Maddux, Greg (1966-…), became the first pitcher in baseball history to win the Cy Young Award four consecutive seasons. Since 1967, the award has been given each season to the best pitcher in each of the two major leagues. Maddux, who played in the National League, won the award for the 1992, 1993, 1994, and 1995 seasons. He had the lowest earned run average in major league baseball for the 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1998 seasons. Maddux won at least 15 games in 17 consecutive seasons (1988 through 2004), a major league record. Maddux was a right-handed pitcher known for his ability to change the speed of his pitches and to pitch with excellent control.
In 1995, Maddux walked fewer than one batter for every nine innings he pitched. Maddux also won the Gold Glove award 18 times, 13 straight seasons from 1990 through 2002 and 5 seasons from 2004 through 2008, as the National League’s best-fielding pitcher. The 18 awards are a major league record. Maddux also holds the major league career record for most putouts by a pitcher. He retired after the 2008 season with 355 career victories, which ranks 8th among all major league pitchers. His 3,371 strikeouts rank 10th. Maddux is one of 10 pitchers in major league history who have both 300 career victories and 3,000 career strikeouts.
Gregory Alan Maddux was born on April 14, 1966, in San Angelo, Texas. He made his major league pitching debut with the Chicago Cubs in 1986. He pitched for the Cubs through 1992, when he became a free agent. He then signed with the Atlanta Braves. Maddux pitched for Atlanta from 1993 to 2003. He pitched for the Cubs again from 2004 to 2006, when he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Maddux pitched for Los Angeles in 2006 and then signed as a free agent to pitch for the San Diego Padres. In 2008, Maddux was traded back to the Dodgers, where he ended his playing career. Maddux was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014.
