A generation's greatest, Maddux to be missed
No one was more consistent, more torturous for hitters
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Future Hall of Famer retires Dec 08: Greg Maddux talks about what he will miss after playing baseball for 23 years and what Tom Glavine taught him about pitching. NBC Sports |
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Greg Maddux will be remembered as the best pitcher of his generation. In the end, there's not much debate about that.
Others are in the discussion. Randy Johnson and Tom Glavine. Curt Schilling and Pedro Martinez and Mike Mussina.
Any list begins with Maddux, though. His 355 victories are the most in this era of the five-man rotation. Since World War II, only Warren Spahn has won more games.
Maddux was an eight-time All-Star and winner of a record 18 Gold Gloves. In 23 seasons, he was on the disabled list once. (We'll get to more numbers later.)
No pitcher was more consistent than Maddux. No one tortured hitters with precision more than Maddux.
He looked bookish, sounded boring, wouldn't give you a great quote if his life depended on it. He was admired by his peers, perhaps more than any other ballplayer.
He was funny, too. He could crack on a teammate with lines that were brutal, profane and hilarious.
He prepared like no other. When Jimy Williams managed the Astros, he summoned me one day while his team was taking batting practice.
"When you get a chance," he said, "look in the dugout behind you."
There was Greg Maddux, sitting alone, studying the swing of every hitter he'd face that night.
It was a little thing, something most pitchers don't do. Maddux studied video, read scouting reports and had a photographic memory (though he didn't need it).
If there was one more advantage to be gained from watching hitters take swings hours before a game, Maddux was going to gain that advantage.
I asked him about it some weeks later, and, typically, he didn't answer. He mumbled something about just killing time.
I know this: Greg Maddux has a great book in him. He gave away very little of the good stuff during those 23 seasons that'll officially end with his retirement Monday.
"In all honesty, I have felt this game has given me more than I ever thought it would in the first place," he said late last season.
He didn't offer that much insight very often. For instance, asked how he was going to celebrate his 300th victory, he offered a Maddux gem.
"I don't know," he said. "I'll do something."
He could also be a great pitching coach, because he turned pitching into a graduate school endeavor. Other pitchers threw harder. Other pitchers were most imposing physically.
Don't dwell on the fact that he didn't really look like an athlete. That's silly. He had astonishing control. He had movement, too. He could change speeds and keep hitters off-balance.
Those skills are every bit as valuable as throwing 100 mph and leaving fans breathless. Maddux was prepared. He sometimes knew opposing hitters better than they knew themselves.
When he'd finished, Maddux deadpanned: "That's not right. I've been watching film of Williams for two weeks."
Maddux mentioned what he'd seen of Bernie Williams.
"Well, then the hell with this report," Mazzone said. "We go with what Mad Dog says."
He won four straight Cy Young Awards between 1992 and 1995 and was in the top three in ERA eight times. He had a 3.27 ERA in the postseason.
If you saw him only in recent years, you might not think he's anything special. He competed like hell. He tried to give his teams five, six or seven innings -- tried to give them a chance to win.
That's what people appreciated about him. He was smart and knew how to get the most out of what he had left in the tank.
Randy Johnson is an interesting comparison. He threw hard. He won in spectacular fashion.
Hitters felt comfortable facing Maddux, but they hated facing Johnson, who was tall, with a menacing expression and a whip-like delivery. He scared people.
Johnson has 295 victories and won't come close to Maddux's 355. He does have two more All-Star appearances and one more Cy Young Award.
Strikeouts were the other difference. Johnson led the league in strikeouts nine times. Maddux never did.
Writing about Greg Maddux and Randy Johnson makes me sad, because there's one other pitcher who should be in this debate. You know who I'm talking about.
Roger Clemens. Yes, him. It's impossible to think of Greg Maddux without also thinking of Roger Clemens.
They're that similar. They were totally different in personality, approach and stuff. But they won at about the same clip.
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