Jul 17 2009
Braves retire number 31
In a ceremony that seemed to sum up the type of player Greg Maddux was the Atlanta Braves retired their former ace’s number. Maddux who joined the Braves in 1993 won three Cy Young’s and a World Series ring in his 11 years with the club.Maddux could be seen making comments to his wife as hall of fame pitcher and Braves announcer Don Sutton rattled off stats from his time with the Braves. While the numbers Sutton mentioned will always be eye popping perhaps they focused on the prime years of Maddux much more then the 20 years of consistency he showed in his big league career,
Perhaps maybe it’s best to leave it simple like Greg would do on the mound.
Tonight Greg Maddux’s familiar number 31 joined the ranks of Dale Murphy, Warren Spahn, Phil Nierko, Eddie Mathews, and Hank Aaron.
Maddux who began wearing his number 31 as a rookie with the Chicago Cubs has been honored twice this season with his number retired.
Earlier today there was a question and answer section with Maddux on the Braves website. In the article Maddux as always came across as relaxed and approachable.
When Maddux left the podium after the on field ceremony he said words that as a Brave fan you love to hear. “let’s be like old times and beat the Mets”
Congrats to Greg Maddux for a career that I was fortunate enough to see almost from beginning to end, a career that made me feel so inclined to make a fan site of.
Thanks for everything.
When the New York Mets come to Atlanta on July 17 they will see a familiar foe. Greg Maddux will be back in Atlanta as the Braves retire his familiar number 31.