Maddux hangs ’em up

Greg Maddux didn't come home to retire from professional baseball as the game's winningest living pitcher -- he never left.

In his 23 seasons in the big leagues, Mr. Maddux wore the uniforms of the Chicago Cubs, the Atlanta Braves, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres. He pitched in stadiums across the country for more than half of every year. But the Valley High School graduate always returned to the city of his youth, the city in which he has raised his own family.

And on Monday, Mr. Maddux, 42, formally announced the end of his playing career in the place it all began.

"I'm just here, really, to say thank you -- thank you to everybody in baseball," Mr. Maddux said at a news conference at Bellagio, the site of baseball's winter meetings. "I appreciate everything the game has given me and my family. From the teams I played for, to my teammates to the clubbies. It's going to be hard to walk away, obviously, but it's time. I still think I can play this game, but not as well as I would like to. So it's time to say goodbye."

Mr. Maddux's accomplishments are, to be understated, legendary.

His 355 wins rank eighth all time. Of the seven men in front of him on the victory list, only Warren Spahn pitched in the second half of the 20th century. Mr. Maddux is the only 300-game winner to have more than 3,000 strikeouts and fewer than 1,000 walks. In his final 15 seasons, he averaged fewer than 30 walks per year.

Mr. Maddux was the first player to win at least 15 games in 17 straight years, and the first to win at least 13 games in 20 consecutive years.

He was honored with four straight Cy Young Awards from 1992 to 1995 as the National League's best pitcher. He won a World Series with the Atlanta Braves in 1995. Mr. Maddux won 18 Gold Gloves for positional fielding excellence, the most of any player ever.

All these statistics were driven by freakish consistency and control. Mr. Maddux's teammates, rivals and coaches all marveled at his ability to throw any pitch to any location at any time. Once, for a writer's entertainment, Mr. Maddux's catcher closed his eyes and stuck his glove out. Mr. Maddux hit the target.

Mr. Maddux's remarkable talent and humility gave Las Vegans plenty to root for over the past few decades. His ties to the community also made them proud.

When local historians talk about the greatest athlete to ever hail from Las Vegas, Mr. Maddux and retired tennis champion Andre Agassi are alone in the conversation. And fittingly, Mr. Agassi still calls Las Vegas home.

Congratulations and thanks to Mr. Maddux for all of his contributions to the game of baseball, past and future.