Happy Birthday Greg Maddux

Former Braves pitching star Greg Maddux has another birthday on Tuesday.

Greg Maddux turns 54 years old on Tuesday. He could probably still pitch six or seven innings, if you asked him.

For those of us who watched him religiously for any length of time, Maddux is likely the best pitcher we ever saw. He should have a doctorate degree, considering he was a surgeon on the mound, pitching games with utmost accuracy like a physician carefully performing a procedure.

There was a precision about his game that no one could equal. Maddux was a maestro, a sculptor, a true artist. And he painted the corners like no one else, well, maybe except for his teammate, Tom Glavine.

When Maddux joined the Braves in 1993, he was looked at as the last piece of the puzzle. The Braves had come close the previous two seasons, losing back-to-back World Series. And there was no doubt the reigning 1992 Cy Young Award brought another ace to the rotation.

In joining Glavine and John Smoltz, Maddux gave the Braves the best rotation in the game, and it turned out to be one of if not the best rotations in baseball history. Whether Pete Smith, Kent Mercker, Denny Neagle or Kevin Millwood were with them, it was always about the top three.

And that trio did get Atlanta its only professional major sport championship in 1995.

If you watched Maddux, you probably have one game that stands out, that you remember. For me, it was on June 1, 1994, almost 26 years ago. The Braves were in San Francisco playing the Giants, the team they had beaten in the great race the season before.

Maddux pitched eight scoreless innings as the Braves won 1-0. So, what could be so interesting about this game of all the ones Maddux has pitched? Well, he toyed with the Giants. It was as if he was allowing them to get on base, just to strand them right there.

He had six walks that night at Candlestick Park. Six walks. He never walked anyone, sometimes going a full month without issuing a walk, and yet Maddux walked six Giants. He never allowed more walks in a Braves uniform than on this particular night.

Maddux also gave up six hits and walked a batter. That’s 13 baserunners in eight innings, and not one of them scored.

Only two of his eight innings went in one-two-three fashion. He was in trouble in the other six innings, but it was like Maddux was doing it on purpose. We’ve heard stories about how Maddux has admitted he would allow hitters to get hits early in a game, only to carve them up later in a more crucial situation. Well, it was like he was doing it all night long in this game.

Yet Maddux didn’t give up a run. Did he just dodge bullets all night? No. He simply ate the Giants up and spit them out. It was one hell of a performance, and of all the games that I watch Maddux pitch, this one was his best.

It was like watching greatness, even when he obviously didn’t have his best stuff. But maybe he wanted you, and particularly the Giants, to think he didn’t have his best stuff, only to turn around and get them out when he had to. Maddux could do things like that. He was that good.

So, Happy Birthday, Mad Dog. It was an honor to watch you pitch for 11 seasons in Atlanta.

Listen to “The Bill Shanks Show” from 3-7 p.m. weekdays on “Middle Georgia’s ESPN” – 93.1 FM in Macon and 105.9 FM in Warner Robins. Follow Bill at twitter.com/BillShanks and email him at thebillshanksshow@yahoo.com.