It looks like Greg Maddux’s triumphant return home may not go as well as Cubs fans had planned. But anyone paying close attention to the numbers shouldn’t be too surprised.
Last year, 20 NL pitchers pitched 200+ innings. Of those 20, Maddux yielded the second worst opponents batting average of .268. His opponents slugging % came in as the 4th worst at .420. Not exactly Cy Young numbers.
Only Maddux’s pinpoint control kept him in the ranks of the leagues top pitchers. He only gave up 33 walks in 218 IP, which easily led all other pitchers with 200+ innings.
So far this year he has given up 7 walks in 9.2 innings, so it’s not hard to see why he has gotten off to such a rocky start. Unless he is able to regain his pinpoint control, or have his Atlanta,strikezone imported to Chicago, Maddux will not only fail to reach 15 wins for the 17th straight, but will also have trouble capturing 11 needed to reach 300 for his career.
This was not the homecoming Cub fans were looking forward to.