Q&A with Greg Maddux

Greg Maddux ranks No. 9 on baseball's all-time win list. The future Hall of Famer discusses his trade, the pitchers he followed and his dreams as a boy.

Q: When did you first start thinking about your chances of being a major league pitcher?

A: "Only the year before I was drafted did I start thinking about it. I always thought I could get college out of it. I never thought about the big leagues until I was in high school and saw a couple other guys get a chance to pitch professionally."

Q: What pitchers did you look up to as a boy?

A: "I was more into Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, George Foster, Tony Perez, the Big Red Machine. I was into hitters more than pitchers. I was a Cincinnati fan."

Q: Did you watch many pitchers when you were growing up?

A: "When I was young, the Game of the Week was televised on Saturday afternoons. We were outside playing. I didn't watch a lot of television. I didn't see a lot of baseball."

Q: So, who were the first pitchers you really watched?

A: "Orel Hershiser. Mario Soto. Dwight Gooden. Mike Morgan. My brother (Mike). I had a chance to watch David Cone and Doug Drabek. Roger Clemens. I remember noticing the starters Kansas City had at one time -- Cone, Bret Saberhagen, Mark Gubicza and Charlie Liebrandt. They were all very good and each had a different style. There's no one way to go about this."

Q: Was there anyone you emulated?

A: "A coach told me in high school to watch Soto. He was a fastball/change-up pitcher, and that's what I did. He influenced me. So did Hershiser and Morgan. Both of them had a moving type of sinking fastball, which is what I was working with."

Q: Is there one pitcher in history you've followed?

A: "I have a hard time relating to players before me. I'm a type of guy who has to see it. There wasn't a lot of video even 20, 25 years ago. I like to watch guys in between pitches, what they do .. the body language, how they are reacting. In television and the old clips I've seen, they usually break away from the pitchers in between pitches, which is what I think is the most interesting and telling time for a pitcher."

Q: I've thought about you and another pitcher who was famous with the Braves, Warren Spahn.

A: "You're not the first to say that, and I guess I'm a little bit more aware of him because of the Braves connection ... 'Spahn and (Johnny) Sain and pray for rain.' But I really have a hard time placing faces with names from history. It's kind of hard for me to relate to how they did things. I wish there were more good clips of how some of these guys worked."

Q: So if in-depth video existed of Spahn or Walter Johnson, you'd watch?

A: "Absolutely. No matter the era, these guys were doing things that no one else could do. I'd love to know what they did, how they pitched, how they were working hitters. They all had longevity. I'd love to see their arm action. But most of the old film I have seen doesn't give you a good look at what I'd like to see."

Q: Give me an example of some of the greatest pitching performances you've seen.

A: "There are a ton of them. Kent Mercker's no-hitter (in 1994). Tom Glavine in Game 6 against the Indians (in 1995 World Series). The Jack Morris and John Smoltz game (Game 7 of 1991 World Series). Smoltz's Game 1 in New York (in 1996 World Series)."


