LegendatLegion 109 Report Share Posted December 6, 2008 #8 on the all-time wins list (one ahead of Clemens) Maddux is set to announce he is going to retire tomorrow. Agent Scott Borus announced today. He is obviously a sure fire first ballot Hall of Famer. Will Smoltz and Glavine make it back this year, or will they both retire also and join Maddux in the Hall in the same year? I personally would love to see them all standing on the stage at the same time, yet i as a Braves fan certainly would like to see them pitch some more. Smoltz still has as good stuff as nearly anyone, at least before his (latest) injury. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance 228 Report Share Posted December 6, 2008 i use to make the trip to Atlanta every year to watch the opening game...Maddux always pitched the home opener every year or one of the first two if they opened on the road...I would always sit about 7 rows up directly behind home plate...if you never got to see him pitch like that you missed out...especially in his hey-day...i have never seen anyone with so much control and get that much movement on the ball...it was just amazing to watch...i loved every minute of it and i will honestly miss him a lot, to me this is like Jordan leaving basketball....kinda sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Account 5,203 Report Share Posted December 6, 2008 #8 on the all-time wins list (one ahead of Clemens) Maddux is set to announce he is going to retire tomorrow. Agent Scott Borus announced today. He is obviously a sure fire first ballot Hall of Famer. Will Smoltz and Glavine make it back this year, or will they both retire also and join Maddux in the Hall in the same year? I personally would love to see them all standing on the stage at the same time, yet i as a Braves fan certainly would like to see them pitch some more. Smoltz still has as good stuff as nearly anyone, at least before his (latest) injury. A wonderful career comes to an end. I'm glad he retired one win ahead of that no-good money-grubbing Clemens. Spent my childhood watching him pitch gem after gem for Atlanta. Surefire first-ballot HOF, no question. Glavine, I'm unsure about, but I'm fairly sure he's contracted through next season. I believe Smoltz is back for another season, though, especially after his arm troubles last season. I believe this next season might be the end of the ride for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LegendatLegion 109 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2008 ...if you never got to see him pitch like that you missed out...especially in his hey-day...i have never seen anyone with so much control and get that much movement on the ball...it was just amazing to watch...i loved every minute of it and i will honestly miss him a lot, to me this is like Jordan leaving basketball....kinda sad. I had some friends who were Brave haters and they used to complain about all the calls they got etc... I will be the first to admit they did sometimes get the pitch off the corner, but Maddux was a genius. He is amazing, it looked like he was throwing a whiffle ball out there. Those folks who say stuff like he was just getting calls etc.. are idiots. If you want to see how good someone is/was just listen to his contemporaries speak. The folks who faced Maddux talk in awe of him. Leo and Bobby and others tell stories that just crack you up. Leo said once Maddux had walked two to get the bases loaded with one out and he came to the mound, and with the whole infield there said,"What's up Mad dog? you okay?" Maddux said tell Bobby to relax, this next guy is going to ground into a double play to Lemmer!" and he did! When he first got to the Padres he was sitting on the bench near Peavy and the pitching coach, and a rookie pitcher was pitching to someone, Maddux got up and moved down the bench and gave Peavy his glove. Peavy said,"what for?" Maddux said,"because when he pitches inside to this guy with his changeup he is gonna drill it right where you are sitting." Peavy kinda laughed and said okay..second pitch the changeup was drilled about a foot beside Peavy's head. Jake said he never sat anywhere but beside Maddux after that. My take on the Braves super three rotation for that time of the early 90's. I always thought Smoltz had the best stuff of any of them, he was just a little later getting control of all the pitches. Glavine was all heart and determination and pin point control. He looked like i should be able to grab a bat and go hit him, yet most couldn't. Seemed to win 20 games every year. Maddux....Picasso/Rembrandt....Just unbelieveable how he could alter the pressure on the ball with a finger and make the ball do something else. He had about three of the best pitching years in history if look at his stats. If he had pitched on some of the last 3-4 Braves teams that could really hit, may have won 32-33 games. The bullpen blew wins for him one year 14 times, i think that was the year he was 19-2 with a 1.63 era. Can you imagine 33-2? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance 228 Report Share Posted December 6, 2008 the thing about them getting calls...most people just dont realize how much he got the ball to move on the tail end of a pitch...sure he got a lot of calls because thats where he made his living...umpires see the pitch tail in time after time...if the catcher frames it up right, he gets the call if it's close...just speaks to how much control he really had....like i said though, if you never saw it in person you really would not understand, there is just no way that what you see on TV can really give you the feel for what this guy could do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluefield_Rules 46 Report Share Posted December 6, 2008 The greatest pitcher of his generation! Maddux did it the right way without performance enhancing drugs. He was a gentleman on and off the field, his humbled approach to the game should be an example for future major leaguers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LegendatLegion 109 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2008 I saw an article where someone compared the 3 years he had in the 90's against any three pitching years ever and had him ranked 1st or second. And, let's face it he could win 30 more games in 2 years for a decent team....but he doesn't need to. At #8 all-time and 355, he will be first ballot anyway, i am sure he can retire and not worry about finances. I can see the guy as a manager or pitching coach in the near future. If he wants to, or maybe coaching his kids in High school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Account 5,203 Report Share Posted December 6, 2008 The greatest pitcher of his generation! Maddux did it the right way without performance enhancing drugs. He was a gentleman on and off the field, his humbled approach to the game should be an example for future major leaguers. Very true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance 228 Report Share Posted December 6, 2008 I saw an article where someone compared the 3 years he had in the 90's against any three pitching years ever and had him ranked 1st or second. And, let's face it he could win 30 more games in 2 years for a decent team....but he doesn't need to. At #8 all-time and 355, he will be first ballot anyway, i am sure he can retire and not worry about finances. I can see the guy as a manager or pitching coach in the near future. If he wants to, or maybe coaching his kids in High school. I'm sure he'll get all kinds of offers...the lower level stuff is where I'd bet he will go...dude is reclusive and once he gets holed up in Las Vegas we might not see or hear from him for years.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefieldRocks 14 Report Share Posted December 7, 2008 Wouldnt be shocked to see Glavine and Smoltz retire as well. I know they all wanted to be inducted into the H.O.F together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trublue 939 Report Share Posted December 7, 2008 Great stuff if you're a Maddux fan Maddux signs with Braves....... http://tinyurl.com/maddux-article ..."the long ball"...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance 228 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 good times...that was near the start of a good run for the Bravos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Account 5,203 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 Great stuff if you're a Maddux fan Maddux signs with Braves....... http://tinyurl.com/maddux-article ..."the long ball"...... I love it! And I'm SO glad the Braves got him over the Yankees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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