Tag Archives: 1995 World Series

H2H 129: Greg Maddux vs. Warren Spahn – Who was Better?

Take a look at MLB’s career pitching wins list and when you scroll past the workhorses of the late 19th and early 20th century (Cy Young, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, etc.), i.e. post the dead-ball era, you come across Warren Spahn at #6 and Greg Maddux at #8 with 363 and 355 career victories, respectively.  Known for their pitching guile and control rather than overpowering heat, both the southpaw Spahn and the righty Maddux spent their primes with the Braves franchise and helped lead the team to World Series titles nearly 40 years apart – thus, it seems only natural to compare these all-time MLB and legendary Braves pitchers and ask:

Who was better – Greg Maddux or Warren Spahn?

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H2H 33: Tom Glavine vs. John Smoltz – Who was Better?

The Atlanta Braves of the 1990s and early 2000s were one of the great baseball dynasties in recent memory, winning 14 consecutive division titles from 1991 to 2005 (though only one World Series title).  These great teams were led by Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox, All-Star and Hall of Fame hitters such as Chipper Jones, Fred McGriff, and David Justice, but perhaps most importantly, a trio of Hall of Fame pitchers in Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz.  Among the Big Three, Maddux is generally regarded as the alpha dog and one of the greatest pitchers ever, but Glavine and Smoltz were no slouches either, with both winning 20+ games on numerous occasions and taking home NL Cy Young honors at least once. Between these two star Atlanta pitchers, the question is:

Who was better – Tom Glavine or John Smoltz?

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H2H 16: Adrian Beltre vs. Chipper Jones – Who was Better?

As of the 2019 Baseball Hall of Fame class, third base has the dubious distinction of having the fewest inductees in Cooperstown by any fielding position (17), which speaks to the degree of difficulty required to play the “hot corner” and to excel both offensively and defensively there over a sustained period of time.  Luckily for baseball fans of my generation, we had the fortune of witnessing two of the greatest third basemen ever in Adrian Beltre and Chipper Jones. While one was a bit of a baseball nomad (Beltre) and the other a face of a franchise for nearly 20 years (Jones), both were without a doubt among the best players of their generation and at times, often underrated and under-appreciated for their greatness.  2018 was a milestone year for the two, as it marked Beltre’s retirement from baseball and Chipper’s induction into the Hall of Fame; with this era of third basemen from the 1990s coming to an end and a new generation emerging that includes stars such as Jose Ramirez, Nolan Arenado, Alex Bregman, and Kris Bryant, we should take a moment to pause, reflect, and ask:

Who was better – Adrian Beltre or Chipper Jones?

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H2H 0: Hello World

Larry Bird or Magic Johnson, Sidney Crosby or Alex Ovechkin, Roger Federer or Serena Williams, Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, the list goes on and on – whether it be at the bar, on the couch, or around the watercolor, sports fans seem to endlessly debate the age-old question of who was/is better.  One of the beauties of sports and what makes these discussions/arguments fascinating and timeless is that everyone has their opinion and there (usually) is no right or wrong answer.

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