Greg Maddox notches his 350th win Saturday against the Rockies with help from a three-run homer from Adrian Gonzalez and a save from all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman.
Looking back at Maddux’ career, he was an amazingly consistent pitcher. He pitched well no matter what the time of year, who he was facing, and no matter what the situation.
CONGRATS to Greg Maddux!!! He is a breath of fresh air in this time of sports scandals and drug use. Greg seems to be a hardworking & smart pitcher who has gotten by without the benefit of an overpowering fastball. Maddux also has a good follow through, which enables him to be in a good fielding position. Greg Maddux is exactly ten years younger than I am, as we share the same birthday, April 14th. Of the pitchers in the 350 Win Club, only Warren Spahn pitched beyond 1950 (not counting cheater Roger Clemens). There is a real shot Maddux might join the 400 Win Club, of which Walter Johnson is the only member. It’s incredible that only Cy Young might have more wins than Greg, once Maddux calls it a day.
It would be great to see Greg reach that 400 mark. He is a pro’s pro for sure. The way SD has been playing this season though, getting his customary 15+ wins could be a really hard task. To do that three more times might be asking a lot of them and Greg also. Getting around 30-32 starts a year is also a factor. One thing that is for sure, at least in my book, and my book started in 1959, Greg is as good a fielding pitcher as I have ever seen, rivaled only by Jim Kaat. What has really impressed me about Greg’s glove is his uncanny ability to let bouncing comebackers go past him and then get turned into easy DP’s for his middle infielders. I have hardly ever seen any other pitchers do this once let alone all the time. I don’t know if the motivation is there, but he would probably as knowledgable a pitching coach as there has ever been. And who can forget the “Chicks dig the long ball” spots?