Comments on: Garry Maddox

By: 75reds

75reds — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 18:40:18 +0000

The Minister of Defense was a bad ass! Ralph Kiner’s quote about Maddox rates is perfect: “Two thirds of the earth is covered by water–the other third is covered by Garry Maddox.”

By: frankenslade

frankenslade — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:58:30 +0000

Suffering Bruin, in their prime, late-’70s Afro-wearing days Maddox and the man to his left in the Phillies’ outfield, Bake McBride, had some of the most-dramatic hat-flying-off moments the game would ever see. Oscar Gamble had the best Afro, but Maddox and McBride covered more ground at high speeds in the field and on the bases and were always losing their hats.

By: Suffering Bruin

Suffering Bruin — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 14:38:48 +0000

18. Check out the hat. It looks like it's superimposed or pasted on the photo. If it's real, Maddox doesn't take three steps without it falling off. Then again, maybe the afro is tucked so tight into the wool that Maddox could stick his head out of a moving car and the cap still wouldn't fly off. Perhaps I'm thinking about this too much.

By: Josh Wilker

Josh Wilker — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 21:12:13 +0000

17. 15 : “You must have more muttonchop cards somewhere, Josh.”

Nobody outmuttonchopped this guy:

http://cardboardgods.baseballtoaster.com/archives/706693.html

By: Pedro

Pedro — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 20:54:35 +0000

16. Longtime Met announcer and Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner once said of Maddox's defensive prowess, "Two-thirds of the Earth is covered by water, the other third by Gary Maddox." And yes, muttonchops are admirable. Quite admirable. You must have more muttonchop cards somewhere, Josh.

By: David Brotsky

David Brotsky — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 12:36:28 +0000

15. FUCK YEAH! MUTTONCHOPS!

By: Ennui Willie Keeler

Ennui Willie Keeler — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 04:09:34 +0000

14. Eric! You’re forgetting about Mercury, the Cardboard God who assumed the form of Herb Washington. He is or was on the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York,

http://www.flint.lib.mi.us/hallfame/99/washington99.shtml

By: JL25and3

JL25and3 — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 23:18:36 +0000

13. 12 Excellent, Ken. You're absolutely right, and I wouldn't have put my finger on that. The gum itself was about texture, mostly unpleasant; it had no taste. But the smell on the cards was indelible.

By: Ken Arneson

Ken Arneson — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 22:07:30 +0000

12. The gum was never about the taste. It was about the smell. The gum smell was a layer of magic coated on every card. When they stopped making baseball cards that smelled like gum, the cards lost all their magic. They became printed cardboard rectangles instead of Cardboard Gods.

By: Basilisc

Basilisc — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 20:23:14 +0000

11. I was always a big Garry Maddox fan. The first Phillie I (vaguely) knew about was Willie Montanez. Then in 1975 they traded Montanez to the Giants for Maddox, and (as usual) the Philly sportswriters and fans mocked the decision mercilessly. But my older brother (who at the time I considered Eternally Right About All Things) assured me that Maddox was faster, stronger, a better hitter, and a better fielder. I see that he betted .291 that year, and .330 the next, so I guess my instantaneous switch in allegiance from Montanez to Maddox had some justification, though I also see that Montanez batted .305 and then .317, so maybe the whole thing was a wash. I do see that, after the Phils traded him, Montanez played for seven different teams in eight years, before winding up with them again in Aug-Sept 1982, after which he retired. You sometimes wonder why some players are traded year after year – probably some clubhouse secret that know one wants to reveal, like that they’re a grade-A jerk and not good enough to keep in spite of it. Maddox meanwhile stayed with the Phillies until his own retirement in 86,

Anyway, Garry Maddox was a joy to watch in the outfield. Eight straight gold gloves. He had a super-wide batting stance and a reputation as a first-ball hitter, which I see comes through in the stats: never more than 42 walks in a season, and usually less than 20. He gave off an air of dignity and calm, quiet grace. Sort of like the rest of the team, actually, which is one theory as to why they only won one series – just not enough fire, until Rose came along. But give me the Secretary of Defense ove Charlie Two-Bit Hustler every time.