After four consecutive Cy Young Awards, Greg Maddux fell out of the spotlight. He won only 15 games; his teammate, John Smoltz, won 24 games and the Cy Young. That's not so bad; but his team, the Atlanta Braves, also suffered a terrible collapse in the World Series. They won their first two games against the Yankees, and then lost four in a row. For the Braves, it was a sign of things to come for the remainder of the decade.

         Strangely enough, there was a pitcher who put up Maddux-like numbers. Kevin Brown was 31 years old, and in his first season in the National League. He had pitched well in the AL, winning 21 games in 1991, but his career had stalled. He signed with the Florida Marlins, and had a magnificent season. His control was outstanding, plus he led the NL in ERA and shutouts. Brown won "only" 17 games, but his run support was among the poorest of any pitcher in baseball.
        I think Brown was the best pitcher in the league, and that he deserved the Cy Young. But Smoltz has an argument. Smoltz was a hard thrower who had been pitching in the shadow of his teammates, Maddux and Tom Glavine. Smoltz had been unable to put together a big season until this year, when everything clicked. He led the NL in wins, innings pitched, and strikeouts, and that's a great combination. I'm tempted to choose Smoltz, who was the writers' pick, but I think Brown was clearly better. Had they pitched on the same team, Brown would have had the better record.
        As for Maddux, he was still pretty good, too. Sure, he won only 15 games, and his ERA was up a little, but I still think he was better than anyone except Brown or Smoltz. Andy Benes won three more games, but I think that Maddux was clearly the better pitcher of the two. After Maddux I will take Trevor Hoffman, who was now emerging as the best closer in the league. With 9 wins and 42 saves, Hoffman had a great year; but two years later he would have an even better one, and lead the Padres to the World Series.