On Sunday afternoon at Palisades High’s George Robert Field, Greg Maddux sat in the visitor’s bleachers looking like any other dad watching his son play ball. Eleven days earlier he was named to Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame as perhaps the finest pitcher of his generation. Proof that the apple never falls far from the tree is his son Chase, a junior at Bishop Gorman High in Las Vegas who pitched against the Dolphins in their final game of the MLK Showcase (see story, page 6).
“It’s a special feeling to go in with [Atlanta Braves teammate] Tom Glavine and two managers [Bobby Cox and Joe Torre] I played for,” said Maddux, who won a record 18 Gold Gloves and is the only pitcher in MLB history to win 15 or more games in 17 straight seasons. “You always remember your first [major league] start most, but besides that I’d say pitching in the World Series was my biggest thrill.”
Nicknamed “The Professor,” Maddux received 97.2 percent of the vote, the eighth-highest total ever, after a 23-year career that included four consecutive Cy Young Awards from 1992-95 and 355 victories. Now, however, he’s content being out of the spotlight.
“I tell [Chase] to enjoy it, no matter whether you play past high school or not it’s about making friendships and having fun,” Maddux said. “He’s doing what kids do. This game is meant to be enjoyed so whether he plays pro ball or not doesn’t matter to me.”
Asked to pick the best team he ever played on, he cited the 1995 Atlanta Braves, who beat Cleveland in six games in the World Series. Maddux pitched a two-hitter in Game 1 (a 3-2 win) and took the loss in Game 5 against Indians ace Orel Hershiser.
“The players have changed but the game is still the same,” he said. “The biggest difference now from when I started is that bullpens play a much bigger role.”
In regards to the “steroid era,” Maddux is glad MLB has banned performance-enhancing drugs.
“Baseball’s been around for a long time and it’ll survive this,” he said. “They need to clean the game up and they will.”
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