Greg Maddux Inducted Into Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame

ATLANTA -- The entire Atlanta Braves 25-man roster, coaching staff, some former players and almost 900 fans were in attendance today to watch Greg Maddux become the 21st player in Braves history to enter their Hall of Fame.

Joe Simpson was the Master of Ceremonies today at a luncheon celebrating the career of Greg Maddux, which spanned 11 seasons in Atlanta and ended with the pitcher landing eighth on the all-time wins list with 355 career wins.

Instead of focusing on his four consecutive Cy Young Awards, a feat nobody has ever matched, or his 18 Gold Gloves, fans were treated Friday to stories about Maddux the person and teammate; stories which not only proved his worth as a ball player, but showed us all that Greg Maddux lived, breathed and loved this game, and wanted not only to be the best, but have fun doing so.

Following the introductions, a very esteemed group of individuals gathered on stage to answer a few questions about Maddux. John Schuerholz, Eddie Perez, who was at most times Maddux' personal catcher, Leo Mazzone and Chipper Jones joined Joe Simpson to spend some time reflecting on the career of Greg Maddux.

Schuerholz started off with a powerful message that no person in the room could doubt. When asked if Maddux was the best right-handed pitcher he had ever seen, Schuerholz replied, "No doubt, no question." A short and simple answer about a pitcher who was anything but simple.

The loudest reception came in response to Eddie Perez' answer to Simpson's question about whether catching Maddux was harder physically or mentally.

"It was more mental. I had to teach him a lot of stuff." was Perez' answer sending roars through the panel and crowd.

And Chipper Jones recalled a story about a game during his rookie season in 1995, a game against the San Francisco Giants. Barry Bonds was at bat and Jones, who admittedly was a bit anxious, collided with Maddux on the first base side of the pitchers' mound, knocking them both over.

"'Bleep' dammit, mother 'bleepin' settle the 'bleep' down... 'bleepin' rookie", Jones recalled, noting he was putting it nicely for the crowd.

After the first six Braves hitters collected hits, including Jones, Maddux walked over to make amends... sort of.

"Hey Larry, nice job. Now stay the 'bleep' away from me"

Whether it was stories like this that showed the lighter, yet competitive side to Maddux or statements about Maddux' uncanny ability to set hitters up, out thinking them even months in advance sometimes, every person in the room knew they witnessed greatness for the eleven seasons Maddux spent in Atlanta.

Of the 24 players in Major League Baseball history who have earned 300 or more wins, four were in attendance today, if you include Tom Glavine's taped speech. Glavine, who was unable to attend because of his ten-year-old son's baseball tournament in Florida, thanked Maddux for "making me a better player".

He also shared the excitement he felt upon hearing the news that Maddux would be joining the Braves, back in 1993.

"I had a feeling [about] what we were about to witness for the next five to 10 years. [We got] five of the greatest years of any pitcher in the game," Glavine said.

Don Sutton, one of the other 300-game winners in the room, complimented Maddux for being the best pitcher "one out of every five days" and the best teammate "four out of the other five days". Sutton also said that he regretted never being able to play with Maddux.

"You would have made me better," he said to Maddux.

When Maddux finally took the stage he thanked many people. He thanked Bobby Cox for teaching him. He gave thanks to teammates Chipper Jones and David Justice. Jones for "driving in a lot of runs" and Justice for "that home run", making sure to mention the solo shot Justice hit against the Cleveland Indians in game six of the 1995 World Series to clinch the Braves the title.

Maddux made light of Eddie Perez' comment from earlier saying, "I did listen to you; more than you know". He also called Rafael Furcal and Andruw Jones "pitcher's best friends" for their amazing defensive prowess.

Greg Maddux was officially inducted into the Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame at 1:15 PM ET when he received a miniature statue, which was a replica of what would be installed in Monument Grove, outside of Turner Field.

Before Friday night's game against New York, Maddux will become the sixth person to have his number retired for the Braves. He'll join Hank Aaron (44), Eddie Matthews (41), Dale Murphy (3), Phil Niekro (35) and Warren Spahn (21). Along with those five numbers, no one else will ever again wear number 31.

In true No. 31 fashion, Maddux ended his speech by raising his voice a little and saying, "Let's crush the Mets tonight".