Taking a bite out of hitters: 'Mad Dog' Greg Maddux is the thinking man's pitcher, yet he has kept it simple on his way to milestone victory No. 300

Sporting News, The, August 9, 2004 by Dennis Tuttle

Bagwell ... man, he and Doggie have faced each other a lot. One time in spring training Doggie says, "Let's throw a spitball."

Now, that's another thing: People think Doggie cheats. He does not. I swear to God he doesn't. But it was spring training, and he wanted to get inside Bagwell's head a little bit. So it's a 2-2 count and I called for the spitter. Bagwell snaps around and says, "What was that? Tell me!"

"I don't know, man. I called for a changeup."

That's the way he works. That's his game. I heard a lot of umpires say Doggie was the best they ever saw. I agree. The way he thinks, the way he goes about his game is like no one else. And he's not intimidated by anybody.

Sometimes Doggie will throw one inside and the hitter will be staring out at him. He's small and skinny, but he'll stand there staring back like, "What's your problem?" Then the guy will drop his head.

I learned about baseball, about pitching and bout life from Doggie. I was 27 years old when I first made it to the big leagues (in 1995). I didn't think I'd last too long. It was already late into my career.

"Never lose your faith, never lose your desire to be whatever you want to be,' he told me.

When Javy got hurt in '99 and it was my first chance to play full time, Doggie came up and said, "Eddie, I know you can do it, and everybody here knows you can do it." He is the guy who taught me how to be prepared.

John Smoltz and the guarded competitor:

When you look back at the incredible numbers, the incredible standards, that Greg has established, you understand that he has to approach the game his way. He doesn't let you believe or know where he's coming from. No one is going to know what's going on inside him, not even his best friends.

His first couple of years in Atlanta we were trying to figure him out. We knew he liked to play golf. But he strikes you as a guy with a lot of weird theories and a very calculating mind. You're not quite sure. I think he puts on a persona to not let you get too close to him, to maintain himself from all the non-playing things that pull on him. Some might say he's a goofball or a master of pitching. But I think he's pretty intelligent and does things on purpose--like a bad interview or being very low key--so he doesn't have to deal with them.

Do I really know him? I think so. We played together for the Braves 11 years. Some of the greatest times of my life have been with Greg and Tommy Glavine on the golf course. (Glavine, currently with 259 wins and now with the Mets, is next in line to reach 300.) We are very compatible golfers. I'm more flamboyant--more of an up-and-down personality. Glavine is flat-line--even-tempered as they come--and Greg is somewhere in-between.... Because Greg is so closely guarded, my only goal in life was to find out what bugged him. I would try to freak him out of gross him out. I would egg him on, and he'd say, "You're not going to bother me, even if it is inside me."

At the park, you couldn't sit next to him when he was pitching. Now, everyone is different when they are pitching, but some of the rants Greg is throwing out there ... well ... he's dominating the game and you'd swear he was struggling. After a while, you can't listen to it any more.