Maddux won his fourth consecutive Cy Young Award. At age 29, he was now
widely recognized as The Professor. Maddux was more than just the best pitcher
in baseball; he was making a good case that he might be the best pitcher in
baseball history. Though he didn't throw as hard as some other pitchers,
Maddux' was very difficult to hit, and his control was awesome.
Is he the best ever? Though 1995 remains his
best season, Maddux has followed up with some more spectacular ones; at this
writing, he is well on his way to 300 career wins. At his peak, he has been
as good as anyone. And he is quickly approaching some major career milestones.
I have to believe that Maddux will be remembered as one of the greatest
pitchers ever, in a very elite class that includes Grove, Johnson, Koufax...
and perhaps no one else.
The other sensation this season was Hideo
Nomo of the Dodgers. Nomo was the first Japanese pitcher to make a successful
transition to the major leagues. He pitched brilliantly, striking out
over 11 men per game. He was Rookie Of The Year, and wowed fans with
his strange delivery, in which he twists around to almost face second base.
Nomo was 26 years old this season; he followed up with two more fine seasons,
but since then his career has drifted. At this writing, it remains to be
seen whether he can recapture his past glory.
Pete Schourek of the Reds was runner-up behind
Maddux in the Cy Young voting. I think Nomo was a little better; his ERA
was significantly lower, and he had many more strikeouts. But Schourek
certainly had a fine year. He was originally with the Mets, but they gave
up on him; now with Cincinnati, he showed some great stuff. Unfortunately,
Schourek underwent major arm surgery a year later, and he too has struggled
to get back what he lost.
Maddux' teammate, Tom Glavine, was his usual
reliable self, and gets my vote behind Schourek. The Martinez brothers, Ramon
and Pedro, also had good seasons. Ramon, plagued by arm troubles, had his first
outstanding season since 1991. Though he has always been a fine pitcher when on
the mound, keeping healthy has always been a problem for him. His younger brother
Pedro was still just a young pup; though he was good, Pedro was still a couple of
seasons away from putting up some Maddux-like numbers of his own.
