What are the odds on Atlanta’s Greg Maddux winning an unprecedented fifth successive Cy Young award?
“If I was a betting man I wouldn’t bet on it,” said Maddux, who generally has been acclaimed as absolutely the best pitcher of his time.
He is the first and only pitcher to win four consecutive Cy Young Awards and appears to have recovered from an early-season slump.
“He doesn’t have to change a whole lot of anything,” said Leo Mazzone, the Atlanta pitching coach. “All he has to have is a lot more luck.”
Maddux, who lost five of his first 10 decisions, checked in at the midseason All-Star break with a 9-6 won-lost record. He has won four of his last five starts, triggering speculation he may have another spectacular season.
Mazzone estimates Maddux should make about 15 to 17 starts during the second half.
“He could win 12 or 13 more,” Mazzone insisted. “If anyone can do it, he’s the man.”
Mazzone said he is aware Maddux had an especially memorable 15-3 first half in 1988, when he was with the Cubs.
“We’ve talked about that with John Smoltz,” said Mazzone.
Smoltz, Tuesday night’s NL starter in the All-Star Game, was 14-1 but reached the break with a 14-4 mark.
“Greg has talked to John about it,” Mazzone said. “So they have something more in common. It gives them more to talk about.”
Fred McGriff, the Braves’ slugging first baseman, believes Maddux could finish with a 20-victory season.
“Whenever anybody asks me about him,” McGriff said, “the first thing I tell them is I’m glad we’re on the same team. I wouldn’t want to face him.”
Then McGriff added:
“Smoltz is very good. I suppose right now he would be the favorite for the Cy Young but Maddux has proven he’s the best. He’s awesome.
“What makes it tough for him is that he has such high standards, everybody expects a shutout or a five-hitter every time he pitches. As soon as he starts struggling a little bit, people begin asking, `What’s wrong? What’s he doing wrong?’ “
Chipper Jones, the Braves’ 26-year-old All-Star third baseman, says “ordinary rules” don’t apply to Maddux.
“He’s special,” Jones said. “One year he was 8-6 in the first half and finished 20-8. He’s very capable of running off 10 or 11 wins in a row.”
Jones is delighted with the fact he lockers close to Maddux.
“I listen to everything he says,” Jones said. “And he asks me a lot of things too. He’s always wanting to know how the hitters think. His mind is like a sponge. He’s the only one I’ve ever seen who actually takes notes when we hear the scouting report on the other clubs.”
This may come as a surprise, but Maddux is in a three-way National League tie for second place in victories. Only Smoltz has won more games. Maddux has a much lower earned-run average, leads the league in innings pitched and has struck out 110 while yielding only 14 unintentional walks.
Maddux obviously would be delighted to win another Cy Young but doesn’t believe it is likely to happen.
“It’s not very probable,” he said. “Possible, yes. Probable, no. If I lay some money down I’d better get some good odds.”
Maddux knows quite a bit about odds. He grew up in Las Vegas where his father works in the casinos and is a long-time card dealer.
He was asked if 4-1 would be an appropriate number.
“It should be a lot higher than that,” he said. “Twenty- or 30-1, maybe 50-1. Somewhere in there.”
Maddux insists he never thinks too far ahead.
“Sports writers do that,” he said. “They’re always trying to predict the future. I don’t think that way. I’m worried about pitching (Tuesday) and what’s going to happen when I pitch on Friday.
“You can’t win 12 games on Thursday. You can win only one game every five days.”
