Greg Maddux

"You're not going to win by automatically going out there. It's hard to know what people expect of you, and I've never tried to live up to expectations anyway. That's no way to play baseball" (Baseball-Almanac). Maddux has become one of the best major league pitchers. Maddux did some great things on the baseball field. For example, Maddux had a career that superseded many other pitchers. He holds many records and has multiple Cy Young Awards. In Greg Maddux's twenty-three year career, he racked up a total of 355 wins (8th all-time by a major league pitcher). He dominated with an Earned Run Average (ERA) of 3.16. He had a total of 3371 strikeouts. Additionally, he won four consecutive Cy Young Awards and a Major League Baseball (MLB) record of eighteen Gold Glove Awards; thirteen of these in consecutive seasons. He has also appeared in eight All-Star Games. He went on to win a World Series, and is the only Major League pitcher to have seventeen consecutive fifteen-win seasons. To top it off, Maddux's number thirty-one is retired by both the Atlanta Braves and the Chicago Cubs. A hero who is a professional athlete must not only be successful on the field, but must also give back to society. Greg Maddux is a professional baseball player who is humble, has overcome disadvantages, and gives back to society. Maddux is my hero, not only because he is professional baseball player, but because he inspires me by his humbleness, generosity and perseverance.

Greg Maddux displays his humbleness in the way he conducts his personal life, and his professional career. Mike Eggert of the Newsmakers wrote about Maddux's reaction after the Chicago Cubs dropped him, his decision to go to the Atlanta Braves. "Maddux became a free agent after the 1992 season and signed to play for the Atlanta Braves. Greg Maddux turned down an extra 6 million dollars to play for the Yankees but had several reasons to pick Atlanta instead...the Braves already had some very good pitchers; consequently, less attention would be directed toward Maddux, which is the way he likes it" (Eggert). The year that Maddux turned down a six million dollar offer to play for the iconic Yankee franchise was 1992. He chose to play for the Braves because he wanted to play for a team with good pitchers: he was the rare star, who simply didn't want to be "The Star". Maddux demonstrated his humbleness by turning down the Yankees. The Yankees are an iconic franchise known for signing all of the best major league baseball players and making them superstars. Maddux was humble man, and not motivated solely by money. He was uncomfortable in the role of superstar, so he chose the Atlanta braves. The Braves are a solid organization, but Maddux's motivation was primarily driven by a desire to pitch in a strong rotation. During a post game interview, reporters were asking Maddux questions about how he felt his pitching affected the outcome of the game. "You never want to put yourself ahead of the team... it's about us getting into the post season" (Maddux). Maddux shows that he knows this game is a team sport by saying, "...it's about us getting into the postseason." When Maddux says, "You never want to put yourself ahead of your team..." Maddux knows that it's not all about him, and he doesn't think of himself as more important than any other player. He understands that baseball is a team support, and he put the success of the team ahead of any individual goals. Maddux is a ball player who doesn't crave the spotlight and doesn't put himself ahead of the team. He never singles himself out as the best pitcher on the team, let along the entire MLB association.

Greg Maddux is not only a great on the mound, but he is also a great person at heart. Maddux gives back to the people that have been such staunch supporters of his career. On the Maddux foundation website (founded by he and his wife in 1993), there is an article that tells the reader a little bit about his charity work: "The mission at The Maddux Foundation is to raise funds to support well-established 501© (3) charities whose purpose is to help children in need as charities who provide shelter to battered women" (Maddux Foundation). The Maddux Foundation is an organization that raises money, and donates that money to charities that help battered women and sick children. Maddux is a person who has determined that he has to do something for this world, so he started this foundation to help children and women get the help they not only need, but deserve. The Maddux foundation website tells us a little bit about his life, and also has a donation tab in which the general population can donate. "Greg has dedicated his efforts towards lending support to sick children through hospital visits, special events or simply by giving his time" (Maddux Foundation). Maddux will visits sick children in hospitals in his spare time. He also organizes events that raise money for his foundation. Maddux takes time out of his personal life to help children and women who have gone through struggles. He really helps these people fight because he gives them hope, hope that they too can find a measure of success in life. Maddux is a hero to many of these women and children, and often times; simply meeting a real life hero gives one the motivation to fight on.

Greg Maddux is an amazing baseball player who succeeded at a disadvantage. Mike Eggert also writes about how Maddux's size did not determine his effectiveness in pitching. "Greg Maddux is not big. He's not intimidating. He doesn't throw a baseball hard. But he does throw one accurately, and that, along with a keen mind and an instinct for pitching, have made him the best right-handed pitcher baseball has seen in the last three-quarters of a century" (Eggert). Compared to most pitchers, Greg Maddux does not meet the standard height. Unlike most dominating pitchers, he cannot intimate the opponent by his size nor how fast he throws. Maddux is a shrimp compared to every other major league baseball player. However Maddux is still considered one of the greats in major league baseball because he learned to throw more accurately instead of throwing it harder. Maddux also has a keen mind that can memorize the tendencies of virtually all the batters he faced. His work ethic was such that he spent hours studying film of batters he had not yet faced. Consequently, he could exploit his pinpoint accuracy to throw what pitch precisely where he wanted; and the last place that the batter wanted. This is the key to his great success. He has learned to overcome his physical disadvantage and succeed at the highest level. Maddux's accuracy and mind are how he became one of the greats, despite not being able to throw hard. The Greg Maddux Biography has extensive knowledge on Maddux's life, and stated this fact in their biography: "Maddux did not receive many athletic scholarship offers to play college baseball" (Greg Maddux Biography). Coming out of high school, Maddux was not highly recruited by colleges. Maddux was basically told that he could not compete at the next level. However Maddux did not listen; he entered the MLB draft, and he took a big risk because none of these teams had ever seen him play before. Maddux took the risk of not being drafted by a team and if that happened, he probably would have never played baseball in the major league. Good news struck when Maddux was told that the Chicago Cubs drafted him late in the second round. He took a huge gamble that he may not be drafted, and if he had not, it would have been exceedingly that he would ever play in the major leagues. Maddux's size may have been his largest challenge, but it was one he overcame. He did not become discouraged when he was not highly recruited. He pushed through, and developed a unique pitching style that will go down in history as being among the most effective. He didn't allow his size to determine his fate. He worked around it and that made him what he is today.

Greg Maddux is humble; he has overcome disadvantages, and gives back to society. Maddux also plays professional baseball. Greg Maddux's size has been a big factor in his life, but he has been able to overcome it. Maddux also spends a lot of his spare time in hospitals visiting children. He hosts a golf tournament where all the proceeds go to his foundation. To top it off, Maddux does not like the spotlight. He never says that they won because of him. He understands that the game of baseball is a team sport. Greg Maddux inspires me because he has succeeded at the highest level even though he was small and was not highly recruited. He shows me that size does not determine my fate. He shows me that it is possible to make it in baseball even though I'm smaller than most other players. Greg Maddux understands that he doesn't have to live up to anybody's expectations. He needs to go out and play the best baseball he can. It doesn't matter what the people think of my possibilities. All that matter to me is that I give 100% effort.