MADDUX HAS REDEFINED CONTROL.

Byline: Associated Press 

Go ahead, call Greg Maddux a control freak. He doesn't mind a bit.

This season, the Atlanta Braves pitcher and four-time Cy Young Award winner took his already impeccable control to new levels. He walked only 20 hitters in 232-2/3 innings, an average of 0.774 walk per nine innings. And consider this: Of those 20 walks, six were intentional.

``It seems like every year he does something amazing that brings attention to the way he pitches,'' teammate and fellow pitcher Tom Glavine said.

Typically, Maddux shrugs when asked about a season that ranks among the best in baseball history from a control standpoint - and makes him one of the top contenders for an unprecedented fifth Cy Young.

``I've noticed hitters being a lot more aggressive off me early in the count,'' said Maddux, who will start Game 1 of the divisional playoffs next Tuesday. ``That's going to reduce the walks.''

He was also forced to admit, ``My control has been pretty good.''

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only seven pitchers qualifying for the ERA title since 1900 have walked fewer batters per nine innings than Maddux, led by Pittsburgh's Babe Adams (0.616) in 1920. Only two of those seven are contemporaries of Maddux: Brett Saberhagen (0.660) with the New York Mets in 1994 and Bob Tewksbury (0.773) with St. Louis two years earlier.

Maddux (19-4) went into his final regular-season start Monday with a chance for another unique accomplishment: more wins than walks.

``That says it all for me,'' Atlanta general manager John Schuerholz said. ``How can you win more games or as many games as you walk hitters? It's unheard of.''

Alas, Maddux left himself with another goal to strive for. He didn't get a decision and added a walk to his total with an intentional pass, ending a streak of 38 consecutive innings without a walk. Earlier in the season, he had a 36-inning streak.

``His command is awesome,'' pitching coach Leo Mazzone said. ``It's been that way ever since we've had him here, but it boggles your mind to watch it day in and day out.''

It wasn't always this way: Maddux had 74 walks in 155-2/3 innings as a rookie with the Chicago Cubs a decade ago. But he worked diligently to improve his control, cognizant that he wasn't the kind of pitcher who could just blow hitters away with a 100 mph fastball.

Over the past four years, Maddux has 102 walks in 889-1/3 innings - 1.032 per nine innings.

``He drives himself tremendously,'' Mazzone said. ``When he does his work on the side, if he is off target just a couple of inches, he gets very angry. It's something he takes a great deal of pride in.''

For Maddux, home plate must now look as big as the dining room table. It's not enough to throw strikes; they must be strikes to a particular section of the plate.

Some hitters have grumbled that Maddux often throws pitches that miss the plate, but he gets favorable calls from umpires who believe any ball from his hand must be a strike.

That's what they used to say from a different standpoint about Ted Williams: His batting eye was so precise that umpires were reluctant to call a strike if he didn't swing.

Maddux doesn't see it that way.

``You know what the secret of pitching is?'' he asked. ``Making your strikes look like balls and your balls look like strikes. So when people are telling me that I've got a bigger plate than everybody else, that tells me they think my strikes look like balls. That's one of the best compliments you can get.''

Especially when you're a control freak.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

Photo: (1) Greg Maddux, who has walked just 20 hitters, could finish with more wins than walks.

Associated Press

(2) ``It seems like every year he does something amazing that brings attention to the way he pitches.'' - Tom Glavine

Atlanta pitcher, on Greg Maddux