A thankful Maddux officially hangs it up
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 Paul Hoynes
Plain Dealer Reporter
Las Vegas - The first thing Greg Maddux wanted to say was "thank you" upon officially announcing his retirement after 355 victories, 5,008 2/3 innings and 23 seasons.
Maddux, in his hometown Monday, said, "I'm just here to say thank you to everybody - everybody in baseball from the teams I've played for, the general managers, the hitting coaches, pitching coaches, clubbies and the people you see everyday at the ballpark."
Maddux, 42, retired as the eighth winningest pitcher in history. He won four Cy Young awards and 18 Gold Gloves.
He thanked Dick Pole, his first pitching coach, when he joined the Chicago Cubs in 1986.
"He took me to new level," said Maddux.
Maddux spoke of the 11 seasons he played in Atlanta from 1993 through 2003. That included the last three of his four straight Cy Young seasons, from 1993 through 1995.
He won his first with the Cubs in 1992.
"We won every year I was there," Maddux said of his years in Atlanta. "In spring training [manager] Bobby Cox would say, 'We're getting ready for the regular season, we're getting ready for the postseason.' We'd do a little bit less in spring training because we knew that our season would be seven months, not six months."
When asked if he felt anyone else would ever get to 355 victories, Maddux said: "You know there might be a kid in seventh or eighth grade right now that will do it. Or a young pitcher starting out right now that will do it.
"Physically, you have to be able to do certain things with the baseball. Sometimes you can't let your brain get in the way of allowing you to do that."
Maddux pitched with Tom Glavine, another 300-game winner, in the Braves rotation.
Physically, Maddux was not imposing on the mound. He threw hard enough, but won making the ball move in ways other pitchers couldn't.
He said he learned that from a pitching coach when he was 15 or 16.
Maddux, who won 10 or more games for 20 straight seasons, went 8-13 with the Padres and Dodgers last season. When asked if there was one thing he'd like to do to change baseball, he said, "It's hard to change something that's already pretty close to perfect."
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 Paul Hoynes
Plain Dealer Reporter
Las Vegas - The first thing Greg Maddux wanted to say was "thank you" upon officially announcing his retirement after 355 victories, 5,008 2/3 innings and 23 seasons.
Maddux, in his hometown Monday, said, "I'm just here to say thank you to everybody - everybody in baseball from the teams I've played for, the general managers, the hitting coaches, pitching coaches, clubbies and the people you see everyday at the ballpark."
Maddux, 42, retired as the eighth winningest pitcher in history. He won four Cy Young awards and 18 Gold Gloves.
He thanked Dick Pole, his first pitching coach, when he joined the Chicago Cubs in 1986.
"He took me to new level," said Maddux.
Maddux spoke of the 11 seasons he played in Atlanta from 1993 through 2003. That included the last three of his four straight Cy Young seasons, from 1993 through 1995.
He won his first with the Cubs in 1992.
"We won every year I was there," Maddux said of his years in Atlanta. "In spring training [manager] Bobby Cox would say, 'We're getting ready for the regular season, we're getting ready for the postseason.' We'd do a little bit less in spring training because we knew that our season would be seven months, not six months."
When asked if he felt anyone else would ever get to 355 victories, Maddux said: "You know there might be a kid in seventh or eighth grade right now that will do it. Or a young pitcher starting out right now that will do it.
"Physically, you have to be able to do certain things with the baseball. Sometimes you can't let your brain get in the way of allowing you to do that."
Maddux pitched with Tom Glavine, another 300-game winner, in the Braves rotation.
Physically, Maddux was not imposing on the mound. He threw hard enough, but won making the ball move in ways other pitchers couldn't.
He said he learned that from a pitching coach when he was 15 or 16.
Maddux, who won 10 or more games for 20 straight seasons, went 8-13 with the Padres and Dodgers last season. When asked if there was one thing he'd like to do to change baseball, he said, "It's hard to change something that's already pretty close to perfect."
Cleveland Plain Dealer
