Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine Highlight 2014 Baseball Hall of Fame Class

Yes, I get to write this one because out the entire OSG Sports family, I'm the biggest homer for the Atlanta Braves.

The 2014 Class for the Baseball Hall of Fame was announced Wednesday afternoon and to the surprise of oh, so few, here is your elected class: Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine of the Atlanta Braves and Frank Thomas, formerly of the Chicago White Sox.

Maddux and Glavine join longtime manager Bobby Cox, who was elected on the manager ballot for this upcoming year. Which mean Cooperstown, New York will officially be Atlanta north this July 27th.

Maddux was the top vote getter, garnering 555 of 571 votes. There was some discussion that he'd be a unanimous choice, which he should be. But alas, Baseball writers who cast the votes, being the persnickity, out of touch with reality bunch that they are, denied him that opportunity.

Glavine was on 525 ballots and Thomas 483, the three all-stars being the only ones to garner the needed 75% total required for entrance to baseball's shrine.

Over the years, I got the opportunity to interview all 3 of these guys, covering Glavine and Maddux through most of their run with the Braves and all 3 exuded nothing but class.

Thomas, a former tight end for Auburn University became the ultimate hitting big man. He played first base early in his career with the White Sox before rolling into primarily a designated hitter. And at 6-6, 250-plus pounds, he was a REALLY big hitter, who by the way ended his career with a .301 batting average and 521 homeruns.

Both Glavine and Maddux were amazing people, totally different, yet eerily similar. One very media friendly, a good talker who rolled his career into part-time TV work. The other the ultimate tactician, the master of the art. Not great on camera, but didn't care.

Tom Glavine could easily have grown up to be a hockey player. As a kid in Massachusetts, he grew up loving hockey. And by some reports, he was a pretty good hockey player. He can still be found haunting the junior hockey leagues in the Atlanta area, watching his kids play. Glavine was a true competitor in every sense of the word. He didn't give in, threw his game, his pitches with no freebies. And the bigger the game, the better he pitched. None bigger than his World Series clinching, 8 innings of shutout baseball, leading the Braves to a 1-0 win and their only world title over Cleveland in 1995. Tom never shied away from talking, never shied away from anything. He was great to deal with.

Greg Maddux, he could easily be mistaken for a doctor. Slightly built with wiry glasses, he didn't look like a "Star Athlete." Of course he didn't really act like one either. Though not much of a talker to the media, most of the guys in the Braves clubhouse considered him the teams best prankster. He has a wicked sense of humor and was universally loved both in the clubhouse and in the game.

I will always remember going to see the Braves play the Cardinals one night in Fulton County Stadium with my father in the mid-90's. Maddux was pitching. I got up and went to get beers, food and made bathroom trips when the Braves would be at bat and my dad asked me why. I told him, "I can always see the highlights of them hitting, I want to see Maddux pitch, his art doesn't always translate on TV." And it didn't.

For Atlanta Braves fans, this is a tremendous honor, seeing two of the teams legendary players get inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame along side the guy who ran the team during that period (Cox). And with a guy (Thomas) who they knew and will make for many one of the more memorable classes, the Hall of Fame has had in many, many years.

A friend just linked to this, a reminder of different times in baseball, starring Mr. Glavine and Mr. Maddux--



FOSG Patty Rasmussen caught up with Maddux before his Braves jersey retirement back in 2009...

She asked what he enjoyed the most about the sport, and it goes along with what Brother Phil said a little higher up:

I enjoyed winning the most. I liked the games that ended, 1-0, 2-1, 3-2. I enjoyed pitching two more innings than I thought I could go, getting a hit, sliding, making a good defensive play. Thinking about throwing a pitch against a guy on Monday and making that pitch against him two days later, I really liked that! I'm not really missing it that much, and that's kind of scary! I loved hanging out with the pitchers in the video room a couple of days before a start. I miss tinkering with game plans and executing the game plan a couple days later.

It's easy to miss the card games on the plane. I loved the travel. There was always a poker game on the plane. You'd play golf one day on the East Coast, and the next week, you were playing golf on the West Coast. The longer you play, the more you're able to take advantage of the opportunities you're given. I always enjoyed the cities, but I was always ready to play.

When you're a young player, you're worried about getting better -- How much can I make? How long can I play? Smoltz was really good at making the most of his days. He taught me that you could enjoy more than baseball, but you had to pick your spots.

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