Maddux Gets the Call

Of course by now you already know that Greg Maddux (and a couple other guys, too) was elected into the baseball Hall of Fame.

Talk about a no-brainer.

Yet 16 electors left him off of their ballot.

Talk about no-brains.

I can't think of a single reason for any writer to exclude Maddux from the hall. The voting process is pretty screwed up. It should be this simple...Does the player belong in the Hall of Fame...yes or no. Don't worry about the era he played in. Don't worry about how many times the player had been on the ballot. Don't worry about anything except that simple question...then vote.

After being drafted by the Cubs in the second round of the June, 1984, draft, Maddux quickly rose through the system. He made his MLB debut on September 2, 1986. He came in the game as a reliever and gave up a home run that cost the Cubs the game--his first loss. Four days later he made his first career start and went the distance in a Cubs 11-3 win over the Reds.

He spent the 1987 season shuttling between Iowa and Chicago. His Cubs record was an unimpressive 6-14, but he was learning. And after that season, he became a Hall of Fame pitcher. He was an All Star in 1988, and became the ace of the staff. He won 20 game and the Cy Young Award in 1992. And then the stupid Cubs management wouldn't/couldn't sign him. It was off to Atlanta.

He returned to the Cubs for 2 1/2 seasons in 2004. He was no longer the ace. Instead he became the mentor.

The Cubs retired the number he shared with Fergie Jenkins, #31, in 2009. I think the Cubs were safe in their assumption that he would make the Hall of Fame.

I don't have a Greg Maddux player collection, but I do have 143 cards of his among my team sets. The cards range from a few in 1987 up to a few from last year's Cubs Archives set.

I've put together a tile of all of the cards. They are in chronological, then alphabetical order. That makes the 1987 Donruss the first card, and the 2013 Cubs Archives #79 the last.