Last December, I was browsing on an online sports card shop and found that there were some lucky bags, which contained autographed cards or relic cards. I was just thinking that it could be fun to buy some packs. When I opened a lucky bag, I saw a relic card with two pieces of jerseys worn by Hall of Famer Greg Maddux.
On the card, it showed “Then & Now” and that made me think of Maddux’s great career. Moreover, I’m also wondering whether any active pitchers post similar stats as Maddux did. First of all, Greg Maddux threw more than 5000 innings over 23 seasons. Among active pitchers, Zack Greinke is the only pitcher who has already tossed more than 3000 innings. Justin Verlander underwent Tommy John surgery in 2020 and will return to the mound this year. So far, Verlander already threw 2988 innings and we shall see him reach the 3000-inning milestone in 2022. Greinke is 38 and Verlander will turn 39 in February. It will be extremely difficult to see a pitcher toss 5000+ innings as Maddux did.In addition, Greg Maddux threw 3371 strikeouts in his career, 10th most in MLB history. By far, Max Scherzer already struck out more than 3000 batters and Justin Verlander is a member of the 3000-K club as well. Scherzer signed a 3-year deal with the Mets, if he stays healthy, it’s highly possible to see him surpass 3371 strikeouts. However, it might be quite difficult to see other pitchers reach Maddux’s strikeout record in the short-term.
Moreover, Greg Maddux didn’t like to give up free passes. In his career, he gave up 999 walks and his BB/9 was 1.80. Among active pitchers, Josh Tomlin already threw more than 1000 innings and his BB/9 is under 1.3. Last season, Tomlin made 35 relief appearances for the Atlanta Braves that won the World Series Champions for the first time since 1995. Kyle Hendricks has spent 8 years with the Cubs and he already threw 1228.1 innings, his BB/9 is 1.98 so far in his career. Maddux played 10 seasons for the Cubs and his BB/9 was 2.44 over 2016 innings.
Finally, Greg Maddux posted a 3.37 K/BB in his career. Look at this number, it’s obvious that pitchers in this generation are not exactly the same. Chris Sale and Jacob deGrom each have an over 5 K/BB. Furthermore, 8 other active pitchers each own a 4 K/BB or higher. Moreover, Corbin Burnes won the 2021 NL Cy Young award and during the regular season, his K/BB rate was 6.88.
Growing up, it was definitely entertaining to watch Maddux pitching and he was one of the most dominant pitchers in his generation. He was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2014. When reviewing his legendary career, we probably won’t see a pitcher throw 5000+ innings as he did. He didn’t like to allow walks. He’s not known as a strikeout pitcher, however, he’s a member of the 3000-K Club and there are not so many active players who could reach this milestone.
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