Wednesday, April 18, 2012

The Maddux


Greg Maddux is my favorite player ever. I tended to gravitate toward position players as a child, but over time that changed. As I was more and more drawn to pitchers, I was especially drawn to those who succeeded without throwing harder than everyone else. I know the strikeout is the "best" out, but I liked pitchers who got grounders and weak pop flies, or struck guys out by painting the corners. I imagine this is because in my own limited playing career, I was a pretty solid pitcher, despite never throwing hard. By the mid 90s, I was in love with Greg Maddux. One morning the week I graduated from high school in 1998, while eating breakfast at the kitchen table, I noticed in the box scores that Maddux had thrown a shutout while throwing fewer only 99 pitches. I soon began to keep an eye out for similar games, and to think of such a performance as a "Maddux."


Requirements for a Maddux:

A Maddux is a complete game shutout with fewer than 100 pitches.

(It must be 9+ innings, nothing shortened by rain or anything else.) 

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OTHER POSTS WITH INFO ON THE MADDUX:

For how many Madduxes each team has thrown and had thrown against it, click here.
For the 13 Madduxes thrown by Greg Maddux himself, click here.
For pitchers with multiple Madduxes in the same season, click here.
For teammates with Madduxes in the same season, click here.
For the two times a Maddux was thrown on Opening Day, click here.
For the youngest and oldest pitchers to throw a Maddux, click here.
For pitchers who lost a Maddux due to unearned runs, click here.
For the fewest career games until one's first Maddux, click here.
For the seven times multiple Madduxes were thrown on the same day, click here.
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LAST UPDATED: August 4, 2018


Allow me to tip my hat to Baseball-Reference and their Play Index. It's made compiling everything that follows possible (I've come a long way from scribbling them down in a notebook when I happened to notice one in the box scores).

Madduxes are fairly rare. There have been an average of roughly eleven per season going back to 1988, when MLB pitch counts began to be kept consistently. There are 306 Madduxes on record since then, thrown by 194 different pitchers.

Career Maddux leaders (1988-present):
1. Greg Maddux       13
2. Zane Smith            7
3. Bob Tewksbury     6
t4. Tom Glavine         5
t4. Roy Halladay        5

How can you not love a stat with that leader board?! Active notables include Henderson Alvarez, Bartolo Colon, and James Shields, with 4 each, and Josh Beckett, Derek Holland, Tim Hudson, Paul Maholm, Jason Marquis, and Ervin Santana each have 3.

Maddux (1998) and Zane Smith (1991) share the single-season record with 3 Madduxes apiece.

Seasons with the most Madduxes:
1988: 25
1990: 20
1992: 18
1989: 16
1993: 14

On the opposite end of things, the fewest Madduxes in any season is 3, in 1999, and again in 2016.

During the 2000s, the highest total is 13, in 2009. While scoring has been down in the last few seasons and pitching numbers look better, I doubt the Maddux is going to rise to the level it was at 20-25 years ago. This is due in part to strikeout totals climbing, making it more difficult to finish a game on so few pitches.

Other Maddux data:

* It's hard to strike too many guys out in a Maddux, because of course Ks require a minimum of three pitches. Yet,  on 15 different occasions, a pitcher has managed to hit a double-digit strikeout total while twirling a Maddux. The record: 12 strikeouts, by Cliff Lee, on April 14th, 2011, against the Nationals. UPDATE: The strikeout record was tied by Carlos Carrasco on September 17, 2014.

* On the other hand, it's tough to record a shutout without any strikeouts. Zane Smith, Tom Glavine, and Rick Porcello are the only pitchers to throw a Maddux without striking anyone out.

* Walks can kill a potential Maddux. 176 of the 306 Madduxes since 1988 (57.5%) were accomplished with zero walks. Mike Witt and Chuck Finley were each able to throw one while walking four batters.

* On August 3rd, 2004, Carlos Silva somehow threw a Maddux while giving up 11 hits. They were all singles, and he got four double-play balls. Living dangerously, Carlos, living dangerously.

* Dennis Martinez, Kevin Gross, Chris Bosio, Kenny Rogers, Kevin Brown, David Cone, Derek Lowe, Philip Humber, Henderson Alvarez, Edinson Volquez, and James Paxton each pitched a no-hit Maddux. Martinez, Rogers, Cone, and Humber's were each also perfect games.

* 32 Madduxes have been 1-0 games, including Roy Halladay's performance on September 6th, 2003, when he became the only pitcher to throw an extra-inning Maddux, going 10 frames on just 99 pitches.

* The highest-scoring Maddux was a 16-0 contest in 2005, in which Mike Hampton worked around what must have been a lot of sitting in the dugout time to lock down the Maddux.

* As I said, there are only full regular season pitch count records since 1988, so that's the starting point I'm using for things here, but pitch counts were kept in the postseason a few years earlier than that. For the years in which we have official counts, there has been just one postseason Maddux though, thrown by Bret Saberhagen in Game 7 of the 1985 World Series, when he shut the Cardinals out on just 92 pitches and won himself World Series MVP honors. (Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series also reportedly took just 97 pitches.)

* Just as some no-hitters are better than others, some Madduxes are a little more impressive than the rest. 99 pitches is accomplishment enough, but some guys were able to do it on far fewer pitches.

Fewest pitches in a Maddux:
1. Jon Lieber            78
t2. Aaron Cook         79
t2. Bob Tewksbury   79
t2. Kevin Brown        79
5. Doug Drabek        80

I would also point out that on August 13, 2006, a 40-year-old Greg Maddux pitched 8 shutout innings on just 68 pitches. Sadly, manager Grady Little would not let him finish what could have been the record. Was that the worst pitching decision of Little's career? I say yes.

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Why do I bring all this up now? In San Francisco this evening, Cliff Lee and Matt Cain had an absolute duel. Through nine innings, Lee had thrown just 89 pitches. and Cain had been almost as efficient, with 91 pitches. Double-Maddux!!!

Except, you have to pitch the entire game, and with neither pitcher having allowed a run, the game continued. Cain came out of the game for a pinch-hitter at that point, but Lee went back out for the 10th. That was something of a big deal, as no pitcher had pitched a 10th inning since Aaron Harang in 2007. The Phillies still hadn't given him any run support though, and he was at 102 pitches by the time he finished the inning.

The first Maddux of 2012 will have to wait. Perhaps Lee or Cain will go on to throw one their next time out. Maybe Jamie Moyer, who earlier this week became the oldest player in MLB history to record a win, will be the one to do it. It could be Roy Halladay, climbing into a tie for 3rd place along the way. Most likely it will be none of those guys. Someone unexpected will probably be the first to do it this season. That's the beauty of the Maddux, you can never know when it will happen. Not now that Greg has retired, anyway.




92 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. It was Clay Hensley, which makes sense, he did get one batter out after all.

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  2. Josh Johnson will be the 1st of 2012, just you watch...

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    1. Your bet is duly noted for the office pool. A $1 bet on Jonathan Sanchez might pay for a house!

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  3. Doggie is my all-time favorite pitcher as well. I now have a new all-time favorite statistic. Thanks to you, and thanks to Craig Calcaterra for linking to your blog so I could add this to my treasure trove of baseball knowledge.

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    1. I'm thrilled you like it so much. I don't know if you're on Twitter or not, but my handle is @Lukehart80 and I'll be sure to note any "Maddux" that occurs.

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  4. You seem to have limited your search to 1988 onwards. The full (post-1917) leader board is:

    1. Maddux – 13
    2. Smith – 7
    t3. Tewksbury – 6
    t3. Newcombe – 6
    t5. Koufax – 5
    t5. Halladay – 5
    t5. Glavine – 5
    t5. Drysdale – 5

    followed by Roe, Moyer, Colon & Bosio (4) and Wells, Valdez, Shields, Schilling, Radke, Podres, Oswalt, Navarro, Mulholland, Marquis, Hudson, Carpenter, Browning & Beckett (3).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pitch count data seems pretty incomplete before 1988, which is why I chose that as my starting point. I figured it was better to be accurate for a somewhat shorter time frame, instead of a longer frame with missing games. It makes the numbers of guys like Newcombe, Koufax, and Drysdale even more impressive, as they likely threw a few more Madduxes than are shown.

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    2. Hey Julian, what is your source? Look up Randy Jones. In 1975 & 1976 alone, he tossed 11 shutouts with line scores that look very Madduxian. The number 73 stands out in my mind. Not sure if it's the pitch count for one of his gems, or if it's the average pitch speed (when I said "tossed" 11 shutouts, I meant that literally).

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  5. Humber with the perfect-Maddux!

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    1. Which is crazy! I said it would be someone random, but I didn't expect it to happen so soon, or in such incredible fashion!

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  6. Joe Blanton just threw a Maddux!

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    1. And he did it WAY under the cutoff, using just 88 pitches. Over the last ten years, this is only the 11th time a pitcher has thrown a Maddux with under 90 pitches.

      A hat tip to the Phillies' ace (that is Blanton, right?)

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  7. Kyle Kendrick just threw a Maddux!! (no, really!)

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    1. On the same day as Johan Santana. I leave home for the weekend, and it was raining Madduxes in the N.L. East on Saturday!

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  8. Maddux from another Brave, Paul Maholm!

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    1. Actually, this is the 3rd Maddux of Maholm's career (the other two both came while he was with Pittsburgh). He and James Shields are now the only pitchers to throw a Maddux in each of the last two seasons.

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  9. Is there an official "The Maddux" tracker out there somewhere?

    ;)

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    Replies
    1. I wish I knew how to put one together!

      Clayton Kershaw's Opening Day gem qualified, and I'm gonna try to put together a quick write up on it over the weekend.

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    2. Maybe a Twitter account with a profile link to a running total on your blog? When there is a new one, update the blog post total, and send out a tweet about it? ?

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  10. And tonight, Kershaw added a second consecutive Maddux!

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    1. No, you've got to pitch a complete game to get the Maddux, and while Kershaw dominated again, he came out after 7 innings last night. He would seem to have a pretty good chance at pitching another one at some this season though!

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  11. Jordan Zimmerman made it look ready tonight. I thought Kyle Kendrick had another one up his sleeve for a minute too (wound up with 8 extra pitches)

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    1. You don't even need a Maddux tracker, you're always on top of them! 91 pitches for ZImmermann, very impressive stuff. You may recall, Kendrick pitched one last year, so he'd have been a multiple-Maddux throwing pitcher if he could have pulled it off tonight.

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  12. Just read about this from Jonah Keri on Grantland. Awesome stuff, dude. I will definitely be keeping my eye out for some Madduxes.

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    1. I'm glad you enjoyed it. There have been a lot of close calls the last couple weeks (including Matt Harvey last night) and I'd bet we get at least one new one by the end of May. Perhaps Kershaw or Zimmermann tonight will pitch their second of the season.

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  13. Just came across this post from Grantland as well. It's great, but I just noticed you didn't make any mention of how Cliff Lee's awesome 12-K Maddux fell on Greg Maddux's 45th birthday!

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    1. I hadn't noticed that!

      No one has ever thrown a Maddux on their own birthday, but Greg did throw one the day after his 32nd birthday.

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  14. Add in the fact that Maddux was a GREAT fielder, and could help himself with the bat...decent hitter, and outstanding bunter who could always move a runner along...and he might be the pitcher who got the absolute MOST out of his talent. The only pitchers I can think of who were definitely better were some of the ones with the strong arms and 95+ fastballs. (And there were a lot of pitchers with that kind of arm who weren't nearly as good as Maddux.) Great player, and if I needed a pitching coach, he'd be the first person I would call.

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    1. I have to think he's been contacted by teams hoping he'd become their pitching coach. It must cut too far into his golf calendar.

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  15. "and could help himself with the bat"

    Chicks dig the long ball...

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  16. The Lieber game was such a joke. The Reds got hit w a rash of injuries, it was getaway day and all theydid was hack. Thought mgr Boone should've been fired for it at the time and I'm a Cub fan

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  17. Haha, I was at that 2004 Carlos Silva gem, if memory serves me right, he did it on 84 pitches (while giving up 11 hits???!!!). I left Dome stunned. Looking back, it's even more stunning because it was Carlos freaking Silva.

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    1. It's impressive that we was able to allow so many base runners without any of them scoring, much less getting through the game on so few pitches.

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  18. One of my favorite games is Lary Sorensen's 72-pitch shutout in 1979. Hopefully this link works: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MSMWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7hEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6524%2C1381783

    Here's the baseball-reference box: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL197905060.shtml

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    Replies
    1. Very cool!

      I wish pitch count records had been fully kept before 1988, it'd be neat to see who threw the most from earlier years. It's neat that the pitch count was documented in the game recap for that one, thanks for sharing the link.

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  19. R.A. Dickey with the knuckling Maddux today!

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  20. Is Dickey the oldest pitcher to ever throw a Maddux?

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    1. He is the 5th-oldest. You can see a list of the oldest (and youngest) guys to do it here:

      http://groundballwitheyes.blogspot.com/2013/05/more-random-info-on-maddux.html?showComment=1372303269064#c7853719784916694126

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  21. Glad to be among fellow Mad-Dogs. Looking forward to the HoF vote next year - will he challenge Tom Seaver's record for highest vote percentage?

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    1. When he retired, I would have thought so, but HOF voting has become such a mess, with blank protest ballots, some feeling there are more deserving candidates than they're allowed to vote for, etc. I think Maddux gets more votes than anyone and coasts in easily, but I can't see him breaking that record anymore.

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  22. Maddux freak here. I'm speechless. Just fantastic stuff, Jason.

    Did you ever think about including a time of game metric in the Maddux? He was also famous for those super-quick ballgames since he threw so few pitches and worked so quickly.

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  23. Thanks, I'm glad you like it.

    Time-of-game would be a cool thing to look at, but I don't know of any easy way to do it. I lived in L.A. for a while, and vividly remember driving down to San Diego to see Jake Peavy and Roger Clemens duel (this was in 2005, when Clemens was an Astro). Each of them pitched a complete game, Peavy's was a shutout. The game took 1:53 and on my way driving back to Hollywood I got stuck in Dodger Stadium traffic because their game had only just ended.

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  24. I may have found the Maddux pre-pitch-count-era with the fewest pitches, and it's an unbelievable number.

    Charlie "Red" Barrett of the Boston Braves threw a 58 pitch 2-hit shutout against the Reds on August 10, 1944. The game only took 1 hr 15 min, making it also the shortest night game in baseball history.

    http://www.baseball-almanac.com/boxscore/08101944.shtml

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  25. Dallas Braden threw a perfect Maddux! A's get no love.

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  26. Jason - great stat. The Maddux deserves national recognition.

    I'm watching the Rays-Yankees game over the weekend and found myself rooting for Chris Archer to get the Maddux (he did - 97 pitches). He began the 9th on 85, leading 1-0. Although the Yanks never threatened, Archer started falling behind in counts. If Gardner doesn't whiff on a TERRIBLE pitch in the dirt for the 2nd out? No Maddux! That night on SportsCenter, as game highlights played, I kept waiting for the announcer to proclaim "The Maddux".

    Alas, there is work to do.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I was out of the country for this one, but excited to find that in its aftermath, Jonah Keri (who has done more to spread word of the Maddux than I'm capable of with my limited reach) mentioned my name on his podcast, while discussing the Rays with Rany Jazayerli.

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  27. Stephen Strasburg with a 99-pitch Maddox for his first ever shut out and complete game vs. the Phillies yesterday. Notably, he kept the pitch count down even though he had 10 Ks and a 10-pitch at-bat with Darin Ruf.

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    1. Strasburg's is just the 12th Maddux with 10+ strikeouts. It's also the 4th in Nationals history, to go with 4 they had as the Expos.

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  28. Love this new stat. I'm always on the lookout for them. Quick question. Do you know how many Madduxes have been thrown against each team?

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    1. You can now find that info here:

      http://groundballwitheyes.blogspot.com/2013/08/each-teams-madduxes-and-madduxes-against.html

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  29. Ivan Nova came within 4 pitches of a Maddux tonight (9 IP, 0 ER, 104 pitches).

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    1. I saw that. He had a chance at it all the way into the 9th. His first career shutout is a pretty good consolation prize.

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  30. Andrew Cashner with a Maddux for the Padres. One measly hit away from a perfect game. Don't anybody remind me that the Padres are the only team without a no-hitter.

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    1. Yes, the Padres remain in search of their first no hitter (sorry, I reminded you), but the 8th Maddux in franchise history is still pretty damn good, and Cashner becomes only the 13th pitcher to throw a Maddux while facing the minimum 27 batters.

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  31. Do you have a list of 9IP or CGs with the lowest numbers of pitches that do not qualify as a Maddux because the pitcher gave up a run? I remember a 75 pitch gem by Andy Ashby that didn't count because he gave up two runs (still got the win, 7-2: http://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/06/sports/national-league-roundup-ashby-and-vaughn-turn-in-all-star-efforts.html Not bad for a game at Denver.

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    1. There have been 270 games since 1988 in which a pitcher threw a complete game on under 100 pitches, but allowed at least one run.

      In 6 of those games, the pitcher threw fewer than 80 pitches (compared to only 4 Madduxes on fewer than 80):

      t1) Carlos Silva (5/20/05) - 74 pitches, 1 R
      t1) Aaron Cook (7/25/07) - 74 pitches 2 R
      t3) Bob Tewksbery (8/29/90) - 75 pitches, 1 R
      t3) Andy Ashby (7/5/98) - 75 pitches, 2 R
      5) Greg Maddux (7/22/97) - 76 pitches, 1 R
      6) Tom Glavine (6/15/93) -79 pitches, 1 R

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  32. I am not-so-secretly hoping that this stat becomes famous during his upcoming HOF acceptance speech!

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  33. josh collmenter, welcome to the maddux club. And facing the minimum no less!

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    1. Yes, a very impressive performance by Collmenter. Only the second Maddux of 2014, and only the sixth in Diamondbacks history.

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  34. Kyle Lohse! He also went 2-3 at the plate, with two RBI.

    Also: KYLE LOHSE!

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  35. henderson alvarez with TWO madduxes this year!

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    1. And 4 in his career already, making him one of just 10 pitchers with at least that many.

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  36. Greg Maddux was 133-112 with the Chicago Cubs. Why the FO ever let him slip out of the Windy City is absolutely ridiculous!!!!!

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  37. I was a 16 year old immigrant to the US in 1990 and had no interest in baseball or other major american sports (because I had no prior exposure to them). My sport of choice was football better known as soccer in this part of the world. Sadly soccer coverage was nonexistent in those days and the internet was a dream in some techies minds. In 1993 a friend introduced me to baseball and it was the slowest game ever!! I couldn't get myself to watch one complete game. And then I heard of the Cy Young award and how this pitcher named Greg Maddux had won it the second straight year. I started watching him pitch (on TBS :-). To me he seemed like the guy next door and he flat-out dominated larger-than-life guys at the plate. He didn't overpower them, he outsmarted them. Not knowing much about the game at the time, Mad Dog literally got me into baseball. From that time on I followed every game he pitched to the end of his distinguished career. What an athlete and exemplary ambassador of the sport.

    I want to thank you for this blog cos I had no idea about THE MADDUX. Its another stunning stat to add to his remarkable achievements. I've always wondered if he could be somehow immortalized in the lexicon of baseball...and THIS IS IT!!

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  38. I came up with "The Kingman Line," noted for Brian Kingman, the most proud 20-game loser in MLB history. Hence, the Kingman Line is 20 losses in a season. As a fellow terminology inventor (and Greg Maddux admirer), I'd like to see "the Maddux" gain recognition. Good luck.

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  39. Wow... Vance Worley one pitch too many tonight for the Pirates

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    1. I thought he had it with one out in the 9th, but that next AB used a whole lot of pitches. So close...

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  40. Roy Halladay's first career Maddux on Sept 29 2002 was a 10 inning affair. How many other Extra Inning Maddux Games have been thrown?

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    1. It's among the items in this post (but I know there are a lot of them): Halladay's extra-innings Maddux is the only one on the books. Pretty darn good, that guy.

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  41. Doc was awesome. Missed a 6th career won by 1 pitch too

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  42. Kluber has potential to hurl a maddux every time he goes out there

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    1. He was awesome tonight. The Indians are the team I live and die with, so it was great fun for me to watch this one.

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  43. Kloobs was nails 2nite. Any figures available for most Ks in a Maddux? 8 with 85 pitches is wicked + efficient.

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  44. Well now i see extribe man Cliff the witch Lee with 12. I miss Cliff.

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    1. In addition to his record strikeout total in a Maddux (with the Phillies), Cliff also pitched the last Maddux by an Indians pitcher (until tonight), back in 2009.

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  45. Hey - I think you missed the BEST MADDUX of them all

    Don Larsen's perfect game in the 5th game of the `56 series - officially 97 pitches.

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  46. "The pitcher must toss a complete game shutout..."

    As opposed to the kind of shutout that occurs when the pitcher isn't credited with a complete game? Saying "He threw a complete game shutout." is like saying "He scored a six point touchdown." IT'S THE ONLY KIND.

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  47. Was Shelby Miller's tonight the first Maddux of 2015?

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    1. Yes, after a month of waiting, we've got one!

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    2. And now another--also by Miller!

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    3. I wrote about Miller and the other pitchers with multiple Madduxes in the same season:

      http://groundballwitheyes.blogspot.com/2015/05/pitchers-with-multiple-madduxes-in-same.html

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  48. Chris Archer last night with 11 Ks!

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    1. Only one shy of the Maddux strikeout record, shared by Cliff Lee and Carlos Carrasco (who were once traded for one another)!

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  49. Weaver with a nice one today, and they even mentioned Maddux on the A's broadcast!

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  50. Who threw the fewest pitches in the 9th inning to complete their Maddux?

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    1. Jon Lieber threw one on 78 pitches. You can find the top five near the end of this post.

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  51. No love for Rich Hill last night, right?

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    1. Correct. Sadly for poor Rich, you've got to pitch a shutout, so the Dodgers' inability to score a run in nine innings cost him.

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  52. Just read this for the first time. Well done. I had a question. Did Mark Buerhle ever have a Maddux?

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    1. Thanks!

      Yes, Buehrle pitched two Madduxes in his career. In 2004 he needed just 90 pitches to shut out the Indians in a 14-0 contest that was one of the most lopsided games ever to feature in Maddux. Then, 11 years later, while pitching for Toronto in 2015, Buehrle needed just 93 pitches to shut out the Nationals.

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