Yes. Greg Maddux was a strikeout pitcher during his generation. He was consistently among league-leaders in total strikeouts and in 1998 his K/9 was 23% better than league average.
Greg Maddux is one of the greatest pitchers in the history of baseball in part because of how good he was relative to his peers. It is worthwhile and fun to compare statistics across generations but approaches change, balls change, performance enhancers change, etc.
This post began as an attempt to show some incredible Maddux statistics that showed his greatness in comparison to his peers. However, the focus shifted to his strikeout ability.
Below are a few impressive statistics for you to enjoy before we get to Maddux’s strikeouts.
Greg Maddux Towered Over His Peers
- Over the first two seasons of Maddux’s career, he posted a 5.59 ERA.
- Over the final six years of Maddux’s career, he posted a 4.13 ERA.
- If you remove those eight seasons, Maddux had an incredible 2.68 ERA over the remaining 15 seasons (1988-2002).
- During that time (’88-’02), Maddux’s ERA+ was 153, meaning it was 53% better than the average ERA.
- During that time (’88-’02), Maddux gave up just 0.5 homers per nine innings.
- 0.5 homers per nine is 51% fewer than the league average of 0.97 over that time.
- Greg Maddux led the NL in innings pitched five-straight seasons between 1991-1995.
- Greg Maddux led the NL in complete games in three-straight seasons between 1993-1995.
- Greg Maddux led the NL in ERA three-straight years between 1993-1995 while simultaneously leading the NL in innings pitched during those seasons. He pitched more innings and pitched better than anyone.
- Between 1988-2002, Maddux AVERAGED 18 wins per season.
- Greg Maddux led the league in complete-game shutouts five different times.
Was Greg Maddux a Strikeout Pitcher?
Yes, Greg Maddux was an above-average strikeout pitcher for his time.
Maddux would not be a strikeout pitcher by today’s standards. But why would you take a dude’s stats from a different era and plug them into today’s standards?
Over the 15 years in the sample above (1988-2002), Maddux averaged 6.4 Strikeouts per nine innings pitched, slightly above the league’s 6.2 SO/9 average during that span.
In 1995, the league average in strikeouts per nine was 6.35 and Maddux clocked in at nearly eight with 7.8 K/9!
Maddux had 190 or more strikeouts in a season five different times. He broke 200 Ks in 1998 with 204.
14 Times Greg Maddux Finished inside Top 20 in NL Strikeouts
- 1988 – 16th (140 Ks)
- 1989 – 19th (135 Ks)
- 1990 – 11th (144 Ks)
- 1991 – 2nd (198 Ks)
- 1992 – 3rd (199 Ks)
- 1993 – 3rd (197 Ks)
- 1994 – 4th (156 Ks, strike-shortened season)
- 1995 – 3rd (181 Ks, strike-shortened season)
- 1996 – 13th (162 Ks)
- 1997 – 9th (177 Ks)
- 1998 – 5th (204 Ks)
- 2000 – 11th (190 Ks)
- 2001 – 13th (173 Ks)
- 2004 – 20th (151 Ks)
- As you can see, Maddux finished in the top 20 in strikeouts 14 different times.
- Maddux finished inside the top 10 in strikeouts seven different times.
- He finished inside the top five in strikeouts on six different times.
- Maddux finished inside the top three in strikeouts in four different seasons.
When Maddux was at his best, he was among the best in the league in strikeouts. He was an above-average strikeout pitcher over the course of his career and at times among the better strikeout pitchers in the game. This isn’t a surprise when you go back and watch how much his stuff moves and how he controlled it.
Greg Maddux’s Career-Best 14-Strikeouts vs. Brewers in 2001
Hitters’ approaches were different back then, and pitchers like Maddux were also trying to pitch efficiently to get through games rather than strike everyone out. So, while Maddux’s numbers don’t reflect those of a strikeout pitcher in modern terms. He was an above-average strikeout pitcher during his time and relative to his peers.
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