Maddux, Greg

Maddux, Greg (Gregory Alan Maddux), 1966–, American baseball player, b. San Angelo, Tex. Playing with the Chicago Cubs (1986–92, 2004–) and the Atlanta Braves (1993–2003), both in the National League, he has been noted for finesse and control, rather than for speed and power, and has more than 300 wins (and 15 or more wins in 17 straight seasons). Maddux won the Cy Young Award as the league's best pitcher four years in a row (1992–95), the first to do so. The 1994 and 1995 awards were by unanimous vote, placing Maddux with Sandy Koufax as the only pitchers so honored twice in a row. The winningest pitcher in the major leagues from 1988 through 1995, he posted an earned run average under 1.80 for two successive years (1994–95), the first time anyone had done so since Walter Johnson in 1918–19. His winning percentage of .905 (19–2) in 1995, when Maddux led the Braves to a World Series championship, was the highest ever achieved for a season by a pitcher with over 20 decisions.