Leo Mazzone may not be rocking much these days, but the former Braves pitching coach hasn’t lost his sense of humor.
“I can’t wait for that trip to Cooperstown,’’ he said, referring to this summer’s upcoming Baseball Hall of Fame induction of Bobby Cox, Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux. “I received a letter from the Hall saying I was on the guest list of Tom and Chris Glavine. I also am on Bobby’s list. I hadn’t received anything from Mad Dog (Maddux), but I figure those are enough lists to get me there.’’
Mazzone is shown in the adjacent 1984 photo laughing it up with Hank Aaron when Mazzone was the pitching coach at Class AA Greenville and Aaron was the organization’s vice president of player development.
“Hank was my boss for 12 years and one of the greatest bosses you could ever work for,’’ said Mazzone. “He never came off as the home run king. He just came off as one of the minor league coaches. He never told you what to do. He always told you, ‘I hired you to do your job and make your own best decisions.’ That’s refreshing these days. We used to have dinner and a glass of wine together … great memories.’’
Mazzone spent 42 years in professional baseball, 24 of them in the minors. But his 18 in the majors were memorable, most of them with the Braves and pitching staffs that included Glavine, Maddux, John Smoltz, Steve Avery and others. Today, you can hear him on the first day of a Braves home series on the morning show on 680 The Fan, and he also is working with young pitchers on the weekend at 6-4-3 DP Athletics in Cobb.
His message to young pitchers?
“There is a lot of talent out there, and my message to them and never try to live up to a speed on a radar gun,’’ he said.
At 65, does Mazzone miss the professional game?
“Terribly,’’ he said. “In fact, the first few years I wasn’t at spring training I got depressed. But I have a big trip to Cooperstown coming up, and that is going to be incredible.’’
