Maddux pitched with the Braves from 1993 until 2003. Both before and after his stint with the Braves, Maddux pitched for the Chicago Cubs. In his final two seasons, he pitched for the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

For his career, Maddux had a record of 355-227 and an ERA of 3.16. He pitched more than 5,000 innings in his career, which began in 1986. Arguably the best season of his career came in 1995 when he went 19-2 with a microscopic 1.63 ERA.

Bobby Cox, who coached Maddux during his stint in Atlanta, had a few simple answers to sum up how good a pitcher Maddux was during his career.

Said Cox: “I get asked by managers and press people all the time, how good was he? Was he the best pitcher I ever saw? Was he the smartest pitcher I ever saw? Was he the best competitor I ever saw? Was he the best teammate I ever saw?”

“The answer is yes to all the above.”

Here is the video of Greg Maddux getting his Atlanta Braves jersey retired:

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To go along with his 355 wins, he also had a career ERA of 3.16 and more than 3300 strikeouts. In his more than 5000 innings pitched, he walked less than 100 batters. Amazingly enough, he had at least 13 victories for 20 straight years — between 1988 and 2007.

Although he didn’t have a great season, he had a few big games for the Dodgers after being traded at midseason from the San Diego Padres. It’s difficult to pinpoint the best years of his career but his back to back sub-2.00 ERA years in 1994 and 1995 are definitely high on the list.

To put in perspective just how good Maddux was, here’s a list of where he ranks historically in terms of wins:

All-Time Wins Leaders
1) Cy Young – 511
2) Walter Johnson – 417
3) Pete Alexander – 373
3) Christy Mathewson – 373
5) Pud Galvin – 364
6) Warren Spahn – 363
7) Kid Nichols – 361
Greg Maddux – 355

All told, Maddux will be remembered as one of the best pitchers in the history of the game and arguably the best pitcher of the last quarter century.

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Pitcher – Greg Maddux, Los Angeles Dodgers – 18th Gold Glove
Catcher – Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals – 1st Gold Glove
First Baseman – Adrian Gonzalez, San Diego Padres – 1st Gold Glove
Second Baseman – Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati Reds – 1st Gold Glove
Shortstop – Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia Phillies – 2nd Gold Glove
Third Baseman – David Wright, New York Mets – 2nd Gold Glove
Outfielder – Shane Victorino, Philadelphia Philles – 1st Gold Glove
Outfielder – Nate McLouth, Pittsburgh Pirates – 1st Gold Glove
Outfielder – Carlos Beltran, New York Mets – 2nd Gold Glove

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Even though the baseball trade deadline has come and gone, that doesn’t mean the trading has ended. In fact, expect to see plenty of more deals before all is said and done. Waiver trades have been common in the last decade.

Who will be traded? There are a number of possibilities but the biggest name is Greg Maddux. Maddux, who is one of the best pitchers the game of baseball has ever seen, has stated a desire to either stay with the San Diego Padres or be traded to a team on the West Coast. Where are the Greg Maddux likely destinations?

Let’s take a look . . .

San Diego Padres – If you are a betting man, bet that Maddux will stay in San Diego.

Los Angeles Dodgers – If Maddux gets traded, look for him to end up with the Dodgers.

Los Angeles Angels – The Angels are on the West Coast and could use a pitcher for a World Series run.

New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox – You can never count out the Yankees or Red Sox in any trade. Even though Maddux says he’s not interested, you never know.

Photo: Newscom

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Last year the Padres brought in Greg Maddux and David Wells. One of those worked out real well, the other not so much. This year it’s Randy Wolf and Mark Prior. The situation is a little different, though, because Maddux basically never misses a start, while Wolf hasn’t made as many as 20 since 2004. As for Prior, my advice is not to think about him at all and hope for a pleasant surprise later in the season. Realistically we’re looking at guys like Shawn Estes, Justin Germano, and Glendon Rusch for that fifth spot. The fact that these aren’t exciting options wouldn’t be a problem except that the rest of the rotation isn’t as good as some people seem to think it is.

Head on over to Hardball Times to read the rest…

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As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, one of the great things about attending spring training is that you have the opportunity to watch players hone their craft. This includes prospects getting their first taste of pro ball as well as future first-ballot Hall of Famers.

For reasons I won’t get into here, we missed Greg Maddux’s start while we were out in Peoria. But to me — and I can’t stress this enough — the games aren’t nearly as interesting as the practices. Fortunately, we did get to watch Maddux practice.

In the photo above, you can’t see it, but Maddux is standing on a pitching rubber. You’ll notice that his right (throwing) hand is clenched into a fist. He is about to wind and throw an imaginary pitch. A coach will then hit a grounder toward first, with Maddux breaking to cover the bag.

The other thing you can’t tell from this photo is that nobody dogs these drills. Even the veterans. The most successful guys, like Maddux, didn’t reach the top of their profession by doing stuff half-assed. As I learned in my time as a semi-working musician, if you can’t practice well, then what’s going to happen come show time?

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