Greg Maddux's former catcher tells a WILD story about the Hall of Famer

Only pitcher in my lifetime that was comparable, probably even better, than Greg Maddux was Warren Spahn.

That is the ultimate setup pitch there! Three months for the payoff.

There was just something special about Maddux and those Braves. Watching them play was just so damn fun, and this is coming from a Twins fan.

Nowadays some thrower will just blow his arm and throw 200mph and walk the batter. We no longer have chess matches in baseball. Baseball lost its beauty.

I never missed a start of his. WGN and TBS. I was blessed. True GOAT

The Professor.

Crazy to see a starter still in the game in the 8th let alone in the game in the 8th with a big lead lol

Plot twist: Maddux thought he could sneak one in against the Bag man

Mad dog. When our pitching took us to the playoffs every year.

I've been an Atlanta fan since our little town got cable TV in 1980. I watched the whole thing 1980 to 2025. How many World Series did bad umpiring steal from the Braves? The Braves should won at least two of those series that they had taken from them.

Man 90's baseball was the beat. Every team was so stacked

That must have been in 1998.

My othermufkin inward got shot directly in the buttocks and stuff like that

lil ess wannabe Fallon Fox.

I remember one time they asked him which fictional character he liked the most and he said, "Hannibal Lector". Most guys would give some mealymouthed apology about how they don't condone people who eat people and blah blah blah. Not Maddux. He's a real one.

Playing 4D Chess before it was cool.

I'm so glad my Cubs left him sitting next to a fax machine, waiting for his offer, and let him go the Braves. That was great karma for us and we didn't deserve to lose for another 30 years after that or anything.

Great move, Cubbies!!! So glad we blew our wad on Candy fuc*ing Maldanado to hit fuc*ing .150 for half a year !!

Cherry on top - I went to the Cub opener that year and Maddux, now as a Brave, shut us out with like a 2 hitter...just to give us the boot up the ass that we deserved. Heartbreaking that the Cubs did that to him and we deserved every heartbreaking moment of watching him murder the league with the Braves for years afterward.

I can say so many things about Maddux but I will sum it up with this. He is the reason I love baseball and pitching being my favorite part of the game.

Mad scientist 🥼

Why would Bagwell be looking for the same pitch he hit out of the park? I would think he'd give Maddux enough credit NOT to throw the same pitch. What am I missing here?

Asterisk! He sacrificed stats for a win in the future. His stats could have been better than the numbers we see. Absolute legend.

Where most MLB pitchers see a strike zone.. Greg Maddux saw a chess board..

That's easily the best baseball anecdote I've ever heard. I hate using the term "next level" because it's become played out, but that is beyond next level, it's definitely a "one of one" scenario. I'll bet Maddux is the only pitcher to have ever done something like that. I have heard of Keith Hernandez intentionally giving up at bats (or intentionally missing pitches) in an early inning to set up a pitcher in a later inning. However, the Maddux thing is playing "the long game" to insane levels.

That’s the most gangster shit I’ve ever heard.

Goes to show you that you don't need a 100 mph heater to rule MLB.

With everyone except Tony Gwynn and Barry Bonds

I would be my life this didn't happen this exact way. I don't think it was a pre-planned intentional thing. Here's what likely happened:
1. Maddux did say not to call anything inside against Bagwell before the game; that was their scouting report on him
2. Game was out of reach
3. Late in the out of reach game, Maddux has pitched a gem and is feeling good, decides to challenge Bagwell and loses
4. Copes with Eddie by saying "yeah well that's ok, we'll see them again in the playoffs and when he looks for that pitch it won't be there."
5. They play in the playoffs, game is tighter, Maddox sticks to strategy and doesn't challenge Bagwell and gets him out
6. Over time as the legend of Maddux grows, stories get more and more grandiose, and Eddie Perez now remembers the story a little different than it was and he views the entire thing as one giant intentional plan. In reality, Maddux just decided to challenge Bagwell and lost and then looked for the bright side by saying he won't make that mistake again when they seem them in the post season

Greg Maddux vs Barry Bonds
143 PA .263 8 HRs 18 RBI
He definitely was much more successful against Barry, than the rest of the league was....
but when Barry got him, he got him

Watching Maddox pitch was like watching Pablo Picasso create a sculpture.

I’d love to hear Bagwell respond to this.

They were playing checkers while he was playing chess.

Mad genius.

Best pitcher ever!!! And Perez and Maddux were the dynamic duo!!!! 🔥 🔥 🔥

I've been following baseball since the Milwaukee Braves. Unlike many (most) pitchers, the Professor never threw over 90mph. So, he was always in perfect position to be an added infielder, to catch those comebackers. (Now picture Randy "The Big Unit" Johnson firing his smoking fast ball and being completely off-kilter after the pitch.) That means that you can add Most Golden Glove Awards in MLB History to Maddux's list of phenomenal credentials. For me, the best story about him was on an off-day. Sitting in the dugout, he noticed a certain batter had changed his stance in the batter's box. He remarked to Eddie Perez that the first base coach better beware. Shortly thereafter, the first base coach was nutted and had to be carried off the field.

His comment about you can't fish with out bait might be the greatest quote about pitching I have ever heard

4-D Chess

My old old timer coach who played pro ball, always called Greg Maddux baseball's accountant because he was so meticulous. Heck he even looked like an accountant too. Maybe one of the most unathletic looking dominant players in any sport ever. He said if he had even an above average MLB arm, he would have been literally unhittable.

That's a great anecdote, as it truly shows Greg's long-term thinking. Thanks for remembering and telling us.

Maddux was the MASTER at getting inside someone's head! And this was just one of those times.

The Catcher demonstrated awestruck feelings towards The Pitcher. They admire one another.

I learned a valuable lesson today. Disagreements occur, but one or the other can display humorous respect to ameliorate the disagreement, which will lead to the destruction of acrimony.

Appreciate your time and attention. Farewell...

Bagwell. What a name for a first baseman.

That’s is so far beyond thinking ahead. Everyone playing sticks while he’s crashing his moonboard… 😂

Greg will always be known as the pitcher that threw with his brain as much as his arm…that’s why he’s known as “the professor.”

Seek salvation:
John 14:6
John 1:1-14
1 Corinthians 15:1-4
John 3:16

I member this one time he did that thing and it was like you know?