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:

Post from: Knuckle Curve

With his outing on Wednesday, Rodriguez has now caught 2,227 games. The former record holder was Carlton Fisk. Bob Boone is third on the list with 2,225 games, while Gary Carter is fourth with 2,056 games.

The now 37-year-old native of Puerto Rico originally broke into Major League Baseball when he was 19. Nicknamed Pudge, Rodriguez has numerous accolades to his name including 14 All-Star game selections, 13 Gold Glove Awards, seven Silver Slugger Awards, an AL MVP award in 1999 and a World Series championship while with the Florida Marlins in 2003.

This season, Rodriguez is hitting .246 with six homers and 27 RBI. Whenever he decides to end his days behind the plate, he’ll have a place in Cooperstown.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Here’s an obscure one for you. Jim Mahoney played shortstop and some second base for four teams over parts of four seasons.

As a rookie with the Boston Red Sox, Mahoney collected his first big-league hit on July 29, 1959 — a single to left in the fourth inning against Cleveland right-hander Cal McLish. Later that season, on September 14, Mahoney knocked the first of his four career homers, a three-run shot off White Sox right-hander Turk Lown.

Mahoney didn’t appear in the big leagues in 1960, but resurfaced with Washington the following season, getting into 41 games for the Senators. He played 43 more for the Indians in ‘62 and then made a five-game cameo for the Houston Astros in 1965 before calling it a career.

In 120 big-league games, Mahoney batted .229/.266/.314. One of his 48 career hits came off Hall-of-Famer Early Wynn. He also played alongside a few HOFers: Ted Williams, Nellie Fox, Joe Morgan, and Robin Roberts.

Following his playing career, Mahoney served as a coach for the White Sox in the mid-’70s and again for the Seattle Mariners in the mid-’80s. In between, he managed in the Pirates and White Sox organizations.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Is it the height of conceit to display a photograph of oneself reading one’s own book in an attempt to lure people into buying said book? Quite possibly it is. Regardless, I’m pleased to announce that the Ducksnorts 2008 Baseball Annual is now available. You can buy it as a hard copy or a PDF download, depending on your taste.

The book is subtitled “More than any sane person should ever need to know about the San Diego Padres,” and I think that pretty well covers it. You’ll find 200+ pages of analysis and commentary on the 2007 Padres season, the farm system, Tony Gwynn’s induction into the Hall of Fame, GM Kevin Towers’ trading record, and more — including a foreword by Matt Vasgersian, TV play-by-play announcer for the Padres.

Still not sure? Try the free PDF download of excerpts. If you like it, then go for the whole shebang.

Enjoy, and spread the word!

Post from: Knuckle Curve

I haven’t made these challenging enough for the likes of you. Let’s see if we can change that:

• I was born during the Eisenhower administration.
• I am a former first-round draft pick.
• I once won my league’s batting title.
• I never drew as many as 40 walks in a single season.
• Four of my former teammates are now in the Hall of Fame.

Who am I?

Post from: Knuckle Curve

• Bill James Interview (Hardball Times). Chris Jaffe talks to the man who first popularized sabermetrics (and actually coined the term). James on what kinds of issues sabermetrics might tackle in the future:

  League-perspective decision making. Looking at decisions based from the standpoint of the league.

  Simple example: the wild card. The National League has 16 teams, and four teams make the playoffs. Sixteen is divisible by four. The natural thing to do, it would seem to me, would be to make four divisions and have four division races.

  It wasn’t done that way, and if you ask anybody why it wasn’t done that way, they’ll say “they must have thought that there would be more interest in the races if you kept a wild card there.” But is that true?

• Beer Run: How to Defeat a Sabermetrician in an Argument (Catfish Stew). Just when you thought there was nothing more to say about Jim Rice and the Hall of Fame, Ken Arneson comes along and looks at the debate from a remarkably fresh angle.
• Some traditions should get axe, others kept (SI.com). Jon Weisman examines the status quo and finds some aspects lacking. I disagree with Jon’s take on interleague play and post-season start times, but I’m with him on the rest.

Enjoy…

Post from: Knuckle Curve