I think everyone has that one play that sticks out to them the rest of their lives. For me it was a football play, keeping the opponent out of the end zone on an extra point that would have won them the game. I stopped it.
Maddux threw 268 innings (only gave up 7 HR) with a 2.18 ERA and won the Cy Young Award . . . and the Cubs didn't think he was worth the money. He proceeded to win the next 3 Cy Young Awards for someone else who knew he was worth every penny. Being a fan of Illinois sports teams is torture.
Funny Greg Maddux story. Hes always been one of my favorite pitchers of all time. Im working at Mccormick Ranch in Scottsdale Arizona 2005. Our driving range closes at 6. My brother (who also worked there) was like, "hey...that guy on the range is still hitting balls, go kick him out." So i drive a golf cart up the hill onto the driving range, powerslide the cart right in front of this guy and just snatch up his bucket of balls while saying, "the range is closed!" In a very rude manner. I look up and its the legend himself, Greg Maddux. I was like, "Mad Dog, my bad" and i started dumping his balls back on his range slot. He goes, "its alright kid, i was finished anyways." We proceeded to talk about the Cubs and the upcoming season. My brother and Greg had a good laugh because my brother knew Maddux was the one hitting balls and sent me up there to make an awkward moment for me.
The day the Cubs let Maddux go was the day I knew I'd never like them. I already wasn't a fan because their games interrupted my cartoons, but this just solidified it. Been a Sox guy ever since.
The sad thing is that they only won one World Series. All that talent for at least ten years. It was nice when WTBS carried their games and had a pretty good crew of announcers. I remember the first couple of years when John Smoltz first joined the Braves. He had really good stuff but if he gave up a homer he couldn't get it out of his mind and tended to fall apart. He started see a sport psycologist and it changed his game from pretty good to great.
I remember an interview with Maddux and Tom Glavine where they both stated that in today's baseball, they might not even be drafted because of lack of velocity....2 hall of famers!!!
Tom Glavine was a sight too. He would pitch off the outside of the plate and get strike calls. And just when guys would lose patience and start swinging at those outside pitches he would bust one right over the plate catching the hitter looking.
That whole sequence of how a scuffed ball can play into the game is why this game never gets old, it's fascinating stuff that I would've never guessed was happening while watching the game. Thanks Ninja!
The scuffed ball adds an element of unpredictability to the game. Maddux was able to use it to his advantage but in the hands of a lesser pitcher it might have resulted in a wild pitch. That's why I dislike the automatic intentional walk, it removes the element of chance when the pitcher has to actually throw the ball.
Maddux has my favorite baseball quote ever. “You just can’t do it,” Maddux said. “Sometimes hitters can pick up differences in spin. They can identify pitches if there are different release points or if a curveball starts with an upward hump as it leaves the pitcher’s hand. But if a pitcher can change speeds, every hitter is helpless, limited by human vision. “Except for that (expletive) Tony Gwynn.” He also holds the record for most consecutive seasons with at least 1 stolen base without ever being thrown out.
I seem to recall Gwynn saying when he faced Maddux he stood like a statue at the plate until the last possible second. Because Greg would look for (and see), the most subtle things. Like, lifting the heel of your back foot for just a fraction of a second, or bending one knee a little, your elbow, shifting your weight a tiny amount, or even the direction you glanced. He'd pick up on it and have a damn good guess what kind of pitch you were looking for, where you were expecting to hit it, and he'd then break your knees by throwing something unhittable.
Greg Maddux shows you here the greatest skill any pitcher can have: the ability to cheat when it's legal. "Hey man, you gonna give me an edge, I'll take it." And he knew it too, "They fouled the ball off and it was like, okay all things are fair again." Absolute legend.
Used to love turning on TBS on a Saturday or Sunday and the Braves would be playing. My grandpa would yell, if Maddux was pitching he’d yell, “My boy Mad Ducks is pitching. Let’s see what Mad Ducks has today.” Love the memories and loved watching Maddux play.
Two of the most exciting pitchers to watch were David Cone and Greg Maddux. They went to the mound like a professional business man and proceeded to precisely out work you on the mound like a fine chess match. When pitchers don't have an over powering fastball then they have to outsmart you. These two guys were amongst the greatest this game has ever had. Great memories, thank you!
My all time favorite pitcher is Greg Maddux. He elevated pitching to an art form. I feel that too many young pitchers today are breaking down too quickly because they try to throw flames all the time. They need to watch more Maddox video clips.
I heard a story from Leo Mezzone on local Atlanta radio where Maddux threw a specific pitch in spring training to a hitter so that when the same situation came up in regular season he would fool him into hitting a pop up and that is exactly what happened.
Hey if MLB wants to improve the pace of play, forget the danged pitch clock. Just keep letting pitchers reuse the same ball until it’s hit out of play! With all those scuffs the game will just breeze on by!
I love how MLB punishes players for taking too long, but allow umps to take several 10+ minute trips out to the mound to cavity search the pitcher lol Then again, umps can do pretty much anything they want all thanks to the immunity they get from their union.
@@SvendleBerriesUmps also make a tiny fraction of what players make to do a very thankless job and have arrogant multimillionaire 20 somethings yell at them anytime a call doesn’t go their way. It’s easy to hate umps and I get they still have better jobs than the majority of regular people but the level of heat they take is not fair. Plus the players have a union so why shouldn’t the umps get one too?
Brilliant idea, jeffin! Bring back some fun, from the good old days when more people watched baseball. Was it unfair that he got a scuffed ball? Don't cry. It all evens out over 162 games, I say.
@@Redmenace96It would give a significant advantage to pitching and an unprecedented amount of guys are already throwing 100mph plus. I get that the games were taking too long but you could actually hurt the game if you make too many rule changes for the sake of pace if you kill offensive production. 90 mins is still a long time to sit through if no one’s hitting. Even baseball purists who appreciate lights out pitching still want to see some exciting offense. And it really makes those great iconic pitching performances that much more special. I promise you the sport will get incredibly boring if everyone’s got a sub 2 ERA even if every game is under 2 hrs. Lastly people watched more baseball back in the day because there were far fewer sports to watch. Pro football and basketball were in their infancy when Babe Ruth was captivating the nation (which I might add he did through unprecedented offensive production).
One of the greatest hurlers of all time, and one of my all-time favorite players, period!!! Thanks for sharing another awesome video, my friend!! ⚾️🔥⚾️🔥⚾️
I grew up watching Maddux for the Braves. They had a loaded pitching staff in Smoltz Glavine and him. But watching Maddux just gave me pure joy. A love and understanding for the game. He was just brilliant, the best hitters in baseball will tell you the hardest pitcher to hit and most of the time it was Maddux
The funniest part of that pitch is that it is delivered so perfectly to come back on the corner and then misses by a foot almost down the middle from that insane movement
I was fortunate enough to be able to see most of his career. He wasn’t a pitcher, he was an artist. Seen him through complete game shut outs with fewer than 80 pitches. He made it look easy to make great hitters look helpless. And won 18 gold gloves
Don't you have an original statement to show how you admire the guy? I see this in every video these days... "protect X at all costs!" -- video is about making a peanut butter sandwich and comment is like "we gotta protect peanut butter sandwiches at all cost!" -- ridiculous. None of it is under attack and you aren't edgy or cool by repeating something someone else made edgy and cool.
His balls moved so much due to his lack of velocity and the amount of spin he was able to impart on the ball. It's just pure aerodynamics. As a kid, I could make a slow curve do so much more than one I threw with full arm speed. Greg was a master. As effective as a knuckle baller without the knuckle ball.
But that's the greatest misconception... he still hit the llow 90s. Sure, it wasn't Randy, Pedro or Clemens, but early/mid-Maddux wasn't exactly BP speed either.
@chrisvanderwielen1530 citing his lack of velocity is not a slight at all. By the end of his career he averaged 86 mph on his fastball. He hit a high on 93 early on. He knew how to pitch and understood how to make a ball move.
@@raymondm4441 Well, the thing about Maddux is he always cared more about movement, than velocity. But that doesn't mean he didn't have a decent fastball either (at least, as you pointed out, earlier in his career). There was a video a while back, where he discussed his pitching in high school. And, while everyone else would ask how fast they threw, he would instead ask how much movement was on the pitch.
That's one of the biggest reasons he kept getting strikes called just off the black of the plate. If you keep throwing it to the same spot, and the catcher helps you out by not being obvious that he's framing the pitch, you'll get calls. As long as the ball was in the zone height wise, most of the umps would give him that pitch an inch wide or inside. That's why I never understand how power pitching became more desirable than a control pitcher that can change speeds no matter how hard he throws. Maddux said "You know why I'm a millionaire?' He said, 'Cause I can throw my fastball where I want to.' He said, 'You know why I got beachfront property in LA? Because I can change speeds."
love Maddux, but it’s hilarious that the interviewer simply identified…this is a pitch you made to Moises Alou from the Eric Greg game (the infamous umpire shown in this video clip that gave the starting pitchers in that particular game about 8” of extra strike zone off both sides of the plate)….a pitcher’s dream come true…(spoken from a former pitcher myself). And with that said Maddux knew the exact pitch. Ha ha. And that pitch was mesmerizingly good!
Back when I was in college in Atlanta when my buddy and I would see it was a Maddux start, we would just be so fired up. Usually one would be fired up to go watch a power pitcher, but the way he made Brave's opponents look silly standing there without even taking a swing was top level entertainment.
I love how Moises just starts taking off his shin guard, no doubt thinking to himself, "Well, if he's gonna throw that shit, I might as well just go get my glove and get back out in left field."
My favorite pitcher of all time. He was smart, could locate a pitch better than anyone, make a ball look like a strike, and vice-versa. Flamethrowers are fun to watch, but the tacticians like Maddux are the best.
Drove the batters nuts. He looked like your average guy. He looked plenty hittable till you got in the box. Not overpowering like Ryan,Verlander etc. but he just had pinpoint control he could repeat and repeat etc. That smug look he always had on his mug bugged me being a Dodger diehard,but yeah he was one of a kind.
Greg Maddox is a master of the pitch. ⚾ He had at least 4 operative pitches he could use for which he could vary speeds combined with pinpoint plate location to further mystify the batters who faced him. He knew how even the slightest scuff affected the rotation/sink/curve of the ball [as well as correct finger placement and push-off finger for each type of pitch along with the mechanics required to optimize the correct rotation and movement of the pitch. But what further sets Maddox apart from most other pitchers is an almost eidetic memory of batters who he's pitched to and what pitches were most effective for each individual batter [even for batters he hadn't faced in years] in usually coaxing the ground ball out that Maddox wanted. Coincidently, Maddox has 18 gold glove awards🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 which is the most for any pitcher. No wonder he is often referred to as 'The Professor'.
I remember seeing that specific pitch and thinking "good luck hitters". For the young guys who weren't watching at the time, pitchers didn't make the ball move like that then. Sliders weren't all the rage yet and movement was _very_ muted by today's standards. Maddux basically made his HoF case with an 82 mph slider that would have pretty pedestrian movement by today's standards _(he was the king of location, though)._ He would absolutely kill batters with backdoor and frontdoor sliders and a well-located 88mph fastball.
He was also the king of finding out the umps strike zone and pitch by pick extending it. By the 4th or 5th inning he was getting strikes a few inches off the plate. People would be losing their minds with the Kzone up after every pitch today
You're outta your mind if you don't think pitchers had wild movement on the ball back then. I grew up in that era. There were plenty of guys with filthy sliders and 99 mph gas. Nolan, Clemens, Martinez (Ramon and Pedro), Randy Johnson....and on and on. Before those guys, you had screw ballers, and all sorts of funky pitches. Phil neikro comes to mind. Go back even further and there are crazy pitches that nobody even throw anymore, not to mention spit balls before they were illegal. I played high school ball in Arizona, and almost every game some kid would have a nasty curve or something like it I hit off of Jason Bond (ASU college w.s. and several MLB teams) in high school, and he was throwing mid-90's with a vicious curve ball....when he was 17 Maddux didn't have any more movement or velocity than most pitchers....he had a different movement and velocity for every pitch.
That buzz in the background of those old games sounds like a lawnmower or airplane ✈️ flying by is one of the relaxing sounds from my childhood watching lazy summer day games on TBS
@@SelectCircle Maybe. Tony Gwynn is just about the only one of Maddux's contemporaries who seemingly figured him out. One of my dream matchups is Ted Williams in his prime against Satchel Paige in his prime.
I was VERY lucky to grow up and watch my team the Braves have some of the greatest pitchers of all time, but some of the best pitchers in that time. Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, Avery, Neagle, and Millwood to name a few.
What Maddux was able to do on the mound when EVERY big league hitter was "supercharged," stadiums had evolved into little league dimensions, and having rarely ever touched 90mph, to me, is the greatest feat in baseball history.
I was a pitcher in little league, Lefty. I was pretty good. Not a lot of speed but I had movement and could make it fall off the table.... Til I was about 15.... Played travel ball and I saw some kids that could F'n throw!!! Real pitchers are insane. I could throw a game but when you get out in the world.... WOAH!. It ain't talent. It's SKILL.
Many great pitchers in 170 years. But I can argue he is a top 10 all time, esp considering his fielding. He was so much fun to watch. Cant push walter johnson, mathewson, Grover, Feller, gibson, koufax aside…but after that, its negotiable. He’s there with the drysdales, Nolan Ryans, whitey fords.
In the days of big power pitchers throwing gas you need to really appreciate the art of pitching that was Greg Maddux. It’s all about movement and location. The 🐐
I remember going to Phillies games and it seemed like he was always pitching when the Braves were in town. The man was a master on the mound. One of the best in all of baseball!
I'm from Indiana. I worked with a guy that was a car mechanic. He was supposed to be some kind of relation of Maddux's. I never saw any connection so far as him showing up at the shop or anything like that. And the mechanic was a man of very few words, so he never talked about it, not even a word. This makes Maddux and enigma in my mind for many years.
Young pitchers should be listening. Arm angle and delivery in the same slot and spot where the hitter is looking but the pitch is coming out of his hand on different fingers. Imagine as a young pitcher not manipulating the ball via arm and wrist manipulation but more via grip. Much fewer arm injuries than as a result of trying to throw a curve. Get by with a cutter, two seamer and change-up. Much safer for arms and elbows. Heck of a lot more predictable for a catcher too.
My uncle was a very well known electrician in Las Vegas as he was the primary electrical contractor for McDonald’s and Walgreens back in the late 90s/early 2000s. He often landed work with celebrities and he wired Maddux’s home in Vegas. I was a HUGE fan of the braves during that era of the franchise and he got me a ball and card signed by Maddux. It’s sitting on display in a curio cabinet in my home and I still frequently stop and admire it haha
He, Clemens, Pedro, RandyJ dominated offenses during the offensive binge of the 90's-00's. Take your pick, but over 6 months of a season, I'd take Maddux -- every year; Astros, Cubs or Braves. Clemens had some incredible years but not always. Pedro was great but rarely made 30 starts/season. Different than Koufax, Gibson, Marichal, Drysdale during the 60's when batting/offense was diminished imo.
Shyt was comical coming out of his hand at times, living right here in ATL, It was one helluva treat to have season tickets to his show! Thanks, GMad. 👍
I was never an Atlanta Braves fan but I'm a Greg Maddux fan! You have to appreciate how Greg went about his business and just took down hitters! As an adult I respect him and his accomplishments! The last team he played for was the Dodgers and I thank him for that! Great career Greg!
Now keep this in mind. Maddux pitched during the steroid era. There were hitters and pitchers juiced up and here is a sub-velocity pitcher with more control on the ball than the game has probably ever seen.
Maddox, Glavine, Smoltz in the 90's had ATL rocking. The people I worked with watched every game in the season and when playoffs came, we would often go in late the next day. Unbelievably fun.
I'm sorry, I didn't know i was getting a master class in pitching techniques from the MASTER himself! Wow, to get him as a pitching coach would be just a gift!
Maddog was the truth.. One of my favorite all-time pitchers.. And if we're going MLB Space Jam style.. Give me him as the 2nd starter after Unit as a change up lol..
MY FAVORITE PITCHER ALL TIME! Most consistent, professional, dominant pitcher of my time other than Nolan. At the time, the Astros were in the NL and I hated when we played the Braves bc it was an automatic loss whether it was Maddux, Glavine, or Smoltz pitching.
As a Yankee fan, even I recognized that the Mariano Rivera cut fastball was only the second best singular pitch in baseball; Maddux's 2-Seamer was a literal bugs bunny pitch.
It would be interesting to see Greg Maddux pitch with all performance enhancing substances and apparatuses available lol or like completely scuff up half of the ball and see what it does 😂
The scuff would absolutely help, as he talks about in this video. But I'm not sure that PEDs would really even help him. He was never about power, he was always about putting the ball exactly where he wanted it. If anything, PEDs would likely interfere with that.
Just mentioning the hitter before hit a wicked groundball and it was. Maddux gold glove legend. Just so nonchalantly snagged it, turned 2 4 Cy Young’s 18 Golden Gloves (all-time MLB record) Crazy
As a kid, i was an Astros fan, and the braves bullied my team too much. It wasn't until later that i was able to appreciate Maddux and any braves player in general.
It was a true pleasure getting to watch him pitch... i remember running home from school trying to get home by 1st pitch at 4:00 on TBS.. ofcourse also was spoiled seeong glavine and smoltz the next 2 games
I was lucky enough to see Maddux face off against Clemens once at Wrigley. Greg is an absolute legend. One of the greatest baseball minds the game ever had. And I'm a Reds fan!
As a sports agent the firm I worked with repped Glavine. I had a signed Maddux jersey in my office. Maybe the most underrated all time great pitcher. In the late 90s he and Pedro were #filthy
The best right handed starting pitcher in baseball history. Roger did the juice. Pedro, Seaver Gibson Johnson, Palmer, Feller, Matthewson all honorable mention.
I hired Greg Maddox to paint my house, but all he did was paint the corners.
Perfect!
Oldie but goldie!
I heard Greg got a dog. Poor thing never got walked.
haha that was good made me smile on a sunday
You’re lying. Why would a HOF pitcher accept a job to paint a house?! It doesn’t make any sense!
Maddux's defense is what always stood out to me. He'd release and immediately hop into defense mode
💯
Exactly. 18 gold gloves is crazy. Especially 13 in a row 😮💨
I got to watch him in person and I was amazed at his dedication...it was every pitch!
Plus he was decent at the plate holding a bat.
He's just an underrated athlete. The looks fool you, but his reflexes and the way he moved were rare attributes.
It’s amazing that Maddux recalls a specific pitch and that the ball was scuffed.
I mean, it is one of his most iconic pitches of all time to one of the great hitters of that generation. I would think that would be hard to forget.
I think everyone has that one play that sticks out to them the rest of their lives. For me it was a football play, keeping the opponent out of the end zone on an extra point that would have won them the game. I stopped it.
@@thisjustin7492 cringe
Not really. I haven’t played in 35 years but I still remember a lot of pitches, plays, hits, games, etc
@@BeyondTigerMilk Let the man have his glory!
Maddux threw 268 innings (only gave up 7 HR) with a 2.18 ERA and won the Cy Young Award . . . and the Cubs didn't think he was worth the money. He proceeded to win the next 3 Cy Young Awards for someone else who knew he was worth every penny. Being a fan of Illinois sports teams is torture.
which is one of the many reasons why there are no other fans like cubbie fans
MrCyYoung is what some people called him after that.😊
Man please. Those bulls were pretty good in the 90s lol
I know, poor guy had to witness the Blackhawks win a bunch of Stanley cups too in 2010s@@p0pimp2004
Cubs sell out every home game regardless of lineup. Absolutely idiots for letting him walk . He would have been the greatest cub of all time .
Maddux was a pitcher, an artist, not just trying to overpower hitters.
madux is Zach Hamples dad
So good was scary
And a golfer
@@JohnBowl14690 Rocket and Mo could make your list
While smelling their underwear
Funny Greg Maddux story. Hes always been one of my favorite pitchers of all time. Im working at Mccormick Ranch in Scottsdale Arizona 2005. Our driving range closes at 6. My brother (who also worked there) was like, "hey...that guy on the range is still hitting balls, go kick him out." So i drive a golf cart up the hill onto the driving range, powerslide the cart right in front of this guy and just snatch up his bucket of balls while saying, "the range is closed!" In a very rude manner. I look up and its the legend himself, Greg Maddux. I was like, "Mad Dog, my bad" and i started dumping his balls back on his range slot. He goes, "its alright kid, i was finished anyways." We proceeded to talk about the Cubs and the upcoming season. My brother and Greg had a good laugh because my brother knew Maddux was the one hitting balls and sent me up there to make an awkward moment for me.
The day the Cubs let Maddux go was the day I knew I'd never like them. I already wasn't a fan because their games interrupted my cartoons, but this just solidified it. Been a Sox guy ever since.
I was always a Red Sox fan but thoroughly enjoyed watching the Braves. Maddox, Glavine, Smoltz, what a trio.
And Steve Avery
I hated watching Glavine because he nibbled on the corner so much he would often be behind in the count even though he was effective.
That era of braves team was one of my favorites. Not a braves fan, but that trio plus chipper and andruw jones was a badass team.
I was a Mets and they won me over eventually too 😂 Especially when Smoltz came to the Mets, he was so old but still very effective!
The sad thing is that they only won one World Series. All that talent for at least ten years. It was nice when WTBS carried their games and had a pretty good crew of announcers. I remember the first couple of years when John Smoltz first joined the Braves. He had really good stuff but if he gave up a homer he couldn't get it out of his mind and tended to fall apart. He started see a sport psycologist and it changed his game from pretty good to great.
I remember an interview with Maddux and Tom Glavine where they both stated that in today's baseball, they might not even be drafted because of lack of velocity....2 hall of famers!!!
Tom Glavine was a sight too. He would pitch off the outside of the plate and get strike calls. And just when guys would lose patience and start swinging at those outside pitches he would bust one right over the plate catching the hitter looking.
The braves had 3 first ballot hof pitchers as team mates. DANG.
'tis sad commentary. So many historic pitchers would not be in today's game. What baseball would have missed and how much is it missing now?
@@slide_drexleras a dodgers fan I hated them but obviously respected their pitching staff so much. Killers.
For some reason the game loves guys who throw 98+ and nothing else, but can’t go more than 5 innings
That whole sequence of how a scuffed ball can play into the game is why this game never gets old, it's fascinating stuff that I would've never guessed was happening while watching the game. Thanks Ninja!
That used to be the case, but MLB keeps going further and further down the drain.
The scuffed ball adds an element of unpredictability to the game. Maddux was able to use it to his advantage but in the hands of a lesser pitcher it might have resulted in a wild pitch. That's why I dislike the automatic intentional walk, it removes the element of chance when the pitcher has to actually throw the ball.
Yogi Berra sharpened the fastener on his shin guard and used to scuff the ball before throwing it back to Whitey Ford.
@@yankees29 No kidding! That's amazing!
@@Meyers1793 Agreed for sure on the auto intentional walk. BS rules.
Maddux has my favorite baseball quote ever.
“You just can’t do it,” Maddux said. “Sometimes hitters can pick up differences in spin. They can identify pitches if there are different release points or if a curveball starts with an upward hump as it leaves the pitcher’s hand. But if a pitcher can change speeds, every hitter is helpless, limited by human vision.
“Except for that (expletive) Tony Gwynn.”
He also holds the record for most consecutive seasons with at least 1 stolen base without ever being thrown out.
Saw an interview where supposedly he called up the catcher cuz he got wood and need someone to run interference for a cpl min😂😅
The ending got me😂😂😂 Two Legends they don't make em like that too often Tony Gwynn and Greg Maddux 🎉
@@mainetain15yeah seriously
Greg Maddux the original Michael Richards, eh?
I seem to recall Gwynn saying when he faced Maddux he stood like a statue at the plate until the last possible second. Because Greg would look for (and see), the most subtle things. Like, lifting the heel of your back foot for just a fraction of a second, or bending one knee a little, your elbow, shifting your weight a tiny amount, or even the direction you glanced. He'd pick up on it and have a damn good guess what kind of pitch you were looking for, where you were expecting to hit it, and he'd then break your knees by throwing something unhittable.
Greg Maddux shows you here the greatest skill any pitcher can have: the ability to cheat when it's legal. "Hey man, you gonna give me an edge, I'll take it." And he knew it too, "They fouled the ball off and it was like, okay all things are fair again." Absolute legend.
It's not cheating if it's legal
Well he just shows how you need to use the elements of the game to enhance or change your game. Something that is seriously lacking in todays game.
Used to love turning on TBS on a Saturday or Sunday and the Braves would be playing. My grandpa would yell, if Maddux was pitching he’d yell, “My boy Mad Ducks is pitching. Let’s see what Mad Ducks has today.” Love the memories and loved watching Maddux play.
Yep this is when baseball was most fun for me was the 90’s braves
True TBS. Turner
Two of the most exciting pitchers to watch were David Cone and Greg Maddux. They went to the mound like a professional business man and proceeded to precisely out work you on the mound like a fine chess match. When pitchers don't have an over powering fastball then they have to outsmart you. These two guys were amongst the greatest this game has ever had. Great memories, thank you!
Could not have been said any better!!!
Boo hoo the cubs won in 2016 and the Blackhawks had 3 in 5 years. Cry me a river sincerely an MN sports fan
My all time favorite pitcher is Greg Maddux. He elevated pitching to an art form. I feel that too many young pitchers today are breaking down too quickly because they try to throw flames all the time. They need to watch more Maddox video clips.
Nolan was mine with Greg a hair behind
@@trentbatemansame here
Maddux and Pedro Martinez. The movement on those pitches was amazing.
Dang dude. Awesome that you are getting to do interviews like this. Love the content!
Best pitcher of my generation...one of the smartest minds in baseball history....high quality human being....you just can't replace mad dog....
Best of any gen
Gregg was the only guy that kept me interested enough to watch a whole baseball game. Its like he threw an 80 MPH knuckle ball.
I heard a story from Leo Mezzone on local Atlanta radio where Maddux threw a specific pitch in spring training to a hitter so that when the same situation came up in regular season he would fool him into hitting a pop up and that is exactly what happened.
He already played the at bat 3 months later in his head.
It was for Bagwell...he let Bags hit a HR in spring training
Damn that's amazing
Any professional pitcher needs to pay Greg Maddux 10k to go have coffee with them
With the ridiculous salaries these days, I'd say they can stretch a little higher than 10k my friend. 😃😃
Hey if MLB wants to improve the pace of play, forget the danged pitch clock. Just keep letting pitchers reuse the same ball until it’s hit out of play! With all those scuffs the game will just breeze on by!
They actually do that in cricket and it still takes 5 days!
I love how MLB punishes players for taking too long, but allow umps to take several 10+ minute trips out to the mound to cavity search the pitcher lol Then again, umps can do pretty much anything they want all thanks to the immunity they get from their union.
@@SvendleBerriesUmps also make a tiny fraction of what players make to do a very thankless job and have arrogant multimillionaire 20 somethings yell at them anytime a call doesn’t go their way.
It’s easy to hate umps and I get they still have better jobs than the majority of regular people but the level of heat they take is not fair. Plus the players have a union so why shouldn’t the umps get one too?
Brilliant idea, jeffin! Bring back some fun, from the good old days when more people watched baseball.
Was it unfair that he got a scuffed ball? Don't cry. It all evens out over 162 games, I say.
@@Redmenace96It would give a significant advantage to pitching and an unprecedented amount of guys are already throwing 100mph plus.
I get that the games were taking too long but you could actually hurt the game if you make too many rule changes for the sake of pace if you kill offensive production. 90 mins is still a long time to sit through if no one’s hitting. Even baseball purists who appreciate lights out pitching still want to see some exciting offense. And it really makes those great iconic pitching performances that much more special. I promise you the sport will get incredibly boring if everyone’s got a sub 2 ERA even if every game is under 2 hrs.
Lastly people watched more baseball back in the day because there were far fewer sports to watch. Pro football and basketball were in their infancy when Babe Ruth was captivating the nation (which I might add he did through unprecedented offensive production).
One of the greatest hurlers of all time, and one of my all-time favorite players, period!!! Thanks for sharing another awesome video, my friend!!
⚾️🔥⚾️🔥⚾️
The word hurler just seems like an insult to his poetic pitching process. You have throwers and then you have composers.
Greg Maddox was a literal artist with the ball
Ive never seen a pitcher with that kind of control WITH his movement before
Larry Bird of baseball - called his shots..."3rd pitch...pop out to short"...then did it....
I'd love to hear what Alou has to say about THAT pitch LOL
Can. Anyone out there get an interview with Alou? There are other pitchers to discuss. Alou hit them all at least once.
Between this and the Kerry Wood 20K game, Alou has seen some filth.
@@plus790 ... and Alou was a great major leaguer, played many years as did his brothers.
I grew up watching Maddux for the Braves. They had a loaded pitching staff in Smoltz Glavine and him. But watching Maddux just gave me pure joy. A love and understanding for the game. He was just brilliant, the best hitters in baseball will tell you the hardest pitcher to hit and most of the time it was Maddux
The funniest part of that pitch is that it is delivered so perfectly to come back on the corner and then misses by a foot almost down the middle from that insane movement
I was fortunate enough to be able to see most of his career. He wasn’t a pitcher, he was an artist. Seen him through complete game shut outs with fewer than 80 pitches. He made it look easy to make great hitters look helpless. And won 18 gold gloves
Protect Maddux at all costs. One of the greatest pitchers of all time
He's been famous for 35 years. His name has six letters. It's in the title of this video.
And you still can't spell it.
@@siler7 Go to bed man karen 🤡
nor providing context of what you're protecting him from...velociraptors?
Don't you have an original statement to show how you admire the guy? I see this in every video these days... "protect X at all costs!" -- video is about making a peanut butter sandwich and comment is like "we gotta protect peanut butter sandwiches at all cost!" -- ridiculous. None of it is under attack and you aren't edgy or cool by repeating something someone else made edgy and cool.
@@apelike lmfaooo they’re all sheep. Nobody thinks for themselves
Watching Greg Maddux pitch is like watching Bob Ross paint.
Boring?
I can't believe Maddux remembered the NEXT pitch after the nasty one.
the professor
His balls moved so much due to his lack of velocity and the amount of spin he was able to impart on the ball. It's just pure aerodynamics. As a kid, I could make a slow curve do so much more than one I threw with full arm speed. Greg was a master. As effective as a knuckle baller without the knuckle ball.
But that's the greatest misconception... he still hit the llow 90s. Sure, it wasn't Randy, Pedro or Clemens, but early/mid-Maddux wasn't exactly BP speed either.
@chrisvanderwielen1530 citing his lack of velocity is not a slight at all. By the end of his career he averaged 86 mph on his fastball. He hit a high on 93 early on. He knew how to pitch and understood how to make a ball move.
Interesting perspective. Thanks for sharing.
@@raymondm4441 Well, the thing about Maddux is he always cared more about movement, than velocity. But that doesn't mean he didn't have a decent fastball either (at least, as you pointed out, earlier in his career). There was a video a while back, where he discussed his pitching in high school. And, while everyone else would ask how fast they threw, he would instead ask how much movement was on the pitch.
Not overpowering, but Jesus…..his placement….his command and consistency…..brutal.
That's one of the biggest reasons he kept getting strikes called just off the black of the plate. If you keep throwing it to the same spot, and the catcher helps you out by not being obvious that he's framing the pitch, you'll get calls. As long as the ball was in the zone height wise, most of the umps would give him that pitch an inch wide or inside. That's why I never understand how power pitching became more desirable than a control pitcher that can change speeds no matter how hard he throws. Maddux said "You know why I'm a millionaire?' He said, 'Cause I can throw my fastball where I want to.' He said, 'You know why I got beachfront property in LA? Because I can change speeds."
the most interesting thing to me about greg is he never was a flame thrower yet he was so dominant.
He had pinpoint accuracy, it was unreal, down to the inch he could put the wherever he wanted.
Still one of the most accurate pitchers I've ever seen. He painted corners all day long.
love Maddux, but it’s hilarious that the interviewer simply identified…this is a pitch you made to Moises Alou from the Eric Greg game (the infamous umpire shown in this video clip that gave the starting pitchers in that particular game about 8” of extra strike zone off both sides of the plate)….a pitcher’s dream come true…(spoken from a former pitcher myself). And with that said Maddux knew the exact pitch. Ha ha. And that pitch was mesmerizingly good!
To be fair he's probably watched that game tape a few more times than average...
maddux was a well known joker
My favorite Maddux is when he pranked Kris Bryant. His "No." at the end was Stone Cold!
staged
@@michaeljames4630-Umm, that's what a Prank is.
Back when I was in college in Atlanta when my buddy and I would see it was a Maddux start, we would just be so fired up. Usually one would be fired up to go watch a power pitcher, but the way he made Brave's opponents look silly standing there without even taking a swing was top level entertainment.
I love how Moises just starts taking off his shin guard, no doubt thinking to himself, "Well, if he's gonna throw that shit, I might as well just go get my glove and get back out in left field."
My favorite pitcher of all time. He was smart, could locate a pitch better than anyone, make a ball look like a strike, and vice-versa. Flamethrowers are fun to watch, but the tacticians like Maddux are the best.
I’ve never seen a pitcher control that pitch the way he could. To be able to vary the sink and right to left motion that way is insane.
Drove the batters nuts. He looked like your average guy. He looked plenty hittable till you got in the box. Not overpowering like Ryan,Verlander etc. but he just had pinpoint control he could repeat and repeat etc. That smug look he always had on his mug bugged me being a Dodger diehard,but yeah he was one of a kind.
It was awesome watching Maddox, Smoltz and Glavine on the mound during the 90’s
And Steve Avery also
Greg Maddox is a master of the pitch. ⚾ He had at least 4 operative pitches he could use for which he could vary speeds combined with pinpoint plate location to further mystify the batters who faced him. He knew how even the slightest scuff affected the rotation/sink/curve of the ball [as well as correct finger placement and push-off finger for each type of pitch along with the mechanics required to optimize the correct rotation and movement of the pitch. But what further sets Maddox apart from most other pitchers is an almost eidetic memory of batters who he's pitched to and what pitches were most effective for each individual batter [even for batters he hadn't faced in years] in usually coaxing the ground ball out that Maddox wanted. Coincidently, Maddox has 18 gold glove awards🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 which is the most for any pitcher. No wonder he is often referred to as 'The Professor'.
I remember seeing that specific pitch and thinking "good luck hitters".
For the young guys who weren't watching at the time, pitchers didn't make the ball move like that then. Sliders weren't all the rage yet and movement was _very_ muted by today's standards. Maddux basically made his HoF case with an 82 mph slider that would have pretty pedestrian movement by today's standards _(he was the king of location, though)._ He would absolutely kill batters with backdoor and frontdoor sliders and a well-located 88mph fastball.
He was also the king of finding out the umps strike zone and pitch by pick extending it. By the 4th or 5th inning he was getting strikes a few inches off the plate. People would be losing their minds with the Kzone up after every pitch today
Maddux didn't have such low velocity until the end of his career. When he threw that pitch to Alou he was still throwing 95 MPH.
You're outta your mind if you don't think pitchers had wild movement on the ball back then. I grew up in that era. There were plenty of guys with filthy sliders and 99 mph gas. Nolan, Clemens, Martinez (Ramon and Pedro), Randy Johnson....and on and on. Before those guys, you had screw ballers, and all sorts of funky pitches. Phil neikro comes to mind. Go back even further and there are crazy pitches that nobody even throw anymore, not to mention spit balls before they were illegal.
I played high school ball in Arizona, and almost every game some kid would have a nasty curve or something like it
I hit off of Jason Bond (ASU college w.s. and several MLB teams) in high school, and he was throwing mid-90's with a vicious curve ball....when he was 17
Maddux didn't have any more movement or velocity than most pitchers....he had a different movement and velocity for every pitch.
The amount of info delivered in this short vid is astounding!
That pitch is outside when it crosses the plate and low when the catcher catches it.
That buzz in the background of those old games sounds like a lawnmower or airplane ✈️ flying by is one of the relaxing sounds from my childhood watching lazy summer day games on TBS
Yeah, what _was_ that buzz? I remember it fondly. It was always hypnotic.
Baseball and golf the ultimate weekend nap sports .
Listening to Greg Maddux talk about pitching is like listening to Ted Williams talk about hitting.
Ted would've figured him out.
@@SelectCircle Maybe. Tony Gwynn is just about the only one of Maddux's contemporaries who seemingly figured him out.
One of my dream matchups is Ted Williams in his prime against Satchel Paige in his prime.
I was VERY lucky to grow up and watch my team the Braves have some of the greatest pitchers of all time, but some of the best pitchers in that time. Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, Avery, Neagle, and Millwood to name a few.
What Maddux was able to do on the mound when EVERY big league hitter was "supercharged," stadiums had evolved into little league dimensions, and having rarely ever touched 90mph, to me, is the greatest feat in baseball history.
I was a pitcher in little league, Lefty. I was pretty good. Not a lot of speed but I had movement and could make it fall off the table.... Til I was about 15.... Played travel ball and I saw some kids that could F'n throw!!! Real pitchers are insane. I could throw a game but when you get out in the world.... WOAH!. It ain't talent. It's SKILL.
his command of the strike zone and consistency always amazed me.
Loved watching this guy pitch back in the day. He wasn't overpowering hitters but his stuff was nasty!
He was an ok pitcher, had a couple of somewhat decent years, but Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine will always be remembered for hitting the long ball.
He did have a wider strike zone given to him more so than other pitchers also.
Chicks dig the long ball
Bring back old school baseball!
Loved watching this dude play, and the bigger the game was, the better he was!
Many great pitchers in 170 years. But I can argue he is a top 10 all time, esp considering his fielding. He was so much fun to watch.
Cant push walter johnson, mathewson, Grover, Feller, gibson, koufax aside…but after that, its negotiable. He’s there with the drysdales, Nolan Ryans, whitey fords.
I got him in the top three . Where is Spahn ?
@@zman8340 He can be in there, but you don't expect me to name every great, (or your favorites), do you?!?!
@@cnyweathertainment5075 just a friendly conversation
In the days of big power pitchers throwing gas you need to really appreciate the art of pitching that was Greg Maddux. It’s all about movement and location. The 🐐
I remember going to Phillies games and it seemed like he was always pitching when the Braves were in town. The man was a master on the mound. One of the best in all of baseball!
I'm from Indiana. I worked with a guy that was a car mechanic. He was supposed to be some kind of relation of Maddux's. I never saw any connection so far as him showing up at the shop or anything like that. And the mechanic was a man of very few words, so he never talked about it, not even a word. This makes Maddux and enigma in my mind for many years.
Miss you Greg. True professional in the middle of a non professional game.
Young pitchers should be listening. Arm angle and delivery in the same slot and spot where the hitter is looking but the pitch is coming out of his hand on different fingers. Imagine as a young pitcher not manipulating the ball via arm and wrist manipulation but more via grip. Much fewer arm injuries than as a result of trying to throw a curve. Get by with a cutter, two seamer and change-up. Much safer for arms and elbows. Heck of a lot more predictable for a catcher too.
I grew up in the Maddox era and tbh I’d forgotten about how good he really was. I hated the Braves but I sure respected the heck outta him.
My uncle was a very well known electrician in Las Vegas as he was the primary electrical contractor for McDonald’s and Walgreens back in the late 90s/early 2000s. He often landed work with celebrities and he wired Maddux’s home in Vegas. I was a HUGE fan of the braves during that era of the franchise and he got me a ball and card signed by Maddux. It’s sitting on display in a curio cabinet in my home and I still frequently stop and admire it haha
He, Clemens, Pedro, RandyJ dominated offenses during the offensive binge of the 90's-00's. Take your pick, but over 6 months of a season, I'd take Maddux -- every year; Astros, Cubs or Braves. Clemens had some incredible years but not always. Pedro was great but rarely made 30 starts/season.
Different than Koufax, Gibson, Marichal, Drysdale during the 60's when batting/offense was diminished imo.
Shyt was comical coming out of his hand at times, living right here in ATL, It was one helluva treat to have season tickets to his show! Thanks, GMad. 👍
I was never an Atlanta Braves fan but I'm a Greg Maddux fan! You have to appreciate how Greg went about his business and just took down hitters! As an adult I respect him and his accomplishments! The last team he played for was the Dodgers and I thank him for that! Great career Greg!
Great pitcher. Always found him very full of himself and difficult to approach.
Now keep this in mind. Maddux pitched during the steroid era. There were hitters and pitchers juiced up and here is a sub-velocity pitcher with more control on the ball than the game has probably ever seen.
He was my favorite pitcher growing up in the 90s
I’m thankful for TBS broadcasting Braves games
Maddux, "I tried to...,".
Well, sir, you did. Better than anybody.
Him and John Smoltz were two of my favorite players growing up.
The fact that the catcher caught that smoothly was awesome
Maddux had the best 2 seam fastball and change up combo ever.
How do you move the ball with a scuff?
Cricket bowlers: This is our time now.
I was between 12-14 years old when I seen that pitch on SC and I remember thinking how come the White Sox can't get a pitcher like that
Great pitcher, when you watch him from the minute the ball leaves his hand he moves right into a defensive position
Maddox, Glavine, Smoltz in the 90's had ATL rocking. The people I worked with watched every game in the season and when playoffs came, we would often go in late the next day. Unbelievably fun.
That ump looking at the sandpaper being flipped behind him to the ground was classic.
His non reaction made it hilarious.
He, Glavin, and Smolts were the 3 best I’ve ever seen on one team. Loved the 90’s Atlanta Braves 👋🏼
I'm sorry, I didn't know i was getting a master class in pitching techniques from the MASTER himself! Wow, to get him as a pitching coach would be just a gift!
Maddog was the truth.. One of my favorite all-time pitchers.. And if we're going MLB Space Jam style.. Give me him as the 2nd starter after Unit as a change up lol..
Maddux was such a sick pitcher. Im no Braves fan but I loved watching him pitch.
Some folks forget that pitching runs in the Maddux family.. his bro was a pro pitcher and became a fine pitching coach to boot.
I love Maddox demeanor so much. You’d never think he was an athlete let alone be one of the best competitors ever!!!💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾
"Let's see those pitching grips!"
Grips are slightly off camera 😂
MY FAVORITE PITCHER ALL TIME! Most consistent, professional, dominant pitcher of my time other than Nolan. At the time, the Astros were in the NL and I hated when we played the Braves bc it was an automatic loss whether it was Maddux, Glavine, or Smoltz pitching.
I watched 0:00 to 0:06 of this video a dozen times and I have nothing else to say.
It seriously looks like a wiffle ball.
As a Yankee fan, even I recognized that the Mariano Rivera cut fastball was only the second best singular pitch in baseball; Maddux's 2-Seamer was a literal bugs bunny pitch.
yeah that pitch was absolutely nasty xD
this interview is gold
Niekro tossing that nail file is hilarious
It would be interesting to see Greg Maddux pitch with all performance enhancing substances and apparatuses available lol or like completely scuff up half of the ball and see what it does 😂
The scuff would absolutely help, as he talks about in this video. But I'm not sure that PEDs would really even help him. He was never about power, he was always about putting the ball exactly where he wanted it. If anything, PEDs would likely interfere with that.
@@Mike-rx5uu Ok, but give him Spider Tack and he probably makes the Alou pitch become a regular occurrence.
Just mentioning the hitter before hit a wicked groundball and it was. Maddux gold glove legend. Just so nonchalantly snagged it, turned 2
4 Cy Young’s
18 Golden Gloves (all-time MLB record)
Crazy
As a kid, i was an Astros fan, and the braves bullied my team too much. It wasn't until later that i was able to appreciate Maddux and any braves player in general.
It was a true pleasure getting to watch him pitch... i remember running home from school trying to get home by 1st pitch at 4:00 on TBS.. ofcourse also was spoiled seeong glavine and smoltz the next 2 games
the greatness is that he did it over and over again
What's crazyis he explained and showed how to throw it, but how many people can throw it with that crazy movement. Man that's sick!
I was lucky enough to see Maddux face off against Clemens once at Wrigley. Greg is an absolute legend. One of the greatest baseball minds the game ever had. And I'm a Reds fan!
As a sports agent the firm I worked with repped Glavine. I had a signed Maddux jersey in my office. Maybe the most underrated all time great pitcher. In the late 90s he and Pedro were #filthy
The best right handed starting pitcher in baseball history. Roger did the juice. Pedro, Seaver Gibson Johnson, Palmer, Feller, Matthewson all honorable mention.