Filed under: Cubs | Tags: Brett Favre, Cubs, Greg Maddux, Mad Dog, retire, Roger Clemens
On Monday I learned of a sports headline that didn’t seem to gain much attention and I believe that’s due to the character of this individual. Future Hall of Fame pitcher, Greg Maddux, announced his retirement. He finishes eighth on the all-time list with 355 major league wins.. one more than the cheating Roger Clemens. So why did this legend leaving the game not cause quite a stir?
Sure he’s 42, but you’re expected to be old when you retire. When it comes down to it, Maddux just was never a flashy type of a guy and never will be. He didn’t talk about retiring for years like Brett Favre. He just did it when the time was right. Maddux had this to say…
It’s going to be hard to walk away, but it’s time. I have a family now and I need to spend more time with them.
Mad Dog was never a flashy player. He never threw a fastball quite that hard. He never caused any problems or said anything controversial to the press. Heck, he never said much at all. He simply was accurate, smart and a professional. But when a guy wins four consecutive National League Cy Young awards, is nominated to the All-Star team eight times while collecting a record 18 Gold Gloves, somebody should notice.
Maddux started off with the Cubs and played for them for 7 seasons before management got cheap and let him become a Brave for a decade where he dominated. Luckily we got him back for a few more seasons, until we traded him to give him a chance to win. I wasn’t old enough to appreciate him during his first stint in Chicago but I cherished his second stint here. I was sad to see him go then and I’m even more sad to see him walk away from the game completely. So even though the talk around the water cooler isn’t focused on the retirement of Mad Dog, I noticed and I’ll miss him. Here’s to hoping you retire as a Cub when you’re eligible in five years.
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Chicago Style Hot Blog 
I like your style of writing. It’s fun. 🙂
Comment by jbstone December 11, 2008 @ 12:50 amNeat that you always include a visual. Nice blogging, Pigeon. ~.^