Maddux The Magnificent Continues To Improve
This season, Atlanta Braves pitcher and four-time Cy Young Award winner Greg Maddux took his already impeccable control to new levels. He walked only 20 hitters in 232-2/3 innings, an average of 0.774 walks per nine innings. And consider this: Of those 20 walks, six were intentional.
“It seems like every year he does something amazing that brings attention to the way he pitches,” teammate and fellow pitcher Tom Glavine said.
Typically, Maddux shrugs when asked about a season that ranks among the best in baseball history from a control standpoint.
“I’ve noticed hitters being a lot more aggressive off me early in the count,” said Maddux, who will start Game 1 of the divisional playoffs next Tuesday. “That’s going to reduce the walks.”
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only seven pitchers qualifying for the ERA title since 1900 have walked fewer batters per nine innings than Maddux, led by Pittsburgh’s Babe Adams (0.616) in 1920. Only two of those seven are contemporaries of Maddux: Brett Saberhagen (0.660) with the New York Mets in 1994 and Bob Tewksbury (0.773) with St. Louis two years earlier.
Carter honors Gaston
Joe Carter paid tribute to Cito Gaston, switching from his usual No. 29 to the fired manager’s No. 43 for Thursday night’s game against Baltimore.
“It was very emotional,” Carter said of Gaston’s departure Wednesday. “After seeing the things he went through, the criticism and second-guessing and everything, it was very emotional. You lose someone you’ve been with for seven years, it’s going to hurt, I don’t care who you are.”
Playoff rotations set
Cleveland’s Orel Hershiser will start Game 1 of the A.L. division series against New York and will be followed by rookie Jaret Wright, chosen over staff ace Charles Nagy to pitch the second game at Yankee Stadium.
David Cone is scheduled to open for the Yankees, provided he felt OK after missing a month with shoulder tendinitis.
Wright, 21, will make his first career appearance against the Yankees in the second game. He is scheduled to face left-hander Andy Pettitte.
Florida manager Jim Leyland will start Kevin Brown in the Marlins’ first-ever playoff game, but will wait until the N.L. West race ends before setting up his rotation.
Leyland is likely to chose left-hander Al Leiter or right-hander Alex Fernandez as his Game 2 starter.
Guillen up for grabs
The Chicago White Sox told veteran shortstop Ozzie Guillen they would not exercise the option on his contract for 1998.
Guillen, 33, had asked the White Sox for a decision because he wanted to invite his family and friends to what will likely be his final game Sunday after 13 seasons in Chicago.
Expos in the red again
The Montreal Expos, who cut ticket prices only to see attendance drop, said they expect to lose more than $13 million this year and may consider chopping their payroll.
The Expos are expected to draw a major league-low home attendance of 1.4 million, of which 300,000 will be give-away tickets.
Cutting the payroll would likely mean trading the team’s top two players - star pitcher Pedro Martinez and second baseman Mike Lansing.