Greg Maddux has captivated audiences throughout his career, but he was particularly special in 1995, scoring 19 wins and just two losses, Maddux also led the League in ERA (1.63), WHIP ( .811), pitching games (209.2), and WAR (9.6). Let’s focus on that last one, shall we?
Maddux achieved a 9.6 win in 1995, the highest of any Majors pitcher that decade without Roger Clemens. However, that still wasn’t enough to win the MVP. What do you think MVP’s win was that season, hm? Probably pretty close, right? After all, 8.0 is considered an MVP-sized season. So, what, 8.5? 9.0? Maybe it’s on the low end, around 7.5? No. All wrong, all the way. Try 5.9.
The winner, Barry Larkin of Cincinnati, had a great season, but not the caliber of Maddux’s campaign. Larkin did not lead the National League in any category. Damn, he didn’t even score an OPS of 0.900 that year. However, he stole 51 bases. Despite the excellent seasons, but Craig Biggio, Barry Bonds, Reggie Sanders, and especially Greg Maddux are still looked down upon. Also, Maddux is also a pitcher and they tend to not perform well in MVP voting.
