Hall of Fame day 2014 brings some joy to fans of both teams this year. Greg Maddux spent almost half of his career with the Cubs, while Frank Thomas spent the majority on the South Side. Both of these guys are among the all-time greats for the Cubs & the Sox; they deserve to be in Cooperstown.
I made a trip to Cooperstown once 9 years ago. It was earlier in the same year that Ryno was being inducted. Cooperstown is kind of in the middle of nowhere; seemed like we went through a lot of mountains to get there. It was a small town, with really the only thing in town being the Hall of Fame. I remember taking a picture next to the plaque that talked about the back-to-back World Series titles for the Cubs. Yes, I know it’s been forever, but yes, they did win back-to-back the last time they won. They won in 1907 & 1908; man what I wouldn’t give for just one in my lifetime. Anyways, it was a very cool experience. It should be on every baseball fan’s bucket list. I’m sure a lot of Chicagoans are out there this weekend…
Greg Maddux was one of the best pitchers ever. He didn’t have an overpowering fastball. He wasn’t blowing anybody away. He truly knew how to pitch. Obviously, he had the raw talent, but what he brought to the game like no other before him, was the studying of the game. “The Professor” would study hitters’ tendencies, and use that to his advantage; knowledge is power. Obviously, his resume is impressive. 17 straight seasons with 15 or more wins; that is a major league record. This one may never be broken. How about 18 gold gloves? He was arguably the best fielding pitcher of all time. The last stat that I thought was cool was that he was 1 of only 4 pitchers to have 3000 Ks with less than 1000 walks; one of the other ones wore #31 for the Cubbies too.
This happens when pumping of blood is supplied to the penis during the sexual performance cialis for sale uk is liable for rock hard erections. cheapest price for sildenafil Many people look out for certain symptoms of erectile dysfunction but in the later part of your life. Your buy generic levitra aimhousepatong.com marriage life can become unexciting along with your sex life. It was only after a number of other drug companies entered the market – such as Kamagra or cialis generic cipla can be taken for dealing with the erectile failure. The bittersweet thing for Cub fans (Isn’t there always a bittersweet part?) is that he had the majority of his best years with another team: the Atlanta Braves. He won 3 of his 4 consecutive Cy Young awards with Atlanta. He won a World Series championship with Atlanta. Why did we let him go again? Because the Cubs were cheap… because Scott Boras was his agent… because we wanted to pursue other free agents like Dan Plesac & Candy Maldonado. Maddux is another example of a player leaving the Cubs that does tremendous things. He did make his way back to Wrigley Field which was pretty cool. The win against fellow 300 game winner Roger Clemens was pretty sweet; the first National League matchup of 300 game winners in 119 years. He also got his 3000th K in a Cubs uniform. We love you Mad Dog. Congrats!
The Big Hurt (or the Big Skirt as I’ve referred to him over the years) IS the White Sox. We’ve talked about some legends recently, and who would be on that Chicago sports Mount Rushmore. Who would it be for the Sox? Is Frank Thomas that guy? I don’t think there is any clear cut guy, like with the other Chicago teams. I think Frank is as good as any. His numbers are impressive as well: a career .301 hitter with 521 home runs. The thing about Frank looking back at that era, was that he did it the “right way”. He’s said it many times, and I believe him. In the era of steroids, Frank stayed clean. He was a BIG guy, but he was always BIG. He played both football and baseball at Auburn before the Sox drafted him in the first round of the 1989 draft. I guess everybody believed him, and now he’s in. Congrats Big Hurt! Enjoy your day.
The thing about both of these guys is the consistency. I guess looking at any great players, the common theme is to perform at a high level for a long time. There are many guys who have good years, but when you talk about Hall of Famers, when you talk about these two guys, they were good, really good, for a really long time. 42 years between them provided countless great memories for both Cubs and Sox fans. And for that, I thank you.
97.2
Greg “Mad Dog” Maddux
4 consecutive Cy Young awards 92-95…not sure that will ever happen again. And why did that happen? How about averaging the following over those 4 years: 19 wins and an era skinnier than the average male at 1.98. WOW! I would have loved for him to be in a Cubs uniform for all of his 23 years. Especially considering that he spent all of 15 DAYS on the DL! He was a workhorse…something else that will probably never be done again as fast as these pitchers go down nowadays. 97.2% of the HOF votes…those silly “shouldnt get in 1st ballot” voters holding out! Congrats Greg…looking forward to your speech! Here are a few quotes I found pretty cool…
“He’s like a meticulous surgeon out there … he puts the ball where he wants to. You see a pitch inside and wonder, ‘Is it the fastball or the cutter?’ That’s where he’s got you.”
–Tony Gwynn RIP
“Every pitch has a purpose. Sometimes he knows what he’s going to throw two pitches ahead. I swear, he makes it look like guys are swinging foam bats against him.”
–John Smoltz
“Greg Maddux could put a baseball through a Life Saver if you asked him.”
–Joe Morgan, Sandberg hater
“I could probably throw harder if I wanted, but why? When they’re in a jam, a lot of pitchers … try to throw harder. Me, I try to locate better.”
–Greg Maddux
“Hmmm. Maybe all those pitchers who are tearing tendons and overstressing arms by throwing so hard these days could learn a lesson from the way Maddux pitched.”
— Jim Caple
Big Hurt
Frank “The Big Hurt” Thomas
Always a big man, Frank punished pitchers throughout his career. He is an exclusive member of the .300/.400/.500 club to go along with 2,400+ hits and 500+ hrs…impressive numbers to say the least. And he did it all the right way. Congrats Frank!
Hall of Famer
Glad to see the Big Hurt being inducted into the hall of game today. He was my favorite player growing up and the main reason why I became a Sox fan living 1000 miles away!!!
He was as consistent as you could be, especially playing the majority of the time as the Designated Hitter. This is not an easy thing to do day in and day out. It’s a lot harder sitting on the bench and performing at the plate than being in the field on defense. You have a lot of time to think about your at bats and to perform at the level he did, was quite impressive!
Congrats Frank, we’ll deserved!