GREG MADDUX – SP
Already one of the best pitchers in baseball when he signed as a free agent in December of 1992, what Greg Maddux did in his 11 seasons with the Braves is the stuff of legend.
Atlanta paid a high price to shore up their rotation in 1993. Two straight trips to the World Series fell short. With a young core of talent, bringing in a true ace was thought to lock down one, or maybe many, World Series crowns. Maddux did not disappoint.
The 1992 Cy Young award winner with the Chicago Cubs, Maddux won three straight with the Braves. When they finally won their World Series in 1995, he had a year for the ages. In a strike-shortened campaign, he won 19 in 28 starts, losing two. His 1.63 ERA and 10 complete games were league-best. His 1.56 ERA in 1994 and 16-6 record never get the respect they deserve as that surround baseball’s long 1994-95 strike. When your Adjusted ERA+ is 271 and 260, like it was in 1994 and 1995, that’s beyond incredible.
What made the soft-spoken Maddux so amazing was his ability to paint the corners of the strike zone. He placed pitches in places that could not be hit. Yet, only in 1998 did he have over 200 strikeouts.
With the Braves, Maddux went 194-88. His 2.63 ERA adjusts out to 63 percent better than league average. He never won less than 16 games in any season and for every batter he walked, he struck out 4.77. Those 13 straight Gold Gloves hurt neither.
His starts on TBS were the definition of must see television.
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