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1. 1/5/2017 Like it or not, road to erasing 108-year curse runs through Cubs' modern-day Maddux | Sports Radio America
http://www.sportsradioamerica.com/articles/pbjFf/2016-10-28/like-it-or-not-road-to-erasing-108-year-curse-runs-through-cubs-modern-day-maddux 1/3
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Like it or not, road to erasing 108
year curse runs through Cubs'
modernday Maddux
written by Marcus S. Marion, Columnist/Photos by Gregory Bull, Associated Press on Fri, Oct 28, 16
Greg Maddux, who won the 1995 World Series with the Atlanta
Braves three years after being released by the Chicago Cubs, may
be one of the best technical pitchers in baseball history.
Now his greatest and most recent comparison, Kyle Hendricks, is prepared to help the Cubs’ do the same
21 years later.
To say Hendricks' rise to acedom has been anything less than miraculous and meteoric might be an insult
to a man who was drafted in the 2011 Major League Baseball draft, yet posted the lowest ERA in the
majors this year.
And even if Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester — the Chicago Cubs' No. 1 and No. 2 pitchers — won't admit it,
he's probably the team's third best pitcher.
The crazy thing is, that's not a bad thing.
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2. 1/5/2017 Like it or not, road to erasing 108-year curse runs through Cubs' modern-day Maddux | Sports Radio America
http://www.sportsradioamerica.com/articles/pbjFf/2016-10-28/like-it-or-not-road-to-erasing-108-year-curse-runs-through-cubs-modern-day-maddux 2/3
When the Cubs open Game 3 of the World Series against the Cleveland Indians on Friday, it will be
Hendricks and his minuscule 1.32 home field ERA defending the ivy of Wrigley Field from opposing
volleys. For a city that yearns to win a WS more than any other, there’s no better man — not Arrieta,
Lester or John Lackey — to stand facetoface with the goatcurse and shadow of Steve Bartman than
Chicago's unlikely ace.
Excluding the threeyear span between 2013 and 2015, the L.A. Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw and the
Arizona Diamondbacks' Zack Greinke ruled as arguably the best onetwo punch in Major League
Baseball, only three other pitchers have better than the man compared to HallofFamer Greg Maddux in
the last 20 years.
Throughout the last two decades, only Greinke (1.66, 2014), Kershaw (1.77, 2012), Roger Clemens (1.87,
2005), Kevin Brown (1.89, 1996) and Pedro Martínez (1.90, 1997) have a lower ERA than Hendricks' 2.13
in two decades of professional baseball. To put the impact in perspective, Maddux, who was on the list
four times, beat Hendricks' total only twice in 1994 (1.56) and 1995 (1.63).
Aside from the utterly frustrating, batbreaking accuracy he displayed during his dismantling of the Texas
Rangers' batting order on July 15, Hendricks has been better than advertised against American League
offenses.
According to statistics taken from MLB.com, Hendricks posted his best monthly ERA (1.07) in the month
of July despite facing the topranked Rangers, which ended the season with the secondbest record in the
MLB, and the Chicago White Sox, which got seven and twothirds shutout innings from James Shields. In
24 games pitched, Hendricks is 11 against AL teams and has allowed only 11 hits and two earned runs
during that time frame.
Only Arrieta, who finished the season with a 3.10 ERA, and Lester, who was second in the majors with a
2.44 ERA, were better.
Arrieta and Lester pitched themselves to a 31 and 40 records in a combined nine games against the AL.
While Arrieta allowed 16 hits and nine earned runs against the Chicago White Sox, Houston Astros, Los
Angeles Angels, Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners, Lester allowed 21 hits and three earned runs.
It doesn't take a mathematician to see there's no other pitcher on the Cubs' roster that has pitched better
at Wrigley. It also doesn't take a statistical whizkid to guess Hendricks' win sets the stage for either
Lester or Arrieta to seal the first WS victory since cellophane was invented and the first Ford Model T was
sold and help Chicago hoist the first Commissioner's Trophy in the modern age of baseball.
Including his nearnohitter against Chicago's bitter rival St. Louis on Sept. 12, Hendricks finished the
2016 baseball season an astounding 92 at Clark and Addison. Batters have a .201 batting average
against him and have pushed hits past the ivy only four times in 11 games.
Much like Madison Bumgarner before him (though not nearly as dominant in fashion) Hendricks has
become the Cubs' postseason miracle. He’s a pitcher never slated to play a major role in professional
baseball, let alone become baseball's thirdbest starter or carry the weight of winning the sport's greatest
prize for a city devoid of a WS title for more than a century.
To finally erase the goatcurse and forgive Steve Bartman, the city of Chicago needs its unlikely ace to
pave the way to history more than any other player on the roster.
Marcus is a columnist for Sports Radio America and an analyst on The Sunday Gridiron and College
Credit Hour. Follow him on Twitter at @MarcusMarionWNI.
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