Landmark on horizon
CINCINNATI – With six strikeouts, Greg Maddux can reach another measure of greatness in the city where it all began.
Maddux is a half-dozen whiffs from becoming the 13th pitcher to reach 3,000. His next chance comes today in Cincinnati, the city where he made his first major league start on Sept. 7, 1986.
He pitched a complete game that day, an 11-3 Cubs victory that was the preview of an incredible career. The right-hander has won four Cy Young Awards, 14 Gold Gloves, one World Series ring and acclaim as one of the game’s best of all time.
Maddux is 17th on the career victory list with 313 – a victory today would move him into a tie with Gaylord Perry for 16th. That would mean much more to him than joining the elite group at 3,000 strikeouts.
“Honestly, I’m not that worried about it,” Maddux said Wednesday. “I’m thinking about doing what I can to win the game. Strikeouts can be overrated a lot of times. I’m just going to try to win.”
When he matched Tom Seaver with his 311th victory earlier this season, Maddux got special enjoyment out of tying one of his favorite pitchers. Maddux was a Reds fan growing up, and Seaver threw his no-hitter with Cincinnati.
Maddux rarely talks about his accomplishments, and played down the significance of reaching 3,000 strikeouts as he approached the mark.
Plus, strikeouts have never been a defining statistic for Maddux, whose career is more accurately captured by another measure – earned run average. He had ERAs of 1.56 in 1994 and 1.63 in 1995 with Atlanta, becoming the embodiment of a control pitcher.
Only once has he struck out 200 batters in a season. Rather than overwhelm them, he prefers to baffle them with an assortment of pitches thrown in just the right spot at just the right speed.
“Everybody’s told ‘location, location, location, change speeds and movement,’ ” Baker said. “He’s the epitome of that, and the epitome of durability.”
Nolan Ryan holds the major league record with 5,714 strikeouts. Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton are the only other pitchers to strike out 4,000.
Maddux figures he’s joining such fast company because he’s managed to pitch for so long.
“Well, you get enough innings, you’re going to get your share of strikeouts,” he said. “I’m not really a strikeout pitcher; I’ve just got a lot of innings. It’s not really part of my game, like it is with Randy Johnson and Clemens and Kerry Wood, guys like that.”
There’s another reason why Maddux wasn’t thinking much about those six strikeouts as he prepared to face the Reds: His recent numbers against Cincinnati are ominous. He was 1-3 in five starts last season with a 5.75 ERA. He has never won at Great American Ball Park, going 0-2 in three starts with a 9.00 ERA.