victories and a career ERA of 3.16. That's how you win 4 straight Cy Young Awards.
"It's not your arm that makes you a great pitcher. It's that thing between both your ear we call 'a brain.'" - Greg Maddux
Here's to the people who know that it's the work that turns talent into performance. To those who know how to make the best with what they've got. But, especially, those who take what they've got and make themselves the best.
Thanks, Mad Dog.