Saturday, August 17, 2019

The Maddux Mystery

I went to YouTube to look for footage of Greg Maddux's 76-pitch game against the Cubs from July 22, 1997.  Here's what I found, courtesy of the official MLB YouTube account:


What is this abbreviated garbage?  The clips shows you just nine pitches.  NINE!  I want to see all 76 pitches.  Also, the description for the YouTube video says:
7/22/97: Greg Maddux throws a complete game with just 76 pitches against the Cubs, leading the Braves to a 3-2 victory
The final score of the game was 4-1.  So whoever wrote the description wasn't paying attention.

Curiously, the TV announcer says Maddux threw 78 pitches.  I would guess the TV announcer lost track of the number of pitches, but I can't be sure without watching the full game.  (And why does the announcer say "one hit, no runs."  That's not correct.)

ESPN.com has a clip of the game, but the description says Maddux threw 77 pitches:
https://www.espn.com/video/clip/_/id/24114199
Baseball-Reference.com also says Maddux threw 77 pitches during the game:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN199707221.shtml
And an AP write-up of the game says Maddux threw 78 pitches:
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-jul-23-sp-15312-story.html
Will we every TRULY know how many pitches Greg Maddux threw during that game?  No, not until someone posts footage of the full game.

2 comments:

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Maria said...

Chasing down footage of that legendary 76-pitch gem from July 22nd, 1997, only to find...abbreviated garbage? Nine measly pitches?! I get it, it's like finding out your prized MLB Varsity Jacket shrunk in the wash. Totally deflating.