The magic number for the Cubs is 1997. That’s when their savvy new management can make a bold move, to prove its commitment and rectify one of the worst gaffes ever in professional sports.
Bring Greg Maddux back to Chicago.
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Have we flipped? No, and it’s not the altitude, either. In fact, when approached about this modest proposal Tuesday night, baseball’s best pitcher at least listened politely.
Now, isn’t that a start, Cub fans? Besides, Maddux’s price is dropping all the time. He actually looked mortal before his Atlanta Braves beat the Colorado Rockies 5-4 in their National League division series opener.
“Two years from now, that’s a long time,” he said. “I’m very happy where I am. But I was very happy with the Cubs, too. I didn’t leave there because of the city, the fans, or my teammates. I loved them all. The reasons I left aren’t there anymore.”
Exactly. And what greater statement could President Andy MacPhail make about his regime and its purpose than to sign Maddux when he becomes a free agent again after the 1997 season?
All it will take is money, and remember Maddux’s position on that. He accepted an Atlanta offer that was comparable to the Cubs’, and both were well below a proposal from the New York Yankees. With the baby-faced assassin, it’s the principle, not the principal. He wanted to go where he would feel comfortable.
Well, Wrigley Field is still there, and when the Cubs open their 1998 season, Maddux will be only 31. That’s prime time for most normal pitchers. He isn’t normal. By 1998, Maddux might have six straight Cy Young Awards. He’s halfway there, with another one on the way for this season. His next sore arm will be his first, and success hasn’t changed his personality.
“He’s the best,” said Braves’ manager Bobby Cox. “On days when he’s pitching and on days when he isn’t, too.”
When the Cubs sent Lou Brock to St. Louis for Ernie Broglio in 1964, it was the most brutal trade in Chicago’s warped sports history. But at least it was a trade. When the Cubs let Maddux escape, they got nothing except the dunce cap from the Blackhawks. They let Bobby Hull jump to a new league in 1972, but even he was 33.
On Dec. 9, 1992, a day of infamy for the Cubs, Maddux had only just begun. During the past four seasons, his record is 75-29, despite pitching home games in two hitters’ ballparks, Wrigley and Fulton County Stadium.
This season, Maddux was 19-2 with a 1.63 earned-run average. The league ERA was 4.18. He walked 23 batters in 209 innings. He entered Tuesday night’s game with 18 straight road victories, during which he posted a 0.99 ERA. His ERA for September was 0.29.
All for $5 million, reasonable for a man who isn’t mentioned in the same breath anymore with contemporaries. The Maddux file belongs to the era of Walter Johnson and Grover Cleveland Alexander.
John Schuerholz, general manager of the Braves, handled the honors after the Cubs botched it.
“Yeah, I’m the genius who signed Greg for us,” Schuerholz quipped. “I’m the same guy who signed Mark Davis for the Royals after he won the Cy Young with San Diego. Davis couldn’t get anybody out in Kansas City.
“Maddux? He’s the other side of the free-agent gamble. We knew about him when he was in Chicago. We learned more when he signed with us for less than the Yankees offered. And we learned more when he showed up and fit right in. He became the No. 1 guy on an already strong staff, and nobody blinked. He’s that special.”
And what will baseball’s best pitcher be worth in 1997?
“Oh,” said Schuerholz. “I don’t even want to think about that.”
But the Cubs should, and right now. If they chase Greg Maddux then, he just might surprise them. What’s waiting two more years when you’ve already waited 50?
The Cubs owe it to their fans. The Cubs owe it to themselves.