Years ago, I received some information on Greg Maddux and Roger Clemens. I thought it would be fun to share this because it shows the mindset of two of the best pitchers in the history of baseball. It’s not very long but see if you can figure out the mentality of each guy from what’s below.
The Maddux Pitching Rules
1. Get movement on the ball.
“Make the ball move with less effort. Change speeds, locate.” – Leo Mazzone, former Braves Pitching Coach
2. Get ahead of the batter.
“He throws a lot of pitches that catch a lot of the plate early in the count. Strike one is on the outer half. Strike two is on the outside corner. Strike three – he’s trying to get you to chase a pitch. You may see the same pitch two or three times in a row but the location is where he wants it.” – Tom Glavine, former Braves pitcher
3. Jam them, make them reach, mess up their timing.
“His goal is to have them hit it off the handle or off the end.” – Leo Mazzone
4. Keep it in the park.
“You know Maddux is on when he’s guys out inside, getting strikeouts on changeups in the dirt, getting weak groundouts.” – Chipper Jones, former teammate
5. Own the outside by pitching inside.
“He pitches inside more than anyone on our staff. It’s fun, the fastball is always his best pitch for location. He throws it probably 75-80% of the time.” – Charlie O’Brien, Maddux’s catcher
- Roger Clemens’ Game Goals:
- Attack aggressively in the first inning.
- Re-focus with two out and closeout the inning.
- Attack after our team scores.
- Bare down the second time through the order.
I think it’s interesting to briefly get into the minds of these two pitchers. One was finesse and the other was power. Maddux (finesse) wanted to frustrate hitters and keep them completely off balance. Clemens (power) wanted to attack the hitter aggressively.
Anyways, just some food for thought. Maybe one of those pointers can help with your own development as a pitcher. Maddux and Clemens, I wouldn’t mind being able to pitch like either one.