Maddux to join Braves’ hall, have number retired

When Greg Maddux left Atlanta for the Chicago Cubs five years ago, the Braves didn’t get the chance to give him a proper send-off. Now that he’s retired, they will do it up big.

The Braves will retire Maddux’s No. 31 and induct him into the Braves Hall of Fame on July 17 before a game against the Mets.

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‘I feel like I changed teams, but I never really left,’ Greg Maddux said of Atlanta.

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Maddux will become only the sixth Braves player to have his jersey retired, joining Hank Aaron (44), Eddie Mathews (41), Dale Murphy (3), Phil Niekro (35) and Warren Spahn (21). Jackie Robinson’s No. 42 also is retired, as it is around the majors.

“It’s exciting,” Maddux said Saturday from his hometown of Las Vegas. “You sit on that bench for 10 years in Atlanta, staring at the outfield wall and seeing Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews, Warren Spahn and Phil Niekro. Seeing all those names every day — you always wonder what it would be like to face them.”

Now he’ll join them in an honor that carries special meaning to Maddux. “One of the things I do any time I go to a ballpark for the first time is check out the retired numbers,” he said. “It’s pretty cool. It’d be nice to see it next to Glav and Smoltzie. It’d be cool to share it with other guys you’ve played with.”

Maddux, 42, was the first of the “Big Three” — including Tom Glavine and John Smoltz — to retire and will likely be the first inducted into Baseball’s Hall of Fame.

Maddux finished his career eighth on baseball’s all-time win list with 355. He won his last regular-season start last season — which he split between the Padres and Dodgers — to move ahead of Roger Clemens. Maddux has a record 18 Gold Gloves.

The Braves will honor him at a luncheon and again on the field before the game July 17. He becomes the second player from the record run of 14 consecutive division titles to be inducted into the Braves Hall of Fame, along with outfielder David Justice.

“He played such a key role in our championship years and continuing the growth of the Braves organization into a consistent championship-caliber organization,” said Braves president John Schuerholz, who brought Maddux to Atlanta in 1993 in arguably one of the greatest free-agent signings in history.

In 11 seasons with the Braves, Maddux won 194 games and three of his four consecutive National League Cy Young awards. He won his only World Series ring with the Braves in 1995.

He set club records for winning percentage (.688, 194-88) and career ERA (2.63). He holds the Braves record for lowest ERA in a season, going 16-6 with a 1.54 ERA in 1994, the year he was dubbed “AutoMaddux” in headlines.

Schuerholz said this honor transcends statistics.

“It’s about excellence,” he said. “It’s about class. It’s about consistency. It’s about professionalism. It’s about winning. And he was a great leader for us in all those areas.”

In his final season with the Braves in 2003, Maddux broke Cy Young’s record for most consecutive seasons with 15 or more wins at 16. He extended that to 17 consecutive seasons with the Cubs in 2004.

Maddux was drafted by the Cubs in 1984 and played 10 seasons for them in two stints. The Cubs will retire No. 31 worn by both Maddux and Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins on May 3.

Maddux said he will always feel a special connection to the Braves, Cubs and the Padres, the team he signed with for the twilight of his career.

He said he’ll cherish being honored by Braves fans July 17. “I appreciate it,” said Maddux, who stays connected to the game by playing fantasy baseball with his son Chase. “I feel like I changed teams, but I never really left. Atlanta is a huge part of my life. I still keep in touch with friends from there. Atlanta will always be a part of my life.”

For information on tickets to the Braves Hall of Fame luncheon, call 404-614-2310.