Greg Maddux ready to call it a career?
Barry Rozner is reporting that in a recent conversation he had with Greg Maddux, it sounded as if Maddux was ready to hang them up.
When asked about how much longer he planned to pitch, Maddux caught him off guard when he paused and said, “My son, Chase, is gonna be 11 here pretty soon and I want to start watching him play a little bit more. I think it’s about time for me to watch him instead of him coming to the park to watch me.”
When Rozner asked him if that meant the 2008 season was it, Maddux responded with, “Well, I’m set to play this year, and we’ll see what happens after that.”
Maddux confirmed that he hasn’t made up his mind one way or another, but it seems to be a different tune coming out of Maddux than in the past. In recent years, had Maddux been asked that question, he would have responded something in the light of, “I’m still having fun pitching. When I can no longer go out and pitch every fifth day, I’ll have to hang them up.”
Using a devastating combination of movement and precise location, whenever Maddux chooses to hang them up, he’ll go down as the best pitcher of his generation. He’ll do that without having a steroid cloud hanging over his head or without the ability to throw 95 miles-per-hour to get out of trouble, instead using his knowledge of the game to out think the hitters standing 60 feet away.
“I’m taking it all in,” Maddux said. “I think about all the years as I go though all the parks. I go in now and get a good look around, because I might not be back. If I’m in St. Louis, I think of some games there, or in Cincinnati, think of some games there. Remember teammates and things that happened. I make sure I shake hands with a certain security guard that’s been there forever, or a clubhouse guy that treated me well. There will be a lot of that.”
Filed under: Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, Greg Maddux, San Diego Padres