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Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve
No matter how far off the plate, the Braves were the recipients of the biggest strike zone in history for a long time, and no, it wasn't funny to those of us who can't stand the Atlanta Braves.
Eric Gregg's strike zone that day was horrible. He himself admitted as much. That pales in comparison to the 27 inch plate the Braves pitchers were given on a daily basis.
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You might not like the Braves that fine, but its not the Braves who were recipients of a big strike zone, it was there three great pitchers.
Greg Maddux - enough said future Hall of Famer and probably the smartest pitcher we'll ever see in our lifetime.
Tom Glavine - future Hall of Famer - still throws the pitches to the same place and still gets the calls - only about half the time now through since the umpires started getting evaluated each night.
John Smoltz - future Hall of Famer and still one of the best pitchers in baseball.
What they did was what any good pitcher does - they threw the ball to any spot they wanted. The umpires knew it and gave them an edge on a marginal pitch.
But that's what any good umpire does (maybe not the pros since they are now evaluated too tightly) One pitcher throws and hits his spots he gets all the calls. The other pitcher can't hit his spots and gets none of the close calls.
But even with Questec, Smoltz, Glavine and Maddux continue to win and win even though they are now ancient by baseball standards.
I still tell my son, (8 now), if you want to learn how to pitch, watch Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine.
Thanks
David