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Mesa, AZ - Four-time Cy Young Award winner Greg Maddux will get a chance to pick up his 300th career victory pitching for the team he started his major league career with - the Chicago Cubs.
Maddux, who broke into the majors in 1986 with the Cubs, inked a three-year deal worth a reported $24 million.
"It's where I started. I look forward to ending there, too," Maddux said at a news conference Wednesday.
Maddux, who had spent the previous 11 seasons with the Braves, had a 16-11 mark and a 3.96 earned run average for Atlanta last season. The righthander, who will turn 38 in April, had also reportedly been courted by San Francisco and Los Angeles. He will begin the 2004 season 11 wins shy of 300 for his career and has a lifetime mark of 289-163 with a 2.89 ERA. This past season, Maddux set an impressive pitching standard, becoming the first pitcher in major league history to win at least 15 games for 16 consecutive seasons.
"I don't really think about the 300 wins that much. I'd like to think I can win more than that," Maddux added. "I know it means a lot... I'll worry about 300 when the time comes." Earlier this week, reports out of New York surfaced that Maddux was going to sign with the Yankees, something that general manager Brian Cashman denied.
The Cubs reportedly made a two-year contract offer to Maddux in the neighborhood of $10 million a month ago, but apparently added an extra year to sweeten the pot.
"Once I saw the choices in front of me it was a no-brainer," Maddux said. "It felt right." In December 2002, the Braves offered Maddux arbitration and he got a one-year, $14.75 million contract. This time around, the Braves weren't willing to spend that kind of money for his services.
A second round draft choice in 1984 by the Cubs, Maddux started his major league career in 1986 and played in Chicago through the 1992 season. That year he captured his first NL Cy Young honor, but announced he would become a free agent following the season due to a contract dispute.
"I don't know what happened in the past," said Cubs general manager Jim Hendry. "Obviously, when he left it didn't work out too well for the Cubs, and it worked out awfully well for the Braves." Maddux signed with the Braves and won a division title each year with the team, racking up several accolades along the way. A 13-time Gold Glove winner and eight-time All-Star, Maddux now will have a chance to be in the same rotation with Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, Matt Clement and Carlos Zambrano.
Chicago's pitchers combined for a major league record 1,404 strikeouts last season.
"Greg's coming home because Greg can still pitch and Greg can win games. We wouldn't want it any other way," Hendry added. "It's a great story and a wonderful ending to his career, but the past doesn't have much to do with what we're trying to do." Maddux would also get a chance to pitch for a team that eliminated him from the playoffs last year as the Cubs beat the Braves in the National League Division Series. Maddux lost Game 3 of that series when Prior tossed a two- hitter.
The move to get Maddux also means the Cubs may now be able to match their NL Central rivals, the Houston Astros, and their stocked rotation of Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens, Roy Oswalt, Wade Miller and Tim Redding. Houston finished a game behind the first-place Cubs in the division last year.
Maddux, who broke into the majors in 1986 with the Cubs, inked a three-year deal worth a reported $24 million.
"It's where I started. I look forward to ending there, too," Maddux said at a news conference Wednesday.
Maddux, who had spent the previous 11 seasons with the Braves, had a 16-11 mark and a 3.96 earned run average for Atlanta last season. The righthander, who will turn 38 in April, had also reportedly been courted by San Francisco and Los Angeles. He will begin the 2004 season 11 wins shy of 300 for his career and has a lifetime mark of 289-163 with a 2.89 ERA. This past season, Maddux set an impressive pitching standard, becoming the first pitcher in major league history to win at least 15 games for 16 consecutive seasons.
"I don't really think about the 300 wins that much. I'd like to think I can win more than that," Maddux added. "I know it means a lot... I'll worry about 300 when the time comes." Earlier this week, reports out of New York surfaced that Maddux was going to sign with the Yankees, something that general manager Brian Cashman denied.
The Cubs reportedly made a two-year contract offer to Maddux in the neighborhood of $10 million a month ago, but apparently added an extra year to sweeten the pot.
"Once I saw the choices in front of me it was a no-brainer," Maddux said. "It felt right." In December 2002, the Braves offered Maddux arbitration and he got a one-year, $14.75 million contract. This time around, the Braves weren't willing to spend that kind of money for his services.
A second round draft choice in 1984 by the Cubs, Maddux started his major league career in 1986 and played in Chicago through the 1992 season. That year he captured his first NL Cy Young honor, but announced he would become a free agent following the season due to a contract dispute.
"I don't know what happened in the past," said Cubs general manager Jim Hendry. "Obviously, when he left it didn't work out too well for the Cubs, and it worked out awfully well for the Braves." Maddux signed with the Braves and won a division title each year with the team, racking up several accolades along the way. A 13-time Gold Glove winner and eight-time All-Star, Maddux now will have a chance to be in the same rotation with Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, Matt Clement and Carlos Zambrano.
Chicago's pitchers combined for a major league record 1,404 strikeouts last season.
"Greg's coming home because Greg can still pitch and Greg can win games. We wouldn't want it any other way," Hendry added. "It's a great story and a wonderful ending to his career, but the past doesn't have much to do with what we're trying to do." Maddux would also get a chance to pitch for a team that eliminated him from the playoffs last year as the Cubs beat the Braves in the National League Division Series. Maddux lost Game 3 of that series when Prior tossed a two- hitter.
The move to get Maddux also means the Cubs may now be able to match their NL Central rivals, the Houston Astros, and their stocked rotation of Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens, Roy Oswalt, Wade Miller and Tim Redding. Houston finished a game behind the first-place Cubs in the division last year.