Dodgers News: Maddux Hopes To Help Pitchers
It’s not every day that one of the greatest pitchers of all-time, and one of the top right-handed pitchers to ever toe the rubber, can help your organization by giving insight and advice to your pitchers. That’s the case with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Greg Maddux, though, as the team’s new special assistant of baseball operations was in camp on Wednesday.
Maddux will begin a new venture as he hopes to nurture and instruct the plethora of pitchers that the Dodgers currently have within their organization. He’s there at Camelback Ranch helping cultivate the next crop of successful pitchers in Los Angeles. And you have to love it.
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From ESPN Staff Writer Doug Padilla shortly ago:
“I think the main thing is to try to help the players,” Maddux said. “Obviously, I have to get to know them first, and they have to get to know you. I’ll just watch the players and get to know them. If there’s something I can say or do that might make them better, that’s the goal — to try to make the players better.”
It’s always great to have an assistant or coach who wants to help improve the quality of a player’s performance, and Maddux is definitely no exception to that rule. The Hall of Famer racked up 355 wins, 3371 strikeouts, and won four-straight Cy Young Awards. He knows a thing or two about the art of pitching.
When Maddux was asked about Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, he responded how you thought he would:
“You never think anybody is going to be that good,” Maddux said.
Coming from the mouth of one of the greatest to ever do it, that really means a lot. The Dodgers will open up the season on April 4th, and Greg Maddux will have his role as special assistant of baseball operations. But, for now, he’s there at Spring Training giving the pitchers a thorough examination.
If his help is like his pitching was, look out.
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Great move by the Dodgers. Watching him pitch was a real treat. He was so strong mentally he would not give in. He made the hitter hit his pitch. Everyone knew that ball was a high percentage of the time coming on the low outside corner of the plate and there wasn’t much they could do about it..
The man was a pitching surgeon. I thought Greinke was really emulating him as far as knowing the hitters and making the little changes up, down & small speed changes. Everything to throw off the batter just enough..
Except Greinke throws harder… I think Maddux will be a great teacher he studied and mastered the science of pitching in his career.
Tmaxster I agree, and there are some of them who could really use the help. Just think if he can teach Hatcher a true off speed pitch to go with his fastball…..
Michael Norris Tmaxster Amen Michael.. Jansen with the Fastball, Cutter and a true effective change would give hitters nightmares..
Hated when we played against Maddux in his glory years but always respected his amazing ability to get guys out with hardly anything classed as a fastball these days it was amazing..
The man pitched most of his career with his pitches in the Black…