Greg Maddux
A master craftsman on the mound who dominated baseball not with overpowering speed, but with peerless control, movement, and intellect.
Born 1966 (age 60)·American baseball player·Birthday: April 14·Generation X
Biography
Greg Maddux won four consecutive Cy Young Awards in the 1990s with the Atlanta Braves, posting microscopic ERAs while walking almost no one. He threw a fastball that rarely topped 90 miles per hour, relying instead on precision, preparation, and movement. He studied hitters with a professor's intensity—earning the nickname 'The Professor'—and painted the corners of the strike zone with surgical accuracy. He also won 18 Gold Gloves, a defensive wizard who understood the game's geometry better than almost anyone.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Greg was born in 1966, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Greg Was Born
The biggest hits of 1966
#1 Movie
The Bible: In the Beginning
Best Picture
A Man for All Seasons
#1 TV Show
Bonanza
Greg's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1966Born
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1971Started school
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1979Became a teenager
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1982Could drive
Michael Jackson releases Thriller
Gas: $1.22/galHome: $55,200Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Physical" — Olivia Newton-JohnBest Picture: Gandhi
1984Could vote
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1987Turned 21
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1996Turned 30
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
2006Turned 40
Twitter launches; Pluto reclassified as dwarf planet
Gas: $2.59/galHome: $174,700Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Bad Day" — Daniel PowterBest Picture: The Departed
2016Turned 50
Donald Trump elected president; Brexit vote
Gas: $2.14/galHome: $181,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Love Yourself" — Justin BieberBest Picture: Moonlight
2026Turned 60
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Won an unprecedented four consecutive National League Cy Young Awards from 1992 to 1995.
- Won 18 Gold Glove Awards, the most ever by any player at any position.
- Pitched over 5,000 innings in his career with a remarkably low walk rate, issuing only 999 unintentional walks.
Did You Know?
He and his brother, Mike Maddux, once pitched against each other in a major league game, with Greg getting the win.
He was famously superstitious about not stepping on the foul lines when walking to and from the mound.
He hit 5 career home runs in the majors, a notable total for a pitcher.
“Chicks dig the long ball.”
