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And We Say Goodbye to the other “Mad Dog”


By Josh Bender ~ December 11th, 2008. Filed under: Mike Silva.

I know hundreds and thousands of us can’t wait to see their new acquisitions play at Citi Field and Yankee Stadium We are all waiting for something new, something fresh as we get closer and closer to the 2009 baseball season. What was overlooked here in New York is how we said goodbye to someone who, in my eyes, was one of the greatest pitchers I have ever seen throw a baseball. He never blew you away with a 97 mph fastball. He never had that 12-6 “bender” of a curve, and he never backed you off the plate with a Randy Johnson slider. He just made you look foolish.

Greg Maddux is retiring this winter, along with his four Cy Young awards, 355 wins, 18 gold gloves, and a trip to Cooperstown real soon. I know many people loved Roger, or Pedro, or the Unit; but for me, it was “The Professor”. Greg Maddux made his living on the corner of the plate, putting the ball wherever he wanted it, whenever he wanted it, and batters knew it. He will go into the Hall of Fame being the absolute master of control. Here is a crazy statistic for Greg Maddux.

In over 5000 innings pitched, he threw just 70 wild pitches; Roger Clemens… 143

I know Mets fans will be happy to see Mr. Maddux leave baseball. For years, the Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz triumvirate dominated the National League East giving our boys from Queens fits every time they toed the rubber.

Josh Bender
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1 Response to And We Say Goodbye to the other “Mad Dog”

  1. James K.
    December 11th, 2008 at 11:42 pm

    “What was overlooked here in New York is how we said goodbye to someone who, in my eyes, was one of the greatest pitchers I have ever seen throw a baseball. ”

    Why should NY baseball fans think about Maddux for more than a couple minutes when all of this stuff (CC, Lowe, Burnett, K-Rod, Putz) is going on? He was a great player, one of my favorite non-Mets, but do you really expect NY fans to like raise a glass and light up a cigar in Maddux’s honor?

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