Joe Morgan compares Maddux to singles' hitter

Last night, during the Atlanta Braves/San Diego Padres game, in which former Braves' starter Greg Maddux was facing off against his old club, announcers Joe Morgan and John Miller began comparing Maddux with New York Yankees' starter Roger Clemens.

John Miller was attempting to make the argument (and rightfully so) that Maddux was a bargain, as Clemens' has cost the Yankees $22 million in a little over half a season of baseball, while Maddux has cost the Padres $10 million for a full season. Joe Morgan stated that it was due to the fact that Clemens is an intimidator, a feared, power pitcher. At this point in their careers, Clemens is still a #1 starter, while Maddux is more like a #3. Okay, I will agree with those statements. I agree with Miller that Maddux is a bargain for the Padres in comparison to what the Yankees are paying Clemens (although, one has to keep in mind that these are the Yankees, who overpay players all the time... Carl Pavano anyone?). I will also agree with Morgan that at this stage in their careers, Clemens is more of an ace than Maddux. So, there we have it. I agree with a statement made by both announcers. But, this next statement I found to be rather ludicrous.

Joe Morgan compared Greg Maddux to a singles' hitter, like Tony Gwynn and Clemens to a home run hitter and that the fans are more inclined to wanting to watch the home run bopper than the singles' man and that management is more willing to pay that home run hitter the big bucks than the singles' hitter.

Miller and Morgan then showed the statistics to compare the two future Hall-of-Famers. Clemens has been around for two more seasons than Maddux (24 to 22) and has 10 more victories to his credit (350 to 340). Both have a share of Cy Youngs, with Clemens pulling in a record 7 and Maddux won 4 consecutively a few years ago. Maddux has 16 Gold Gloves to his credit and Clemens has been shut out in that department for his career. Both have a World Series ring, with Clemens pulling in two. Maddux's E.R.A. is slightly lower for his career than Clemens' (3.09 to 3.11). Both pitchers have eclipsed the 3,000 strikeout plateau, but Clemens has a few more in his career than Maddux.

Comparing the two pitchers is silly in any regard. They're probably the two best of this era. While Clemens is more of a power pitcher with an intimidation factor that Maddux hasn't held as a starter, to compare Maddux to a singles' hitter is downright silly. The man has only won 340 games, with over 3,000 strikeouts, a lifetime E.R.A. just above 3.00, 4 Cy Youngs, 16 Gold Gloves, a World Series' ring, etc. Of all "singles' hitters" to compare Maddux to, Tony Gwynn? He was one of the best contact hitters of all-time. Many times pitchers feared guys like Gwynn more than the likes of power hitters such as Miguel Cabrera or Andruw Jones. Many pitchers, regardless if they're power or finesse, can strike out the power hitters a few times, but batters like Gwynn just make contact with the baseball and drive Hall-of-Fame pitchers mad. Both Clemens and Maddux have driven their share of batters to the looney bin. Clemens with his "rocket" for an arm and football-esque demeanor and stature and Maddux with his well full of pitches, uncanny movement, and his alterations of speed in pitches.

If we really want to compare the two, yeah, perhaps Clemens was the more DOMINANT of the two aces and perhaps the better of the two PITCHERS, but as all-around ball players, I'd probably give the edge to Maddux. With 16 more Gold Gloves and always having played in the National League and with that, able to hit the ball better than Clemens and lay down a successful sacrifice bunt (probably one of the best ever at doing that), I'd probably give the overall player edge to Maddux. But, either way, these are probably the two best pitchers of this era and it's been an honor to watch both in their prime and in their latter years. Regardless of how Joe wants to look at it, neither Maddux nor Clemens is a singles' pitcher. They're anything but. They have 11 Cy Young awards between the two of them. That says it all right there.