Today the Braves honor the career of Greg Maddux by inducting him into the Braves Hall of Fame and retiring his number 31. Maddux spent 11 seasons (1993-2003) with the Braves and put together most of his Cooperstown credentials while with Atlanta. Maddux won 194 games with a 2.63 ERA and won three of his four Cy Young Awards while helping the Braves win 11 division titles and one World Series. Maddux put together two of the greatest back-to-back seasons of any pitcher in history in 1994 and 1995 when he went a combined 35-8 with a 1.60 ERA and a ridiculous 0.853 WHIP.

He finished his major league career with 355 wins, the eighth most all time and the most of any pitcher who began his career after WWII. His 355 wins give him one more than RoHGHer Clemens giving Maddux the edge for the best pitcher of his generation. His dominance during the offensive era he pitched in was simply amazing. He was selected to 8 All-Star teams and won 18 Rawlings Gold Glove Awards, more than anyone in the award’s history.

Maddux’s number 31 will join Braves legends Hank Aaron (44), Warren Spahn (21), Eddie Mathews (41), Phil Niekro (35), and Dale Murphy (3) high atop Turner Field. Maddux is the first of the players from the ‘90s (and the first overall since Murphy in 1994) to have this honor, but two or three others can expect to join over the next three to five years.

Congratulations, Greg! You were fun to watch.