Greg Maddux is nothing but a big phony, I tell you!
Why give him a plaque? He'll just toss it in the car. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
A slew of words have been tossed around these past few days in order to characterize Greg Maddux, and I’d like to add a new one:
Phony.
The man, I’m telling you, was a total fraud. He tried to come off as just another guy trying “to make pitches” and “get guys out,” and there’s a Fox Sports interview from the ’90s — it’s available from YouTube and can be viewed below — in which he discusses what a lousy student he was in high school.
Lousy student. Yeah, right.
Smartest ballplayer ever.
Three hundred fifty-five wins with a fastball that wouldn’t get clocked for speeding on the Downtown Connector. Seventeen consecutive 15-win seasons with pitches that shouldn’t have fooled anybody but bumfuzzled everybody.
The Swiss philosopher Henri-Frederic Amiel (who had a lousy fastball himself) famously said: “Doing easily what others find difficult is talent; doing what is impossible for talent is genius.” That was Mad Dog. He saw everything. He knew everything.
Mark Lemke: “He’d call me over and say, ‘Move to your left two pitches from now.’ Not on the next pitch, but the pitch after that. He said, ‘I’m going to throw something he’ll foul off, and then I’m going to throw him a slider he’ll ground into the hole.’ ”
Terry Pendleton: “We were in Cincinnati one night and Bret Boone kept fouling off fastballs, and I went to the mound and said, ‘You could get him with a slider.’ And Doggie said, ‘Yeah, but I want to save that for when runners are in scoring position.’ ”
Leo Mazzone: “We were having our pitchers’ meeting before the 1996 World Series and we were going over the scouting report. It said to pitch Bernie Williams a certain way. Maddux said, ‘That’s not right. I’ve watched every game they’ve played the last two weeks and he’s killing that pitch.’ And I said, ‘We’ll go with Doggie on this one.’ ”
(Postscript: Bernie Williams faced Maddux three times in Game 2. He went 0-for-3.)
He saw everything. He knew everything. He remembered everything. Bobby Cox tells this Doggie tale:
Andy Benes was pitching for Arizona and plunked a Braves’ hitter. Cox told his men after the game, “Next time we play them, Benes better go down!” Well, the Braves didn’t play Arizona again that season or in the first weeks of the next. And one day Maddux walks into Cox’s office and said, “Still stand?”
Said Cox: “What are you talking about?”
Said Maddux: “That thing with Benes. Still stand?”
Said Cox, who’d forgotten such a edict was ever levied: “Damn right!”
First at-bat that night, Andy Benes ate dirt.
Smartest ballplayer ever. Biggest phony ever. Tried to make it seem as if he was unarmed — of Randy Johnson, Maddux once said: “His slider is faster than my fastball” — but in truth was possessed of the greatest weapon in the game. The Maddux brain.
One thing more about our Einstein: He was also a raging slob.
Lemke: “When we trained in West Palm, I’d take a look in Maddux’s car the last week and the thing would be a disaster. He’d hit Burger King every morning and he’d just turn around and — whoosh — toss [the cups and wrappers] into the back seat.”
On Friday the Braves inducted this con artist into their Hall of Famer and retired the Sultan of Sloth’s number. Even Maddux, who’s never fazed, seemed moved by the ovation he received at Turner Field. And then he gave an unmemorable speech that concluded with, “Let’s go beat the Mets.” The man always could focus.
Smartest ballplayer ever. Greatest pitcher I’ve ever seen. Greatest pitcher I’ll ever see.
Another Maddux story, this from Pete Van Wieren: “In Montreal they used to have a big bowl of jellybeans in the clubhouse, and Gerald Williams would come in every day and pick out the red ones. One day got to the ballpark two hours early and dumped the whole bowl and took out all the red ones. Took him a couple of hours, but he just wanted to sit in the corner and snicker when Gerald came in and started looking for the red jellybeans.”
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154 comments Add your comment
abudefdef
July 18th, 2009
3:37 am
If Maddux isn’t a unanimous first ballot Hall Of Famer…I’m quitting MLB as a fan…the ultimate professional, the ultimate non-egomaniac, and the ultimate pitcher…
Thanks for the wonderful years in a Braves uniform.
Have fun in retirement Mad Dog, you deserve it!
abudefdef
July 18th, 2009
4:07 am
maddogette, glad to hear Turner Field was rocking…maybe if the fans continue to show support and cheer for the home team, then the team will feed off that energy and play inspired baseball, then the 5.5 games back will start to shrink, then the Braves may find themselves right in the postseason! Like I’ve said before in posts, perhaps I’m an optimist, but I think the Braves have the talent to get there, especially in the starting pitching area! And I love the fact that McCann is stepping up to be a leader, I can really see him becoming the dugout and lockerroom personality that I think lacks on the team right now.
Maybe the Braves should consider bringing back Julio Franco as an assitant hitting coach, I think he would be a great influence on the young team…
abudefdef
July 18th, 2009
4:22 am
maddogette, glad to hear Turner Field was rocking, perhaps the fans can stay energized, and infuse that energy to the team!
Also, glad to see McCann taking a leadership role in the locker room, Braves sorely need someone to start smacking people around and straightening things out in there. McCann should be able to do that very well.
With the starting pitching the Braves have, I’m excited for the second half of the season! Too bad I’m deployed to Kuwait and only occasionally get Braves games on tv…gotta love the internet!
GO BRAVES!
(oh yeah, if this ends up being a mostly repeat post, my first on hadn’t shown up for half an hour, so I re-tried)
abudefdef
July 18th, 2009
4:25 am
dangit…it was a repeat!
Rahul
July 18th, 2009
5:17 am
I honestly think I could read Greg Maddux stories all day long
old man
July 18th, 2009
5:50 am
Maddux was a great pitcher. At least he did not get trashed by Wren like Smoltz and Glavine. I have been watching ball since the sixties, and 31 was one of the best I saw. He will be elected to Cooperstown on the first ballot.
kevin ( i hope u understood me)
July 18th, 2009
6:19 am
Oh he a phoney Mike sure is he be that wearin a cub cap in cooperstown why not he won 300 there and Mets same a met cap….smoltz tigers cap this for wren n GM n owner u screw me see what u get…(oh he have his trophy behind the outhouse when get its home)
Greg Maddux | Cellbase.com.au
July 18th, 2009
6:27 am
[...] of the top 15 pitchers of …Greg Maddux is nothing big a big phony, I tell you! | Mark Bradley View Story Mark Bradley of the AJC writes that Greg Maddux was the consummate con man — sought to play [...]
Bob
July 18th, 2009
6:36 am
I told a certain friend of mind, when complaining about another playoff loss for the Braves and complaining about our pitching, that he’d best get to the ballpark and watch our pitchers, as several of them were future Hall of Famers and we’d be unlikely to see this kind of staff again, at least in our lifetime. Yes, we only got one Series ring during our “run,” but we got to see several of the best ever, and possibly THE best ever, Doggie, on a regular basis. We were so spoiled….
SuperB
July 18th, 2009
7:28 am
As a big Braves’ fan for the past 40 years, I like Maddux. He may be the best you know about but…….Warren Spahn was not only the best Brave pitcher but the best career lefty ever. As for righties, a few that come to mind are Cy Young, Walter Johnson, and Bob Feller– to name three.
eBuzz
July 18th, 2009
8:10 am
A class act always. A small Maddox story. My 4-ll, tiny, non-athletic wife was to throw an opening ceremonial pitch and was terrified that she would look bad. Everyone knows what the crowd does when the pitch is bad or bounces. Practicing, practicing with me in the driveway. LOL. Before the game, she asks if she can practice in the indoor warm-up area. Greg Maddux happens to be sitting in the area. After watching and unsolicited, he says to her, “Throw it as hard and as high as you can. Do not throw it low.” She does, and it’s a dead-on strike. A moment in time no doubt immediately forgotten by him, but instant hero to her. Her favorite Brave always.
Greg Maddux
July 18th, 2009
8:27 am
[...] but yesterday was Greg Maddux’s day. If you liked watching MadDog pitch, you will enjoy this Mark Bradley piece filled with wonderful anecdotes including this one told by Mark Lemke: “He’d call me over and [...]
Richard
July 18th, 2009
8:35 am
I had a friend, Jim Hearn, a great pitcher and better person (Pitched for St Louis and Giants in 40’s and 50’s and Atlanta native) who would not miss a Maddox game. He said Maddow was the greatest pitcher I ever saw. Mark those are great comments from a special guy who knew the game of baseball. (Jim won the 3rd game of the ‘51 world series and hit a home run. Great memories from a special guy!
mcgannfan
July 18th, 2009
8:44 am
MADDUX is THE best ever!!!!
but I just also want to say: Escobar is THE MAN! His rbi’s are around 46 and with guys on base, he comes through. any idea of trading this run producing guy is STUPID!!!
He is COMPETITIVE and has emotions and Cox can’t stand emotions. This team, in the past, has been too emotionless. Would sit on the bench and look like dead wood……..BUT with MCCann taking charge and Yunel bringing them home, things look damn good for taking the division.
GO YUNEL
GO MY MAN, MCCANN
Bama Aaron
July 18th, 2009
8:45 am
Mark, great article. Maddox was always my favorite and I’m glad the Braves were proactive in getting him in their HOF. Great game last night, sorry I had to listen to it on the radio. I’ll be at the Ted tonight, so hopefully they can do it again!
Curtis Jones
July 18th, 2009
8:53 am
How smart was Maddux? Even though he was probably the toughest competitor ever to wear a Braves uniform, he never…I repeat never punched a door after a loss.
Great column, Mark.
Angus
July 18th, 2009
9:08 am
Between innings last night, they kept showing highlights, interviews, etc.
Glavine got this chance. Classy spot – he called Maddux “the best pitcher ever”.
I’ve never seen Friday night crowds there that early – kudos to Braves fans (except for the drunks near 401, row 25 starting the wave in the bottom of the 1st).
batgirl
July 18th, 2009
9:31 am
so much for the “poetry in motion” remarks that used to be said of him. Benes ate dirt..yes!
gayle
July 18th, 2009
9:57 am
After the mistakes with Smoltz and Glavine, after being irrelevant for many years, the Braves finally did something right in honoring Maddux. I had season tickets in the late 90’s and I knew then that when Mad Dog was pitching, I was seeing the best. And last night was the first time that the Braves played with inspiration in such a long time – it was a pleasure to see.
dan.....k
July 18th, 2009
10:27 am
Thanks for all the great memories, Maddog. You are hands down, my favorite baseball player of all time.
Sage of Bluesland
July 18th, 2009
10:30 am
Since noone bothered to answer my question, I’ll do it for you.
Postseason stats for Greg Maddox: 11-14, 3.27 ERA
Some “dominance” there, huh?
See, it’s different in the regular season fattening up against the rampant mediocrity in the league as opposed to facing real teams in clutch situations.
All things being equal, I’d take John Smoltz any day.
maddogette
July 18th, 2009
10:52 am
hey, abudefdef, we sound like kindred spirits (of the braves fan kind)…cuz I’m an eternal optimist when it comes to the bravos…I feel as if we’ll put together a substantial win streak & knock off each team above us in the division, we definitely have a shot…gotta continue to play small ball with an occasional big bopper to give enough run support to our AWESOME pitching staff.
godspeed while on your mission in kuwait…my son-in-law is being sent TO korea in sept. GO BRAVES!
B from Kennesaw
July 18th, 2009
11:00 am
Was at the game last night. I have to agree it was one of the best crowds I’ve seen in a long time. The energy was amazing. Maddux in my mind is the GREATEST EVER. Just wanted to point out something I think should be noted. During the ceremony on the field to honor Maddux, all of the Braves players came out to honor him as well. All the players were cheering and clapping, all except for one. Garret Anderson did not once clap or show any emotion. What a complete piece of s$%t and SOB. No class what so ever. Get rid of that loser right now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bill
July 18th, 2009
11:10 am
Two proms same night, same beautiful lady. Did Carla become Mrs Bradley.
MJM
July 18th, 2009
11:12 am
Great article on the best pitcher in history.
Jay
July 18th, 2009
12:09 pm
Sutton said it the best, when describing watching Maddux pitch, “It was a remarkable experience”. It was remarkable I got to see the prime of one of the all-time greats. Thank you Maddux.
chzbykr
July 18th, 2009
12:41 pm
Great read Mark, I loved watching Maddox pitch, and just about as much watched for the 2-3 times a game he would produce a fielding ace. A phony? only if genius is wasted. Obviously not with Dog. Keep up the very good work Mark.
a643dp
July 18th, 2009
1:04 pm
Another great Maddux quote:
Interviewer : “Greg, what is your favorite pitch to throw?”
Maddux: “Strike 1″
Bleu_Bayou42
July 18th, 2009
1:05 pm
The Cox story brought a competitive tear to this ole never has never was.
vanomania
July 18th, 2009
1:10 pm
in 2001, I attended the game in which he threw his 100th career complete game, 32nd career shutout, and tied his career high in strikeouts with 14. I was bending down to tie my shoe laces and a ball lands a row in front of me. Most of the section had cleared out so I quickly jumped down to retrieve it. Apparently, it was the game ball and Maddux that tried to throw it to his family. His wife Kathy, seemed reluctant to ask for the ball, but i readily gave it up without asking for anything in return. She pressed for my address anyway and I was excited to receive two autographed baseballs in the mail! A few weeks later, I attended another Maddux complete game shutout. His wife recognized me again during the standing ovation for the last out. She came over and said she wanted to put me on the guest list for his next start and also take me down to meet him. He lost that game against the Dodgers. I remember Gary Sheffield hitting a bomb off him. I did ge ut to meet him, but I had borrowed a digital camera from a friend without learning how to operate it. A friend that I had brought along had a disposable film camera that we used instead. The lighting down in the hallways was very poor and the camera didn’t have a flash, so the picture didn’t even come out.
Joe Gargiulo
July 18th, 2009
1:20 pm
Mark,
Great assessment of Greg Maddox. He is at the top of the “smartest pitcher I’ve ever seen” list.
Same can be said respectively of Bobby Cox as a baseball manager; I’m sure he’ll have his day honor if he ever retires.
Joe Gargiulo
Cotati, Calif.
Fed up
July 18th, 2009
2:02 pm
Greg Maddox is a cottonpicking MAGICIAN. I watch batter after batter go for his junk wondering why in the world they would swing at his junk balls. Thats because he has to perform magic, now you see it and now you don’t. Thanks Mad Dog, how about a managers job
Ok folks, look...
July 18th, 2009
2:05 pm
People, Greg’s last name is MADDUX not MADDOX!!! If you can read the title of this blog, you can see for yourself.
Fed up
July 18th, 2009
2:07 pm
Ok folks look, is that all you have to add. We missed a letter, get over it
Scott B
July 18th, 2009
3:00 pm
Thanks, Mark. I never tire of stories about him. A fascinating, intriguing, cat this Maddux dude.
Kwikbill
July 18th, 2009
3:13 pm
This is a great article…well written, and the humor was fantastic….and no doubt…all true!!
All I'm Saying Is...
July 18th, 2009
5:01 pm
Sage of Bluesland: Excellent post! Maddux and Bobby Cox were both far better during the regular season than the post-season. They both put together in 1995 so we will have to be thankful for that.
And remember, baseball is a team game so its not all on GM or BC that we didn’t win more than one WS (i.e. our bullpen stunk most of the time (if we had a shut-down closer we would have won in 1992 (remember Reardon giving up a two run homer in game two at home costing us the game?) and 1996 (remember the hanging slider to Leyritz by Wohlers?) easy and Lonnie (didn’t score on double when he lost the ball and didn’t look at his third base coach) and Liebrandt (gave up game winning homer to Pucket, first batter he faced) cost us a critical game in 1991)).
Bank Walker, Texas Ranger
July 18th, 2009
7:50 pm
Great piece Mark, (I bet there weren’t 10 things you wanted to change on this one). I think Maddux has the most interesting stories I have heard since Mickey Mantle. Bet Maddux drinks Dos XX when he drinks beer. Someone needs to put them all in a book. I think you are the man for the job.
KJ
July 18th, 2009
7:52 pm
“Since noone bothered to answer my question, I’ll do it for you.”
noone (sic) bothered to answer your question, because you’re a trolling idiot.
A 3.2 ERA in the postseason is pretty damned good; regarding his record, a pitcher can’t control how terrible his team’s offensive production is, and the Braves had some pretty abysmal postseason offenses.
Now do the world a favor, and go play “swallow the stuff under the sink”.
Gang Greene
July 18th, 2009
8:10 pm
KJ, thank you for that. That crap about Maddux in the postseason is just that- crap. Here’s an idea nobody ever thinks about. The dude was throwing 250 innings every year. At some point, the pitcher fatigues. HE could be dominant some years, but later on (say 1998 against SD) he just got the ball up a little more. And I think they lost that game 3 3-1. And for the batters, geez, Bonds and Sheffield and Chipper and you know all of those great hitters are garbage too because they failed in the postseasopn. Look, there’s a reason why guys like Lemke or Leyritz are always the heroes. Pitrchers simply will not let the big bats beat them. There talent is no less.
And just the absolute stupidity of fattening up on mediocre teams to the tune of 355 times is simply frightening.
Gang Greene
July 18th, 2009
8:21 pm
And I have one more. I’ll try this one without the typos (been doing yardwork all day in the brutal California heat of the central valley). Maddux nor Glavine did not get any more calls outside the zone than any other pitcher of their caliber. You know, guys who throw strikes. The cathcer rarely moved for Maddy. Yes, I know William VanLandingham would have been a hall of famer if only the umps loved him as much as Maddux and gave him the extra inch. To here some tell it, these guys got a foot outside and in. It’s called working the zone. They could do it. YEa, you are going to get an extra inch as the game goes on when you are consistently hitting your spots. To use this as some discredit to their greatness is silly. And knowing what we know now about the state of baseball in this period, could an extra inch when you are killing your spots even be considered an advantage?
By the way, how about the series in 97 when Gregg called the ball about 2 feet outside for Livan Hernendez? Was that fixed? I’m being serious here. Baseball was doing all kinds of shady things at that point, and Huizuenga has been rumored to have mob ties for years. Is it really that far outside the realm of possibility. Remember Gregg never got his job back after the strike. Just a thought.
stevew
July 19th, 2009
7:36 am
I was intrigued by the lead but loved the article. Wish I could interview all his past teammates and write a book, Guaranteed best seller…And I don’t agree that he would not have made it as a professional wrestler..Greg Maddox would have made it in any profession he had chosen..
NoleRick
July 19th, 2009
12:17 pm
I throughly enjoy this piece!
fieldofdreams
July 19th, 2009
12:46 pm
Greg Maddux, if you’re listening: Please coach our pitchers. Please scout for us. Please stay in our organization, in some capacity. Jerry West only won once, too, but he got several more as an executive. You, Smoltz, and Chipper could do the same for the Braves.
Mark Bradley
July 19th, 2009
2:09 pm
Thanks to one and all for the kind words.
And Ms. Whalen did not become Mrs. Bradley, Bill. (Lucky for her, I’d say.) Last I heard, she was married and living in San Diego.
Jay Stone
July 20th, 2009
12:20 am
The thing that sticks with me about Maddux is how unassuming he has always been. I was covering one of his starts, and his record when his team scored four or more runs was something like 88-2 over five years, and he’d won that night 7-2 or something. So I asked him about that record after the game and he said, “You’re supposed to win when your team scores four, dude. You’re going to win 7-5 sometimes, right?” Another story: After he’d left the Braves, he was pitching against them with the Padres and a couple of ball/strike calls had gone against him. The Braves scored two or three runs. At the end of the inning, he crosses paths with the home plate umpire and says, “I’m really bad, and if I have to throw five strikes to get an out, it’s going to be ugly.” (the umpire was miked for national TV). Just very polite, and then he kept on walking to the dugout. So solid. And I love that his departure from Atlanta didn’t included any criticism of the Braves on the way out the door.
dawes
July 20th, 2009
8:19 am
you should be shame what you said about maddux their is not a nicer out their
timthebrave
July 20th, 2009
12:11 pm
Sage of Bluesland, And Jair Jurrgens is awful. He is only one game over .500 and Vasquez has been terrible this year too. Just got to .500. Thanks for the great insight on Maddux. What would we do without it
dawes
July 20th, 2009
2:30 pm
i going miss greg maddux he was my favorite pitcher ever i don,t think theie ever been a pitcher good as him and never will be he is a first hall of fame ballot
Often Disappointed/Never Surprised!
July 20th, 2009
2:31 pm
I see your “speed”, and I will raise you “movement”! Winning hand every time. Way to go Greg!