The Tale of Two Cooperstown Greats
Both Greg Maddux and Randy Johnson are known for their tremendous pitching abilities and their crazy stats that they put up over the years. Their numbers are mind blowing the more you look at them. Really the only big difference between the two of them is their height. Randy Johnson stands at a whopping 6’10”. Greg Maddux on the other hand is 6’0”. Maddux and Johnson are both icons in all of baseball and their legacy still lives on to this day.
Greg Maddux was born April 14, 1966 in San Angelo, Texas. He spent most of his childhood overseas in Spain because his dad was stationed there in the Air Force. According to (GamesCricketRugbyCFL) “Once he got back into the U.S. him and his family moved from Texas to Indiana, North Dakota, California, and then finally landing in Las Vegas”.
Greg fell in love with baseball at a very young age along with his brother Mike Maddux. Their father is who made both of them fall in love with baseball. Even when they lived in Spain, Greg and his brother found a time to play baseball. After school everyday, Greg and Mike would go outside and play baseball.
Greg graduated from Valley High School. He played American Legion Baseball with Post 8. He was named the Graduate of the Year in 1984. He was drafted in the second round of the 1984 Major League Baseball draft by the Chicago Cubs. He had the option of going to college or just cut straight to signing a deal with the team. He did just that and the two sides met on an $82,000 deal.
That decision paid off for him. Two years later he found himself standing on an MLB mound for the first time. On September 3, 1986, Greg Maddux made his MLB debut. His first appearance came as a pinch runner in the 17th inning against the Astros. The next inning he pitched and allowed a home run while taking the loss.
Greg struggled in his first full season in the majors. He went 6-14 with a 5.61 ERA. His next year started a streak that will be remembered for years to come. In 1988 he went 18-8 with a 3.18 ERA. That began a streak of 17 straight seasons in which Greg totaled up at least 15 wins every season. That just so happens to be the MLB record.
From then on out Greg became the ace of the Cubs’ rotation. He led the Cubs to their second ever National League East Division championship in 1989. He started the first game of the NLCS but gave up 8 runs by the 4th inning and was replaced before the 5th. They lost the NLCS that year.
He signed a deal with the Atlanta Braves in 1993. That's when his career really took off. He had a strong season as he led the NL in ERA and had an excellent 20-10 record. He won his second straight Cy Young Award that year as well. He was having a career year in 1994 with a 1.56 ERA but the season was cut short due to the players strike that took place. He ended up winning his third Cy Young Award though.
The next year proved even better for Maddux. He was dominant as usual all throughout the season. He pitched 51 consecutive innings without letting up a walk. He led the Braves to the World Series. He lost in his outing in Game 5 but the Braves still won the World Series. Maddux took home his 4th Cy Young Award becoming the first player to ever win 4 Cy Young Awards in a row.
Randy Johnson was born on September 10, 1963 in Walnut Creek, California. He attended school at Livermore High School. He was amazing even in high school where he struck out 121 batters in 66 innings. He even threw a perfect game in his last start in high school. According to ("Randy Johnson." En.wikipedia.org.) “He got drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 1982 draft but turned down their offer of $50,000 so he could go to college at the University of Southern California”.
A few years later in 1985 he was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the second round. He would make his Major League debut a few short years later on September 15, 1988 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He earned the victory and would go 3-0 with a 2.42 ERA in four games in 1988.
The next year it got turned completely upside down. He went 0-4 with a 6.67 ERA through 7 games. He was then traded to the Seattle Mariners. His career still didn’t take off quite as much as anyone anticipated. He had lessons with legendary pitcher, Nolan Ryan, and instantly started dominating.
In 1993, Johnson had a 19-8 record along with a 3.24 ERA. This was the first season he would have more than 300 strikeouts in a season. He also recorded his 1,000th career strikeout that year.
Johnson, like Maddux, pitched really well in the 1994 season. He went 18-2 with an ERA of 2.48. He also recorded 294 strikeouts that season. Johnson would take home the American League Cy Young Award which was very much deserved. Unfortunately this was the strike shortened season.
In 1999 Johnson agreed to join the Arizona Diamondbacks on a four year deal with a fifth year option. Most people remember him playing for the Diamondbacks. He was excellent for them. In his first year with the team he led them to the playoffs with a 17-9 record and a 2.48 ERA and 364 strikeouts. He won the 1999 NL Cy Young Award. According to ("Randy Johnson." En.wikipedia.org.) “He became only the third pitcher ever to win the Cy Young Award in both the American and National League”.
In his fourth year with the DBacks, he and Curt Schilling led the team to their first appearance and win in the World Series. He won the World Series MVP award as well. One of the things Randy Johnson is most known for is killing a bird with his pitch. On March 24, 2001, he delivered a pitch to home and a bird crossed paths with the ball and it struck the bird killing it instantly. It is certainly one of the most strangest things to ever happen on a baseball field.
He became to 30th pitcher in MLB history to pitch an immaculate inning meaning he struck out the side on 9 pitches. In 2002, Johnson won the pitching Triple Crown. It means he led the NL in wins, ERA, and strikeouts. He, like Maddux, won his fourth straight Cy Young Award.
Both were really great pitchers. I honestly think they are the two greatest pitchers to ever take the mound in the game of baseball. They both have many other great accomplishments that I didn’t include. The list seems endless for their achievements in both of their careers. They are still highly respected to this day because of the impact they left on the game of baseball. They serve as inspiration to many young MLB players.
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