Teams:
Chicago Cubs (1986-1992)
Atlanta Braves (1993-2003)
Chicago Cubs (2004-2006)
Los Angeles Dodgers (2006)
San Diego Padres (2007-2008)
Los Angeles Dodgers (2008)
Career Statistics:
W-L: 355-227
W-L %: .609
ERA: 3.16
Strikeouts: 3,371
BB: 999
CG: 109
SHO: 35
IP: 5,008.1
WHIP: 1.143
Gregory Alan Maddux was born in San Angelo, Texas, but ended up spending much of his childhood in Madrid, Spain where the Air Force had stationed his father. Upon returning to the U.S. (Las Vegas), Greg and his brother, Mike trained under Rusty Medar, a former major league scout. He preached control and placement over velocity and power. Even though Maddux had a successful high school career, he did not receive any athletic scholarship offers. So he instead declared himself eligible for the Major League Draft in 1984, and was picked up by the Chicago Cubs.
Maddux made his major league debut in September 1986. He was put in as a pinch runner in the 17th inning of a game against the Houston Astros, and came in to pitch in the 18th. He gave up a home run to Billy Hatcher and took the loss. His next outing was a complete game victory. He finished his short first season with a 2-4 record, a 5.52 ERA, and 20 strikeouts. He struggled the next season as well, finishing with a 6-14 record and a 5.61 ERA. Nineteen eighty-eight was his season to break out, with a 18-8 record and a 3.18 ERA. This would be the first of 17 straight seasons in which Maddux would win at least 15 games. In 1989, he had a record of 19-12, a 2.95 ERA, and 135 strikeouts. He remained somewhat unsteady during 1990 and 1991, going 15-15 and 15-11, respectively. However, in '92, Maddux had a stellar season, going 20-11, with a 2.18 ERA, and 199 strikeouts, and won his first NL Cy Young Award.
Maddux entered into free agency after the '92 season, and after negotiations turned contentious with the Cubs, he signed with the Atlanta Braves. In his first game in a Braves uniform, he defeated his former team 1-0. He led the NL in ERA (2.36) and posted a 20-10 record. He won his second Cy Young and helped Atlanta (along with pitchers John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, and Steve Avery) to the NLCS, but ultimately lost to the Phillies. In the strike-shortened 1994 season, Maddux had an ERA of 1.56, the second lowest since Bob Gibson's record 1.12 in 1968, when the pitcher's mound was lowered. He also led the National League in wins (16), and innings pitched (202). He would go on to win his third Cy Young.
Maddux had an amazing season in 1995, with a 19-2 record with a 1.63 ERA. On May 28, he lost a no-hitter in the eighth inning. Through June and July, he pitched 51 consecutive innings without giving up a walk. He helped lead the Braves to the World Series, where they eventually beat the Cleveland Indians 4-2. He would win his fourth Cy Young for the '95 season.
On July 22, 1997, Maddux pitched a complete game against the Cubs with just 76 pitches. Three weeks prior, he had thrown a complete game against the New York Yankees on 84 pitches, and five days before that, he'd defeated the Phillies on 90 pitches. He allowed just 20 walks in 1997, six of which were intentional. Barring those intentional walks, Maddux only went to a 3-0 count one time the entire season. He went into a minor slump towards the end of '97 (his ERA had been 1.65 throughout much of the season), but he still managed a 2.22 ERA, which was the lowest in the NL. Only an amazing season by Pedro Martinez prevented him from winning another Cy Young Award.
In 1998, Maddux struck out 200+ batters for the first and only time in his career. He finished 18-9 with a 2.22 ERA. In September 2000, he pitched a streak of 40 1/3 scoreless innings.
Prior to the 2004 season, Maddux re-signed with the Cubs as a free agent. On August 7, he gathered his 300th win, against the San Francisco Giants. Maddux pitched poorly in 2005, posting his first losing record since 1987. His second stint with the Cubs last until 2006, when he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He finished the '06 season 15-14 with a 4.20 ERA and only 117 strikeouts.
On December 5, 2006, Maddux agreed to a one-year contract with the San Diego Padres. He was 14-11 with the Padres in '07, with a 4.14 ERA, and 104 strikeouts. On August 19, 2008, Maddux was traded back to the Dodgers. In December, he announced his retirement.
More than anything, Greg Maddux was known for his exceptional control, pitch movement, and placement. His fastball rarely exceeded 90 mph, and he was certainly not an imposing presence on the mound. He didn't strike out a lot of batters, but instead relied on placing pitches in such a way to induce ground balls. He was an incredibly intelligent pitcher who had the ability to outwit his opponent, and an exceptional memory about how certain batters hit. Few pitchers have ever made greater use of the outside corner of the plate than Maddux (though at times, it resulted in some questionable calls by the umpire). Hall of Famer Wade Boggs once said, "It seems like he's inside your mind with you. When he knows you're not going to swing, he throws a straight one. He sees into the future. It's like he has a crystal ball hidden inside his glove." Former Braves catcher (and now bullpen coach) Eddie Perez related a story about how Maddux once intentionally gave up a home run to Astros's slugger Jeff Bagwell because he knew that he would be facing Bagwell in the playoffs later on. He felt that Bagwell would expect the same pitch that he allowed him to hit out of the park and Maddux would refuse to throw it to him. Maddux was once asked what the most memorable at-bat of his pitching career was, and he said that it was striking out Dave Martinez to end a regular season game. The interviewer assumed Maddux would've mentioned one of his many playoff experiences, but Maddux said, "I remember that one because he got a hit off me in the same situation (full count, bases loaded, two out in the 9th inning) seven years earlier. I told myself if I ever got in the same situation, I'll pitch him differently. It took me seven years, but I got him."
Maddux never walked more than 82 batters in any season of his career. In 2001, he set a National League record by going 72 1/3 innings without walking a batter. His fielding was also exceptional, and he ended up with 18 Gold Gloves, which is a record for a pitcher.
Though he was often dismissive of his own reputation, it is clear there has never been a more clever pitcher to play the game of baseball.
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