Greg Maddux won his 300th game this afternoon. As many of you who are baseball fans know, he pitched for my Atlanta Braves for 11 years from 1993 to 2003, and was simply a joy to watch. My only regret is that I never got to see him pitch in person at a game I went to. It almost happened a couple of years ago, and would have, but Bobby Cox, the Braves manager, changed his pitching rotation before the All Star Break that year to have Greg pitch on a different day than scheduled, and I missed him again.
What is most remarkable about Greg is his accomplishments in baseball without having a devestating or overwhelming pitch. Granted, he has a fine changeup, but he never had a 100 or even 90 mile per hour fastball or a speciality pitch like Niekro's knuckleball or a great split finger fastball like Elroy Face or Bruce Sutter in his heydey. Rather, Greg just maximized the talent he has, and combined it with a true knowledge of the game, and pitching, to achieve a milestone. This milestone, combined with his excellent career record and earned run average, should make him a sure Hall of Famer on his first ballot five years after his retirement. My only regret is that I didnt get to see him achieve this for my Atlanta Braves. If he couldnt win it in a Braves uni, he did the next best thing to win it for Chicago, a team he started his great career with, for a class act manager in Dusty Baker.
So, congratulations to Greg and the Cubs on his 300th win. From having watched Greg for 11 years, and listening to his interviews, he is probably happy to have number 300 over with so that people wont talk about it anymore. My guess is that after his retirement and election to the Hall of Fame, he will look back and be able to fully appreciate what a marvelous talent he is, and the incredible impact he had on the game of baseball, as probably the greatest pitcher to ever wear a uniform in the decade of the 1990s.
Mitch
What is most remarkable about Greg is his accomplishments in baseball without having a devestating or overwhelming pitch. Granted, he has a fine changeup, but he never had a 100 or even 90 mile per hour fastball or a speciality pitch like Niekro's knuckleball or a great split finger fastball like Elroy Face or Bruce Sutter in his heydey. Rather, Greg just maximized the talent he has, and combined it with a true knowledge of the game, and pitching, to achieve a milestone. This milestone, combined with his excellent career record and earned run average, should make him a sure Hall of Famer on his first ballot five years after his retirement. My only regret is that I didnt get to see him achieve this for my Atlanta Braves. If he couldnt win it in a Braves uni, he did the next best thing to win it for Chicago, a team he started his great career with, for a class act manager in Dusty Baker.
So, congratulations to Greg and the Cubs on his 300th win. From having watched Greg for 11 years, and listening to his interviews, he is probably happy to have number 300 over with so that people wont talk about it anymore. My guess is that after his retirement and election to the Hall of Fame, he will look back and be able to fully appreciate what a marvelous talent he is, and the incredible impact he had on the game of baseball, as probably the greatest pitcher to ever wear a uniform in the decade of the 1990s.
Mitch
