The Long Ball

When I heard the news this afternoon that Braves pitchers Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine – along with uber hitter Frank Thomas – had been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, I wasn’t the least bit surprised.

If any two pitchers were slam dunks for HOF enshrinement, it would be those two. Golfing buddies, rotation mates, Cy Young winners, the two may be most famously remembered for their Nike commercial.

Remember, after all, Chicks dig the long ball.

But I’ll tell ya. I loved watching those guys pitch and I was entertained many times over watching the lefty, Glavine, and the righty, Maddux. I celebrated when they led the Bravos to the 1995 World Series championship and winced, other times, when they came oh-so-close.

Once, I was fortunate enough to see Glavine face off with another lefty superstar, Randy Johnson, at Turner Field.  Holly and I talk about this one a lot because she is old enough to have been impressed by the star power.

I think Johnson got the best of Glavine that night (Johnson would seem to be another no brainer Hall of Fame choice when he becomes eligible next winter) but I saw #47 pitch many gems over the years.

If anything, I was a slightly bigger fan of Maddux.  I loved watching him carve up hitters with pinpoint precision. I also loved how fast he worked.

Once, Lisa surprised me with Braves tickets for my birthday. They were playing a day game against the Dodgers late that May afternoon. She made the off-hand comment that she hoped the game didn’t last long and I told her with Maddux pitching, we’d likely be out of there in two hours.

I think the official game-time that day was xxx.

Because I loved watching him work, I’d try – whenever possible – to schedule my Braves trips on the day he pitched. And I had a lot of fun doing so.

Another Maddux memory – and this is one that Paul and I frequently talk about – was the time we saw him face off against Curt Schilling. It was a Sunday afternoon during Maddux’ last season as a Brave. As you can imagine, it was a great pitching dual.

At any rate, I paused for just a moment this afternoon to remember those glory years and to tip my cap to two new Hall of Famers who are well-deserving.

JG

Originally posted 8/2/2014