Any care Greg Maddux is retiring Monday?

[DadofTwins]

Quite possibly the best pitcher of my lifteime is hanging it up with 1 more win than Roger Clemens and no one notices in this board... Tough Crowd

Sure in the 90's the plate was a bit wider for he, Smoltz, Glavine, Avery, Mercker... he was still great.. nothing he threw was ever straight and it was a joy to watch --- I will miss him-


I bet he'll still get votes next year for the Gold Glove Pitcher in the NL

[deboesports]

i think he is and was a bum.

[GardnerMotors]

Class act who always gave his all. Mussina and Maddux going out the same year is ironic cause they are both out of the same mold. Never liked the Braves but always respected that staff.......

[deboesports]

now Mussina...now there's a ball player

[pskell02]

Originally Posted by deboesports

now Mussina...now there's a ball player

Please tell me your joking?? Maddux, a bum, and Moose is that good....

[frozenntimesports]

If by bum you meant most dominant pitcher of his generation in the steroid raging hitter's era then yeah, he was a bum.

W L ERA WHIP BAA
1992 CHC 20 11 2.18 1.01 .210
1993 ATL 20 10 2.36 1.05 .232
1994 ATL 16 6 1.56 0.90 .207
1995 ATL 19 2 1.63 0.81 .197
1996 ATL 15 11 2.72 1.03 .241
1997 ATL 19 4 2.20 0.95 .236
1998 ATL 18 9 2.22 0.98 .220

That's sick, his highest WHIP for 7 seasons was 1.05 and his average was somewhere around 0.95 for 7 seasons. He consistently threw 200+ innings and never hit above 91 MPH. They called him "the Professor" and I have to tell you, as much as Mets fans hated the Braves, it was a pleasure to watch him pitch.

I saw him duel with Bobby Jones a couple of times in 1995 and those were some incredible pitching matchups.

5 stars Greg, and punch his ticket to Cooperstown

Oh, and we didn't know what we were seeing when it was happening. Pitching mastery is not like home run hitting, it sneaks up on you. Before you know it, the excellent pitcher is on the back end of his career and you don't appreciate it until its gone.

[deboesports]

i knew i was gonna get an ear full on that comment, lol i just dont like baseball in general, except for clemente and ruth...thats about it.

[frozenntimesports]

Originally Posted by deboesports

i knew i was gonna get an ear full on that comment, lol i just dont like baseball in general, except for clemente and ruth...thats about it.

And unless you are 60 or 110 years old, you didn't see either of those two players in their prime.

[deboesports]

nope, but i meet clemente's family and heard stories about him and things like that. and ruth , if you collect sports stuff and no nothing about ruth, then there is something wrong with ya

[Great Dealz Rob]

I will miss him. I live in the Chicagoland area, so I was able to see Mad Dog pitch many games. The truth is great pitching does sneak up on you. He was a true professional in evey aspect of the game. Did you ever hear about Maddux shooting himself or fighting a strip club? You only hear about his work ethic, pitching and fielding prowess and being the MOST DOMINIATING PITCHER OF MY GENERATION!!!! Period, no questions asked. The numbers don't lie. I was lucky enough to meet him, see him & cheer for him (even with the Braves). Thanks my opinion, but I know I'm right!!!! Rob

[bziddy]

As a Tony Gwynn fan, I used to love to watch Maddux and Gwynn battle.

As a Padre fan -- I wish Maddux had spent the 90s in the AL -- along with Bonds.

[keggobelly]

I grew up watching him pitch in ATL. It was amazing. I always heard that if you got a hit off of him, he would never throw you that same pitch and location again...ever. He is the most dominating pitcher of my lifetime(1979- current). His ERA has been unreal in the 'roids age!

[frozenntimesports]

Originally Posted by Great Dealz Rob

I was lucky enough to meet him, see him & cheer for him (even with the Braves). Thanks my opinion, but I know I'm right!!!! Rob

Growing up a Met fan I was required to hate him, but that guy put on a clinic for pitchers. There were days my pitching instructor in college would put a tape in of Maddux, Glavine and Jaime Moyer and tell us to take notes.

[ceczerwonka]

Growing up a Cubs fan it was hard to see him leave(both times), but I think he is was one of the best pitchers from this modern era of baseball. One of his best stats to me is his 18 gold gloves. It would have been 19 straight if it wasn't for Hampton in 2003. Also the 4 Cy Young Awards.

[Jack Terrapin]

I'm a lifelong Cardinal fan born and bread in the Pacific Northwest, but I have (deliberately) more cards of Greg Maddux than any other player.... by over 400%. It was not until this year that I got to see him live. My wife I and flew down to San Francisco to catch a game with the Padres. Kind of ironic having to sit through a game between what arguably could have been the most boring teams of '08 in order to catch the generation's premier pitcher on his last tour.

[death2redemptions]

I became a baseball fan from watching TBS and considering the Braves were the home team I grew up a Braves fan. I was 13 years old when he was traded to the Braves in '93 (the first full season of baseball that I had followed). The Braves pitching line-up of Maddux-Glavine-Smoltz (and for a couple years) Millwood was nearly indestructible but his pitching stood out from the rest of them. He was masterful, no a genius, at the mound. His pitches would just barely hit the corners for a strike when any batter would think it to be a ball. What appeared to be a strike would move out the zone the split second the batter would swing and miss. I kept track of just about every game he pitched until he was traded off to the Cubs. I collected all of his stuff. He dominated the 90's and he will be a first year Hall Of Fame inductee.

[ter]

Back in 94 or 95 some friends and I went to a Reds game solely because Maddux was pitching that night. He just didn't look like he was dominating the game. You look up in the 6th inning and the Reds have 3 hits and Maddux has only throw 50+ pitches. He is one of those players that you can root for because he looks like the common man. As a guy that likes to watch a 2-1 pitchers duel that is over in 2+ hours, I will miss Maddux.

[Munsonmanor]

It's funny watching pitchers of today like Dice-K and Scott Kazmir. You'll look at the pitch count in the 5th inning and they are at 100 or more. There were times when Maddox's 85th pitch was the last out of the game. It's also funny he was always in either Roger Clemens or Randy Johnsons shadow as best pitcher of this era, but I think it was definately Maddox. I wonder if he will become a pitching coach for some team or will he get out of the game completely for a while. Best of luck to him and see ya in Cooperstown!

[death2redemptions]

Comparing career stats of Greg Maddux and Roger Clemens:
355-227 .610% - 3.16 ERA - 3371 K - 999 BB - 5008.3 IP - 1.143 WHIP - 3.37 K-BB
354-184 .658% - 3.12 ERA - 4672 K - 1580 BB - 4916.7 IP - 1.173 WHIP - 2.96 K-BB

I compare these stats considering Clemens will announce another retirement, which I believe that he actually will before season starts.

Both pitchers have over 350 wins, over 3000 strikeouts and have an ERA under 3.50. Maddux also has over 5000 IP and less than 1000 walks. Thats simply incredible.

[Dobber2330]

Originally Posted by death2redemptions

Comparing career stats of Greg Maddux and Roger Clemens:
355-227 .610% - 3.16 ERA - 3371 K - 999 BB - 5008.3 IP - 1.143 WHIP - 3.37 K-BB
354-184 .658% - 3.12 ERA - 4672 K - 1580 BB - 4916.7 IP - 1.173 WHIP - 2.96 K-BB

I compare these stats considering Clemens will announce another retirement, which I believe that he actually will before season starts.

Both pitchers have over 350 wins, over 3000 strikeouts and have an ERA under 3.50. Maddux also has over 5000 IP and less than 1000 walks. Thats simply incredible.

The difference??

Maddux gets into the hall of fame while Roger Clemens has to buy his ticket to get in.... Thats what HGH and lies will do for you....

[Cubfan86]

Originally Posted by death2redemptions

Comparing career stats of Greg Maddux and Roger Clemens:
355-227 .610% - 3.16 ERA - 3371 K - 999 BB - 5008.3 IP - 1.143 WHIP - 3.37 K-BB
354-184 .658% - 3.12 ERA - 4672 K - 1580 BB - 4916.7 IP - 1.173 WHIP - 2.96 K-BB

I compare these stats considering Clemens will announce another retirement, which I believe that he actually will before season starts.

Both pitchers have over 350 wins, over 3000 strikeouts and have an ERA under 3.50. Maddux also has over 5000 IP and less than 1000 walks. Thats simply incredible.

I am just glad that Maddux has one more win than Clemens. I would have hated for it to be the other way around.

[chilly55]

Yeah, Maddux will get in and challenge Tom Seaver's record for highest percentage on first ballot. What makes those stats above even more amazing was most of his pitches were in the upper 80's, maybe 90 or 91. No steroids to boot. Easily the most efficient pitcher of all time. He could throw complete games in under 100 pitches. I started collecting his stuff back in 1995 and knew back then he had the potential for 300 wins.

How many hitters went up knowing that "if" they made contact, it was going to be a groundout most of the time. Amazing movement on the ball and he did it all with finesse.
A shame he couldn't have the bullpen close out more of his victories. Outside of Wohlers, the Braves really didn't have much, and didn't have that for long. That's why the big 3 pitched so many innings. Glavine, Maddux and Smoltz could all have had a few more wins on the resume had Atlanta had any type of bullpen.

His mechanics were so simple that his motion really never could hurt his arm. He was the "professor" on the mound and a quiet gentleman off the field. He'll be remembered for his pitching, not his antics or behavior.

99% vote first time ballot! New record! (Prediction)

[C&M Sports Memorabil]

I grew up loving Seaver but Maddux might be the best pitcher of my life time. I was too young to remember Koufax and he might have had the best 5or 6 straight years but "Mad Dog" was so good during his Cy Young years that it is impossible to over look.

Thanks Grag for lots of memories and seeing him pitch live was one of my best sport memories.

[ChicagoCubsWS]

I hope he goes in as a Cub, too bad he will go in as a Brave.

[wolffer12]

Originally Posted by deboesports

i think he is and was a bum.

Originally Posted by deboesports

i knew i was gonna get an ear full on that comment, lol i just dont like baseball in general, except for clemente and ruth...thats about it.

Then please don't waste your time posting about baseball topics. If you don't like it fine but why sit here and call one of the top 5 pitcher of all time a bum well that just shows ignorance.