Total Pro Sports » Greg Maddux

This Day In Sports History (September 29th) – Maddux Brothers

CP — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 15:40:17 +0000

It was on this day in 1986 that Greg Maddux faced his brother Mike Maddux, as the Chicago Cubs took on the Philadelphia Phillies. This marked the first and only time in Major League history that two rookie brothers started against each other.

Greg would easily out-duel his older brother and pick up the win. Mike only lasted three innings, giving up six hits and three earned runs, while Greg pitched an effective seven and two-thirds innings, giving up three runs while striking out seven. This would be the only time the two brothers faced each other, as Mike bounced around from team-to-team, mostly as a relief pitcher.

There have been a total of eight pairs of brothers who started against each other in Major League history, most notably Phil and Joe Niekro, who did so on nine separate occasions throughout their careers. The most recent brothers to do battle were Jeff and Jered Weaver, who did so in June of 2009.

Here is a tribute to Greg Maddux.

Notable Birthdays

Ken Norton Jr., NFL – Born September 29th 1966 (age 45) in Jacksonville, Illinois

Jake Westbrook, MLB – Born September 29th 1977 (age 34) in Athens, Georgia

Kevin Durant, NBA – Born September 29th 1988 (age 23) in Washington D.C.

This Day In Sports History (July 26th) – Greg Maddux

CP — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 15:15:44 +0000

It was on this day in 2005 that Greg Maddux became the thirteenth member of the 3000 strikeout club. Maddux struckout Omar Vizquel in front of his home crowd at Wrigley Field, however, the Cubs would go on to lose the game 3-2 to the Giants.

Greg Maddux enjoyed an incredible career that started in Chicago as a member of the Cubs. After winning the Cy Young award in 1992, Maddux left Chicago via free agency and joined the Atlanta Braves. He would go on to win the Cy Young his first three seasons with the Braves, becoming the first pitcher in history to win the award four consecutive times. In addition to his four Cy Young’s, Maddux was an 18 time Gold Glove winner, 8 time all-star selection and a member of the 1995 World Series champion Atlanta Braves.

At 47 years old, Jamie Moyer is the active leader in strikeouts with 2405. Moyer will not reach 3000, and with the way the game has changed in recent years, one wonders if we will ever see another pitcher join the exclusive 3000 strikeout club.

Here is a clip of Maddux getting his jersey retired by the Braves.

Notable Birthdays

Joe Smith, NBA – Born July 26^th 1975 (age 36) in Norfolk, Virginia

Erik Westrum, NHL – Born July 26^th 1979 (age 32) in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Delonte West, NBA – Born July 26^th 1983 (age 28) in Washington D.C.

Derek Lowe Signs With Braves

AnthonyP — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 21:20:45 +0000

Total Pro Sports – People are claiming bankruptcy, the government is bailing out companies, the price of oil is falling and the Atlanta Braves sign Derek Lowe to a 4 year $60 million contract. All go hand in hand…….

What is this world coming to we will never know.

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The Atlanta Journal Constitution Reports – The Braves had to pay high to get Lowe, but finally got an ace for their rebuilt rotation.

Free agent Derek Lowe agreed to terms on a four-year, $60 million contract with the Braves, a person familiar with negotiations said. The deal will be finalized after he takes a physical this week.

In terms of dollars and magnitude, it’s the biggest free-agent pitching acquisition for the Braves since Greg Maddux signed a five-year, $28 million contract with Atlanta after the 1992 season.

There is always risk in signing a 35-year-old pitcher to a four-year contract, but Lowe has been one of baseball’s most durable starters since moving from Boston’s bullpen to its rotation in 2002.

The sinkerballer averaged 15 wins, 208 innings and nearly 34 starts over the past seven seasons, and with the Los Angeles Dodgers last season he was 14-11 with a 3.24 ERA in 211 innings.

In his final 10 starts, he was 6-1 with a 1.27 ERA. Since 2002, Lowe’s 106 wins tie him with Johan Santana for third-most in the majors behind Roy Oswalt (115) and Roy Halladay (113).