Maddux stopping to smell the ivy these days
Suddenly, chicks dig a well-located changeup.
While that may be overstating it a bit, it does seem a majority of baseball fans have finally tired of the steroid era and are looking to those who have done it the honest and intelligent way.
They need not look past Greg Maddux to find an HGH-free zone, for the only time Maddux enhances his performance is when he lands a new set of irons or a magical putter.
But after winning his 350th game Saturday night, Maddux has now been recognized as perhaps the most accomplished pitcher of the last 50 years, since Warren Spahn, or maybe even Walter Johnson 30 years before him.
He arrives at Wrigley Field tonight for a four-game series with San Diego, and, barring a shocking change of plans, he will take the mound in Chicago on Thursday for the final time in his career.
But in typical Maddux fashion, he wants no farewell tour, no gifts or plaques, no attention of any kind, if at all possible.
"Sneak out, just like I snuck in," Maddux laughed, reminding you that he didn't get much notice when he went 8-18 during his first six months in the big leagues. "We're just trying to win games right now, get back on track, get something going.
"Don't need any distraction or focus on anything but winning some games."
Whether he likes it or not, Maddux is getting some attention now, even from the East Coast, where Maddux was an afterthought and always a distant second or third to Roger Clemens or Pedro Martinez.
He wasn't a Yankee, Met or Red Sox, he didn't throw hard, didn't seek the limelight, and didn't miraculously discover the Fountain of Youth in his late 30s.
But with so much negativity thrust on Clemens, Maddux is the flavor of the day, the poster boy for the anti-Selig era that has destroyed the record books and plundered history.
With maddening consistency, Maddux has never changed, unless he was changing speeds or refining and adapting to his age, a changing strike zone or a game high on bulk.
"It's just been a lot of fun," Maddux said by phone from San Diego. "I've had a lot of fun playing the game and being around the guys. And it's all just from enjoying what I get to do for a living, playing a game I love to play. How lucky am I? I'm just making pitches."
Yes, making pitches.
"Making pitches, Dude," Maddux said. "One pitch. Make this pitch good. Then, we'll think about the next one."
His best years came when the game was neck-deep in drugs designed to take money out of his pocket and add points to his ERA.
So he merely sought out their aggressiveness, used it against them, and made better pitches.
He was not the first hurler in history to turn the art of pitching into the stuff of Picasso, but from this point forward, any pitcher who hones his craft with pinpoint control and a desire to learn more with every toss will be compared to Maddux.
The numbers speak for him, so he need not say much. He already has reached -- or this year should come close to -- 350 wins, 3,300 strikeouts, 725 starts and 20,000 batters faced.
He has four Cy Youngs, eight all-star selections, 12 postseason appearances, four ERA titles and a chance to add to his record-setting 17 Gold Gloves.
In September he should reach 5,000 innings pitched, and it will be interesting to watch as he attempts to remain as one of only two pitchers ever to retire with 3,000 strikeouts and fewer than 1,000 walks.
He's at 977, and the only other was Fergie Jenkins, who pitched 500 fewer innings, struck out 3,192 and walked 997.
In the 130-year history of the game, Maddux will finish seventh or eighth all time in victories.
Ponder that for a moment, and remember it when Maddux walks off the mound Thursday at Wrigley Field.
Maddux already has taken one drive down memory lane this year, having passed through Atlanta, where he saw John Smoltz and Tom Glavine.
"I'm definitely looking around a lot more than I did. I'm aware of the little things," Maddux said. "I'm making sure I shake some hands and remember the people.
"I think about some of the great teams I've been on, winning a World Series. You think about the teammates, coaches, managers, trainers, security guards. So many fans you see and remember.
"There are the moments you think about. Mostly, you think of the really good times you had. There were a lot at Wrigley Field, that's for sure. I think in Chicago I remember most how I was treated by the fans and the people on the street.
"It's a lot to think about, and you can't let that get in the way of the game you have to play. That other stuff will be for later."
In an interview with the Daily Herald in February, Maddux made it pretty clear he'd walk away after this year, though it doesn't mean he believes he's done.
"I've been very fortunate with health, and assuming that continued, I think I could pitch a long time," Maddux said. "But there comes a point where you say enough's enough, and I'm at an age (42) and my son is at an age (11) where I'd like to see him pitch more."
So Maddux will keep on making pitches this summer, passing Clemens on the all-time wins list and taking more satisfaction in a groundout to second than finding any place in the history books.
And as he prepares for a quiet exit, anyone who appreciates more about baseball than a 500-foot home run knows we will not be better for his departure.