Greg Maddux, pitcher, Chicago Cubs, born 4-14-1966. Throws and bats right-handed.

Maddux is the prototypical finesse pitcher. His fastball generally runs at 88 mph, but his control is impeccable. He consistently ranks among the league leaders in fewest pitches per inning, fewest walks per inning, and ERA. Maddux joined the Atlanta Braves after leaving the Chicago Cubs as a free agent following the 1992 season, then went back to the Cubs as a free agent following the 2003 season. He generates an amazing amount of movement on his pitches; this is one of the reasons he has been successful while not throwing particularly hard. His changeup is among the best in the game. His repertoire also includes a cut fastball, a slider, and a curveball. He has been known to limit his pitch selection over the course of several games in order to have a new pitch available when he needs to retire a batter. Maddux is an exceptional fielder for a pitcher, and as a result he has won a number of Gold Glove awards; he won it every year from 1990 to 2002, then again in 2004 and 2005.

Maddux holds the record for most consecutive seasons in which any pitcher accrued 15 or more wins -- 17 -- from 1988 to 2004. The streak was broken when he won only 13 games in 2005.

He's also usually the benchmark against which modern pitchers are judged -- an oft-spoken platitude among baseball pundits is "Greg Maddux has won the Cy Young Award four times, but Cy Young would have never won a Greg Maddux Award."