Dear barroom denizens the world over,
I write to you today to ask simply that you take up a modest question for your consideration. It is not a question of mere fact or mere opinion; rather, like all great questions it requires a careful balance of each. I trust your besotted sagacity and ale-soaked acumen will prove more than sufficient to resolve my dispute, though it may take until the end of baseball to be sure.
My question: “Is Greg Maddux the best pitcher of all time?”
On Saturday, the Mad Dog recorded his 350th career win (against just 217 losses). It was just another ho-hum 68-pitch six inning outing with no runs allowed. It was his 715th game started since he entered the major leagues in 1986. Since the Jolly Roger notched his 350th win on his bedpost career last season, it is very likely Maddux could be the last pitcher ever to reach that milestone.
Like all great players, Maddux has an aura around him. Men (not smart ones, mind you, but men nonetheless) have caught baseballs thrown by Maddux with their eyes closed. Maddux’s current teammate and Padres ace (and last year’s NL Cy Young winner) Jake Peavy named his childhood dog “Maddux.” Some even say he is supernaturally prescient–the tale that he can tell exactly where a batter is going to hit a ball, just by watching him set up at the plate, never seems to die. Earlier this year, Tim Keown wrote:
With the Cubs, the story goes, Maddux once sat in the dugout and watched José Hernández of the Dodgers set up in the batter’s box. After two pitches, Maddux turned to the guys around him and said, “We might have to call an ambulance for the first base coach.” On the next pitch, Hernández whipped a shot that hit first base coach John Shelby in the chest.
Creepy. His calm demeanor and bespectacled look belie his toughness on the mound. During his 1995 season, which capped his run of four consecutive Cy Youngs (a record), he struck out 181 batters and walked only 23. To save you the time of whipping out your calculators, that’s a 7.87 strikeout-to-walk ratio. For a whole season.
I could bore you with his accomplishments (never walked more than 82 batters in any one season, career 3.32 K/BB ratio, career 3.12 ERA, 35 career shutouts, 17 consecutive 15-win seasons). I could tell you that his 1.56 ERA in 1994 was the third-lowest single season mark since 1920 (behind only Bob Gibson’s 1968 and Dwight Gooden’s 1985–mythical seasons both, if there are any). You might start to snooze if I told you about his 35 career doubles (or his brief attempt to turn them into the long ball).
But maybe the single thing that speaks the most about Greg Maddux as a baseball player is his record (at any position) 17 career Gold Gloves. Were it not for a brief usurping at the hands of then-teammate Mike Hampton in 2003, Greg Maddux would hold an active Gold Glove streak of 18 straight awards. Since 1990, taking the pitcher’s National League Gold Glove from Maddux has been harder than solving the Riemann hypothesis. (Fortunately for Mr. Hampton, he was paid about $120 million more for the former feat than the $1 million standing offer for solving Mr. Riemann’s conjecture.)
Remember, dear stool-sitters, I am not asking you to answer the question specifically in the affirmative or in the negative. No, my task here has simply been to demonstrate the Mad Professor’s bona fides, which qualify him for inclusion in the discussion.
We must ask ourselves whether we are simply witnessing the greatest of a generation, or the greatest of all time. That, my friends, is a question for you all to decide.
Respectfully submitted,
Tommy
(Greg Maddux photo courtesy flickr user felicity redwell)
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Glad you pulled out the tribute to Maddux. It seems like we’ve all kind of forgotten about him the past few years, but he’s still been putting in quality outings season after season. Talking about greatest pitchers of a generation, he’s never quite ranked in popularity amongst the other greats of the past couple decades like Randy Johnson and Roger Clemens, but, as you say here, he’s been arguably better over the course of his whole career. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t look like a snake or have serious anger management problems…apparently, it’s easier to forget about that guy.
Paul DePodesta noted on his shiny new blog that once he wins his 355th game later this year (to pass Clemens), only Warren Spahn will have won more games that Maddux over the last 80 years.
Taking into account the era in which they played, I believe Maddux is the greatest pitcher ever. I got to see him in person for the first time late last year, and I saved the ticket stub even though he got rocked. We may never see another one that good.
That’s a good point, and Warren Spahn was the man. He’s got a bit of a headstart, too, cause “Maddux and Glavine and Smoltz and Avery and pray for a previously scheduled day off so we can go with a four man rotation” isn’t nearly as catchy as “Spahn and Sain and pray for rain.”
What a genius. As a long-time Met fan, I witnessed first-hand his cruel efficiency, his ability to make a baseball move in ways that look unnatural without cheating (I’m staring at you Gaylord), and the way he would snag one-hoppers back to the mound like an accomplished beer die player casually snagging a die from mid-air. I urge all to take a gander at his July 22, 1997 complete game victory over the Cubs; 9 IP, 1 ER, 5H, 6K is a great line for anyone, but when one looks at the number of pitches thrown (79!!! 63 for strikes), one can understand just how much talent he possessed at his peak.
Wow, yeah that is a good one. I think my favorite is probably May 2, 2001 against the Brew Crew. 9 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 14 K, 0 R in 109 pitches.