In 1993, after winning his first Cy Young, Greg Maddux He came into free agency after eight years at Wrigley Field and signed with the Braves to start an era of prosperity in Atlanta. However, prior to his arrival in Georgia, the award-winning pitcher he was tempted by the “Evil Empire”.
In an interview for the “Toeing the Slab” podcast, Maddux revealed that during his time in the player market traveled to New York to meet with the Yankees, but did not receive a formal proposal.
“I went there to sign with the Yankees. AndI was shocked that I did not receive a contract. I wasn’t in college, it wasn’t a recruiting trip,” he explained. “You go somewhere to sign. I had a good day, I visited them, we had dinner and they said, ‘We’ll be in touch with an offer.'”
Why didn’t you sign? Maddux adds that health problems of an executive of the “Bronx Bombers” stopped a possible negotiation. “I don’t know what happened, but someone had a heart attack. That’s why they didn’t make me an offer.”
That misfortune in NY brought Maddux to the Braves. In this regard, the 55-year-old former player indicated that his first rapprochement with Atlanta came immediately after leaving the “Big Apple.”
“I came back home. I had a layover in Chicago, I remember I called my agent (Scott Boras) and he said, ‘The Braves want to make an offer.’, elaborated. “Originally it was the team I wanted to sign with before going to New York.”
Inflection point
For 11 years, the former opener defended the Atlanta flannel and during that span he amassed 363 starts, a 194-88 record, a 2.63 ERA and 1,828 strikeouts, in addition to the MLB championship in 1995 and three consecutive Cy Youngs.
although for yankees, things were not all negative. In 1996 they reached the Fall Classic and won the first of four titles in five years by defeating Maddux’s Braves.
–
