Tonight in Atlanta, the Atlanta Braves retired the jersey number of Greg Maddux. If there was ever a quiet superstar it was this guy. I don't want to bore you with a bunch of stats, because I'm sure Maddux wouldn't want to be remembered by numbers. However, it's worth noting his 4 consecutive (yes, consecutive!) Cy Young Awards, 8-Time All Star Selection, World Series title in 1995, and 18 Gold Glove Awards. In 1995, Maddux went 19-2 with an ERA of 1.63. Let me repeat that: He went 19-2! We might never see that again in baseball!
What's always been so fascinating about this "under appreciated" superstar is that he wasn't a power pitcher. His "out pitch" was never the 95 mph fast ball. Maddux's out pitch was placing the ball exactly where the batter wasn't comfortable hitting it. His skill-set was all about command. He painted corners better than anyone over the past 20 years.
Maddux was also one of those guys that you could sense wasn't comfortable being a "superstar." Even tonight during the ceremony for retiring his jersey number, you could sense he wanted to just get it over with fairly quickly, which ironically, was like the way he pitched. Maddux was notorious for throwing a very quick game. If you went to see him pitch at 7pm, you were home by 9:30pm. His performance was masterful, but you never really left the park feeling "wow'd!"
In sports we have a tendency to get caught up in over-valuing a guy's greatness in the present. Ironically for Maddux it is just the opposite. His value in the present was never over-valued, but rather undervalued. However, 10 years from now we will all look back and realize we witnessed something remarkable. We will never see another pitcher win 4 straight Cy Young Awards or win at least 15 games for 17 straight seasons. More importantly, we will never see the number 31 worn again in Atlanta.
Greg Maddux, the "professor," as he was called by many, received a standing ovation Friday night at Turner Field. Ironically, on a night he didn't pitch, Braves fans will drive home and appreciate what they saw...
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