Greg Maddux was bar-none the greatest pitcher of his generation, and there's a strong case to be made he was the greatest ever.
That's why he just got the second-most votes ever for the baseball Hall of Fame.
But as much as he was feared at the plate, Maddux, whose nickname was "Mad Dog," was an inveterate prankster with a "sick" sense of humor who terrified teammates in the lockerroom.
Here is a compilation of some of the best descriptions of Maddux' antics:
"For a guy with a CPA's demeanor, he has a sense of humor that a 12-year-old would envy. Maddux is a master of strategically timed nose picking, sidling up to an unsuspecting rookie in the shower and urinating on the kid's leg, and inventing just the right nickname for a teammate with big ears, a prominent schnozz or some other pronounced physical qualities."
"I call him 'The Silent Scumbag'...You would perceive him to be Einstein because he's quiet and he's always sitting there at his locker with a crossword puzzle. But he's got a silent sickness to him, sort of like David Cone. Those quiet guys are the ones you have to watch out for. "
Arizona Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers:
"Oh, I've got a few (Maddux stories) but I don't think they're fit for print. But he was certainly a prankster and a lot of fun. All I can tell you is 'don't eat the chili.' I can't go any further than that. (Maddux put) foreign objects in the chili."
"He used to light guys' shoes on fire all the time," Colletti said. "If somebody had a hot foot, 10 to 1 it was Greg who lit it."
"Many of Maddux's teammates would carefully reach into the bin of sanitary socks with the hope of finding two that he hadn't tarnished in some shape or form."
"Unfortunately, you can't write half of the stuff he did, because he wasn't proper."
"He's the same dirtbag he's always been. He's one of the grossest guys I've ever been around in my life."
Yikes.
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