Garry Maddox
| Garry Maddox | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Maddox in 1974
|
|||
| Center fielder | |||
|
Born: September 1, 1949 Cincinnati, Ohio |
|||
|
|||
| MLB debut | |||
| April 25, 1972, for the San Francisco Giants | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| April 20, 1986, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .285 | ||
| Home runs | 117 | ||
| Runs batted in | 754 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
|
|||
Garry Lee Maddox (born September 1, 1949) is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball who was known for his outstanding defense.
Maddox, a 1968 San Pedro High School senior in Los Angeles was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the second round of the 1968 amateur draft. Maddox missed two seasons due to his service in the U.S. Army during the 1969 and 1970 seasons. Exposure to chemicals in Vietnam left his skin highly sensitive, and he has worn a full beard ever since to protect his face.
Maddox reached the major leagues with the Giants in 1972. On May 4, 1975, the Giants traded him to the Philadelphia Phillies for first baseman Willie Montañez after the Phillies had failed in their efforts to acquire Rusty Staub from the Mets. The Phillies traded Montanez with the intention to replace him at first-base with Dick Allen. Maddox went on to win his first Gold Glove Award as the top center fielder in the National League. Montanez was traded away the next year.
Maddox's 1975 Gold Glove was his first of eight in a row. His sparkling defensive play led Phillies broadcaster Harry Kalas to remark, "Two-thirds of the Earth is covered by water, the other one-third is covered by Garry Maddox.", which was an original quote reported by Ray Didinger at the Bulletin in a 1975 article (This quote has also been less frequently attributed to Ralph Kiner, as he quoted Didinger's 1975 article the Hall-of-Fame slugger-turned-broadcaster for the New York Mets.) Kalas nicknamed Maddox the "Secretary of Defense."
In 1976, Maddox had his best year as a hitter, with a .330 batting average, and helped the Phillies win the National League East, their first postseason berth since the Whiz Kids in the 1950 World Series. But the team lost three consecutive National League Championship Series, including in 1978 against the Los Angeles Dodgers as Maddox made two errors in Game Four. With the score tied in the bottom of the tenth inning, two out, and Ron Cey on first, Maddox misplayed Dusty Baker's fly ball. He started back on the ball, then charged forward, and the ball glanced off his glove. Bill Russell then followed with a single to center. Maddox charged, but the ball skipped past him; had he fielded the ball cleanly, he could have thrown Cey (who was not known for his baserunning speed) out at the plate. Instead, Cey scored the winning run to put the Dodgers in the World Series.
...
Wikipedia