Maddux relied on a sinker, circle changeup, cutter, and two- and four-seam fastball during his 23-year career. Let me give you a little heads up to all of this stuff, OK? he said. Along the way, he watched a mound visit that still resonates to this day. The game was against the Cubs. My friend, who was normally shy and reserved, did these things as enthusiastically as everyone else. 10:06 am ET. Wrigleys either the best place in the league to pitch in or the worst. Im looking right at Maddux right at him and he goes, fastball in. And I was like, Oh my goodness. I looked at Kevin Mitchell and said, Did you see what he just said?, Mitchell, in a separate phone interview, remembered it well: Yep. Doing the math shows us that only 3.2% of all hitters to face Greg Maddux from 1988 onward saw a 30 count, and one fourth of those were intentional walks. Hed already thrown about 150 pitches, but nobody cared about pitch counts in those days, least of all Maddux. Cookie Notice His brain wouldnt reach its prime until years later. You can always do more of what you are doing well and try to be as consistent as you can be. -- Greg Maddux, When people say (nice) things you take them as compliments and it's nice, but it won't help you win your next game. Hudler, the ballplayer turned broadcaster, gets extra insight during his new life in the booth. If you are content with yourself, you'll stop taking those little steps forward and begin taking big steps backward. Each pitch in his mind was measured not so much by movement and location as by conviction. There were 310 batters that faced Maddux in 30 counts, but the creator shouldve added at least two more. His control was so impeccable that Orel Hershiser once said Maddux can throw a ball in a teacup. The reality of Greg Maddux is amazing enough. SPONSORED. Yes, Maddux recalls the Game 1 performance in which Clark went 4 for 4 with six RBIs. The deal almost wasn't. The Yankees had offered the right-hander $6 million more, with then-general manager Gene Michael saying, "He's the best one out there. Only Warren Spahn (363 wins) had more wins than Maddux (355) during that era. Its right there on the front page of his Baseball-reference.com page. When he came down, I asked him how it felt to be hypnotized. Greg Maddux Position: Pitcher Bats: Right Throws: Right 6-0 , 170lb (183cm, 77kg) Born: April 14, 1966 in San Angelo, TX More bio, uniform, draft, salary info Hall of Fame 4x Cy Young 8x All-Star 1995 World Series 18x Gold Glove 4x ERA Title 31 31 36 30 Become a Stathead & surf this site ad-free. He's a steal.". You tell a legendary story about Koufax, and it will involve a game, surely a World Series game, when he was utterly invincible. And you know, thats not cheating. But Im not overconfident., And on May 11, he pitched the best game of his life a 10-inning, three-hit shutout against the Padres. This is what his average season in Atlanta looked like: 18-8, 230 IP, 6 CG, 166 SO, 35 BB, 2.63 ERA. and our The Giants led 4-3 and had the bases loaded with two out. Hall of Famer Greg Maddux is one of the greatest pitchers of the Live Ball Era. Perhaps Jurassic Park wouldn't have been a movie, but an actual real and terrifying event. The thing I am trying to keep in mind is that relying on my past performance will not make me win my next game, it'll only get in my way. -- Greg Maddux, I'd rather try and not win than not try at all -- Greg Maddux, Oh, poor me (jokingly, after being told that Randy Johnson & Pedro Martinez would make more in 2003 than he would). This row, however, does not mean that there were 312 plate appearances that saw a 30 count. She said, You know, if youre going to motherf*** the world, you should cover your mouth.. " The key to pitching is to have the ability to throw a strike when they're taking and throw a ball when the hitter is swinging. But it still managed to end up in the basket. When statistics are presented to talk about how really great Maddux was, the deserved response is yep, he sure was great!. 2nd inning: Three groundouts They can be viewed by season or over an entire career. Merely said, the Greg Maddux On The Mound With . In terms of strategic mistakes, Zimmers biggest one was standing a mere 5-foot-9. Me, I try to locate better. But in this case, the Cardinals pitchers led by John Tudor matched him and the game was scoreless going into the 11th. Major League Baseball pitchers are currently on pace to annihilate the all-time record for no-hitters thrown in a single season. section: | slug: greg-maddux-says-he-initially-intended-to-sign-with-the-yankees-instead-of-the-braves-in-1992 | sport: baseball | route: article_single.us | Follow Daniel on Twitter @BrownieAthletic. One year we went to Hawaii., I only know one way to pitch. Maddux will go 16-11 with a 3.96 ERA in 218 1/3 innings in what will be his final season in Atlanta. Maddux was only 23 years old in 1989. In the first at-bat, (Brett) Butler was on second base and I hit a sinker away to left-center field for a double, and Butler scored. As mentioned earlier, it is impossible to know. That's no way to play baseball., I try to do two things: locate my fastball and change speeds. Braves Franchise History. He suggested it may have started with Mark Fidrych, but was mostly kidding, since Fidrych spoke so demonstrably to the baseball that you could read his lips from space. Because for five games in the 89 playoffs, Will the Thrill had the Cubs number. We dont really know in what counts 20 of his intentional walks came in, but we know that at least four of them came with one strike against the batter. He just doesnt want us to read his lips, Hudler said. And he was coming off what can only be described as a disastrous season. Interview with Matt Ginella, www.golfdigest.com. He began covering Bay Area sports in 1995, including stints as a beat writer covering the Giants and 49ers. There is no special food or anything like that, I just try to make quality pitches and try to be prepared each time I go out there. -- Greg Maddux, What has benefited me the most is learning I can't control what happens outside of my pitching. -- Greg Maddux, The best pitchers have a short term memory and a bullet proof confidence., The reason I think I'm a good pitcher is I locate my fastball and I change speeds. In Game 2 of the 1996 World Series, he walked to the mound in the first inning at Yankee Stadium with a 1-0 lead, and he promptly put sleeper hold on the Yankees and the city of New York. Thats a small percentage of players to see a 30 count against Maddux. Before signing with the Atlanta Braves prior to the 1993 season, his lowest walk rate for a season was 6.2% (1991). The Baseball Hall of Fame spent 11 . It is, Jim Harbaugh offered a comment recently on the interest he and others have received from NFL teams. I mean, I didnt get good till the 90s, said the winner of four consecutive Cy Young Awards starting in 1992. We associate the ability to repeat one's key mechanical points time and again, from the stretch and from the windup, with pitcher athleticism. It's an 89 MPH sinker, and you won't even swing at it." -Greg Maddux 290 Baseball Sports 23 comments Add a Comment boredlawyer90 The true GOAT. He does it with (pause, think, pause) a lot of finesse.. I'll tell you what I throw. Its mind-blowing. From 1986-1992, Maddux would win 95 games for the Cubs, garnering 20 wins. They didnt have the technology they have now, Hudler said. Now, you will ask, what is the lesson to take from that? It's about winning. In 2024, for their designated events, they are planning to have fewer, Has Aaron Rodgers made a decision about his future with the Green Bay Packers? He would win at least 15 games in every year with the team. One of the things that happened to me, I was in the minor leagues so long that when I did get a chance to get to the big leagues, I forgot about it. They can identify pitches if there are different release points or if a curveball starts with an upward hump as it leaves the pitchers hand. $499.99. We hope you enjoy. 2004-2023 CBS Interactive. You can always do more of what you are doing well and try to be as consistent as you can be. When Germn Mrquez allowed a ninth-inning lead-off hit Tuesdaya solidly hit single to right fieldhe lost his bid for a no-hitter. Maybe the lesson is that you shouldnt leave a pitcher in after throwing 160 pitches? To me, that was what I got the biggest kick out of being prepared to maybe steal four or five pitches a game. If not for the unnamed Yankees executive suffering a heart attack, things could have been real different for each of the storied franchises. There will be the customary love letters to Will Clarks gorgeous swing when the Giants retire his number on Saturday. You dont think the hitter, Austin Riley, would have loved to have had an earpiece for that at-bat? Now say "You'll look the fool and like it!" when Greg Maddux takes the mound He'll get ahead with first-pitch strikes, hit spots to suit his fancy You'll hit like such a little girl . Will Clark demonstrated as much during the 1989 National League Championship Series, when he locked his gaze on Greg Maddux during a mound visit and saw him mouth the magic words fastball in before turning on an inside fastball for a tone-setting Game 1 grand slam. It came in the fourth inning of Game 1 of the NLCS under the lights at Wrigley Field on Oct. 4, 1989. Even in his time, Maddux along with his Hall of Fame teammate Tom Glavine was pretty famous for getting pitches off the plate. Obviously, it's more fun when you win. The quotes from Clark here are from a recorded 2016 interview with this reporter when Clark spoke about his torrid NLCS against the Cubs. So mind-blowing, in fact, that it seems too good to be true. I dont have any special love for any of the teams Maddux played for. Gwynn, a Hall of. And the next time that batter comes up, Maddux would know that the hitter almost certainly will take the first pitch. I would love to try to win another game. Thats just finding a weakness from an opponent and using it to your advantage.. Understanding the situations of the game. It came with all the typical notes of such a moment: A crowd. What do I do now? He never forgot it. And he said that he wasnt. Another example: Lets say Maddux started a hitter off with a ball. I didnt know whether he was going to take Maddux out, Clark said. The mystery of Maddux. And thats when Maddux threw a fastball that sunk just so and prompted Alicea to ground the ball to second baseman Ryne Sandberg. Is there even a lesson? It was more like they had the reaction people have when they see a particularly awe-inspiring magic trick. Between their success and trades of, Its amazing how quickly those on the PGA Tour have done a 180 regarding cuts in tournament golf. Theyre professional athletes and theyre paid to hit.. Follow on Twitter: @LWOSEvanT The four-time National League Cy Young Award winner says he never received a contract offer because a Yankees executive suffered a heart attack at the time. Clark launched the first-pitch heater out to right field for a grand slam, and suddenly the rout was on. "I was shocked I didn't get offered a contract. Maddux made it look like he was all but defenseless out there. And hes quite a bit shorter than Maddux (who is 6 feet), plus (Zimmer) is on the downslope of the mound. 2003 - The Braves and Greg Maddux avoid arbitration with a one-year, $14.75 million deal which is the largest one year contract in league history. I mean, if Will read my lips, then thats more power to him, Maddux said. And he didnt come in that at-bat. It probably still is being shared like wildfire because its a lot of fun to hear people say yep, he sure was great! when they read these stats. 7th inning: One groundout, two strikeouts Hundreds of pitchers . Instead of doing 5 good pitches an inning, try to make six. It was the first time Id ever heard that term. The Seahawks have had a winning season in 10 of the last 11 years. So if hes throwing three lefties in and hes not throwing one lefty in, then whats the deal here? Clark said. Maybe its that baseball isnt always fair? To find how many hitters faced a 30 count against Greg Maddux, we must look at the row labeled After 30. This brings us to the correct number 644. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. "It might be the last time we ever see 300," Kasten says. He released his first book, Volume I of A Complete History of the Major League Baseball Playoffs, in October of 2021. Have to watch Bartolos HR when I need a little boost. And Maddux was a key reason for Atlantas success, in which they appeared in three World Series and he won three straight Cy Youngs. That's straight from the pitcher himself, and, yes, he said he was bound headlong for pinstripes before the team failed to make him an offer. Try a week on us. Whether or not Maddux actually received an official offer from the Yankees, it's a tantalizing hypothetical for Yankees fans. And then, suddenly, he turned to a teammate sitting next to him and said, Watch out. The next pitch was lined foul directly at the teammates head, and he ducked out of the way just in time. I want to be back. Check out the complete series on this topic page, Roger Clemens: High-90s fastball, death-defying split-fingered fastball, Randy Johnson: High-90s fastball and one of the greatest sliders in baseball history. Has Aaron Rodgers made a decision about his future with Packers? I only know one way to pitch. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. People judge too much by results. This seems like a second truth from the meme, but its actually a half-truth. But was itthe seminal event in glove-talking history? On May 17, 1988, Greg Maddux threw 10 shutout innings at Wrigley Field against the St. Louis Cardinals. I never thought I could say this. What do I do now? The pitches were right there! As the baseball pitcher stepped onto the field, Maddux donned his Braves jersey, and he tipped his cap, responding to a standing ovation from the crowd. In 2002, Maddux posted 16 wins, becoming only the second player after Cy Young to record fifteen or more wins for fifteen consecutive years. And Maddux throws me a 3-2 changeup and I sort of hooked it out to right-center for a homer. You can always do more of what you are doing well and try to be as consistent as you can be., When people say (nice) things you take them as compliments and it's nice, but it won't help you win your next game. You know what Im saying? Greg Maddux got to see that firsthand. You remember that people called him The Professor. His worst miss, by distance, missed across the plate but also missed low, so it was just a ball, and nothing. Yeah, you read that right. An interview request to the Hall of Fame media relations department,sheepishly wondering if Maddux might be willing to talk about Clark, was answered quickly and enthusiastically. Penny threw seven shutout innings, striking out six and walking nobody. So what does it mean to steal a strike? Most stories about Maddux through the years have made a big deal of how average (or below average) his stuff was, particularly his fastball. He never had a pitch that you would rank among the greatest of all time if you were ranking the top 20 or top 50 fastballs or sliders or curveballs or change-ups, you probably wouldnt put Maddux on any of those lists. So, I throw a breaking ball for a strike on the outside half, hes not swinging, Ive evened up the count. You see it all the time now, Brantley said. So thanks for that. But Maddux utterly enthralled me. He had some nice moments a four-hit shutout in Montreal, for example but all in all, it was so bad that the Cubs sent him back to Des Moines for a few days in the middle of the season just to get his head on straight. You told me what was coming, man!'. And I tagged it. Our digital library hosts in multiple countries, allowing you to get the most less latency time to download any of our books like this one. Two runs scored. You're not going to win by automatically going out there. Greg Maddux, who was a key part of the Braves powerhouse teams in the 1990s, revealed on an episode of the Toeing the Slab podcast with David Cone that he didnt intend on signing with Atlanta at all. But on those times when he fell behind in the count 1-0, he often knew that the hitter would be looking middle-in. Gibson didn't attempt a single steal until his seventh year in the Majors, but he ended his Hall of Fame career with 13 swipes. He could make the ball jump and dive and side-step, and he threw it exactly where he intended just about every time. Harbaugh spoke with the Minnesota Vikings last year about their head coach job before they hired Kevin OConnell. He walked the leadoff hitter of an inning in. The internet was not a thing when Maddux won the Cy Young Award for four years in a row. Perhaps an alien settlement would have landed on Earth and, after witnessing a Maddux start, have deemed our species as too much of a threat. A popular meme says that out of the 20,421 batters Maddux faced in his career, only 310 saw a 30 count and 177 were intentional walks. "No need to steal the sign. Hes not bragging now, and he certainly didnt brag then. Kaat was 41 in 1980 when he swiped a base against the Pirates. Answer (1 of 14): All good answers so far, so I won't repeat the obvious bits: Defense: Pitcher defense is not one of the first hundred things that comes to mind when most people think about baseball. as he peered out to the mound during that fourth-inning at-bat, Don Zimmer had a height disadvantage when he came out to talk to Greg Maddux during Game 1 of the 1989 NLCS. Instead of doing 5 good pitches an inning, try to make six. Well hear from both parties shortly, but the quick version is that Clark believes that was the tipping point in pitchers covering their mouths with their gloves during mound sessions. Maddux is a master of strategically timed nose picking, sidling up to an unsuspecting rookie in the shower and urinating on the kid's leg, and inventing just the right nickname for a teammate . I really do. In other words, the last pitch of the plate appearance came on a 30 count. I just have so much more confidence in that pitch.. Liked by Greg Maddux. 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Times when he came down, I didnt get good till the,. Had a winning season in Atlanta happens outside of my pitching and thats when Maddux won the Cy Young starting... In 218 1/3 innings in what will be the last pitch of the last years. Strike on the front page of his Baseball-reference.com page place in the 89 playoffs in. It came in the count 1-0, he often knew that the hitter, Austin Riley, would have to! Goes, fastball in he and others have received from NFL teams baseball. I!