John Smoltz is rightfully regarded as one of the greatest postseason pitchers in the history of the game. Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux, on the other hand, are generally considered postseason disappointments. Overall, for their careers, Smoltz has been superior to Glavine and Maddux in the postseason. Below are their career postseason records:
|
|
W |
L |
ERA |
IP |
|
14 |
16 |
3.42 |
218 |
|
|
15 |
4 |
2.65 |
207 |
|
|
11 |
14 |
3.34 |
194 |
Maddux and Glavine, however, were actually better postseason starters than Smoltz during the six postseasons in which they were members of the same starting rotation. The applicable period is from 1993 until 1999. Below is a grid with their performance and the average run support they received during those postseasons:
|
|
W |
L |
SV |
ERA |
WHIP |
GS |
IP |
RS |
|
Glavine |
8 |
5 |
0 |
2.48 |
1.16 |
18 |
119.7 |
4.67 |
|
Smoltz |
7 |
4 |
1 |
3.12 |
1.14 |
17 |
118.3 |
4.82 |
|
Maddux |
10 |
9 |
1 |
2.39 |
1.11 |
21 |
150.7 |
3.86 |
|
Combined |
25 |
18 |
2 |
2.64 |
1.13 |
56 |
388.7 |
4.41 |
Overall, the Braves were 32-24 when Maddux, Smoltz, and Glavine started for the Braves during the postseasons from 1993 until 1999. Below is the overall team record when each started:
|
|
W |
L |
ERA |
RS |
|
Glavine |
12 |
6 |
2.48 |
4.67 |
|
Smoltz |
9 |
8 |
3.12 |
4.82 |
|
Maddux |
11 |
10 |
2.39 |
3.86 |
|
Overall |
32 |
24 |
2.64 |
4.41 |
Below is a table of the performance of Maddux, Smoltz, and Glavine and the run support given to them in the games the Braves won when they started during those postseasons between 1993 and 1999:
|
|
G |
IP |
ERA |
RS |
|
Glavine |
12 |
82.7 |
1.63 |
5.92 |
|
Smoltz |
9 |
68.6 |
2.63 |
7.00 |
|
Maddux |
11 |
84.7 |
1.60 |
5.36 |
|
Overall |
32 |
236 |
1.91 |
6.03 |
Below is their performance and the average performance of the offense during the games the Braves lost when they started during those postseasons:
|
|
G |
IP |
ERA |
RS |
|
Glavine |
6 |
37.0 |
4.38 |
2.17 |
|
Smoltz |
8 |
49.7 |
3.80 |
2.38 |
|
Maddux |
10 |
66.0 |
3.41 |
2.20 |
|
Overall |
24 |
152.7 |
3.77 |
2.25 |
Maddux was not only the best postseason pitcher on the Braves during the era of The Big Three but, from the 1995 NLCS until the 1999 World Series, Maddux put together the best consecutive string of 120 or more innings of any postseason pitcher in the history of the game. Below are the postseason pitchers I could find that had the best consecutive string of 120 or more innings in the postseason and the average offensive run support provided them in their postseason starts:
|
Pitcher |
Start |
End |
G |
GS |
W |
L |
IP |
ERA |
OOPS |
RS |
|
95NLCS |
99WS |
19 |
17 |
8 |
8 |
124 |
1.89 |
0.562 |
2.88 |
|
|
91NLCSG7 |
97NLDS |
18 |
18 |
9 |
2 |
125.3 |
2.01 |
0.573 |
4.78 |
|
|
50WS |
62WSG4 |
18 |
18 |
10 |
4 |
124 |
2.03 |
0.586 |
4.50 |
|
|
92WS |
99NLCS |
19 |
19 |
9 |
6 |
129.7 |
2.22 |
0.590 |
4.37 |
|
|
93WS |
2007WS |
19 |
19 |
11 |
2 |
133.3 |
2.23 |
0.586 |
4.95 |
|
|
81WS |
93ALCS |
18 |
16 |
10 |
3 |
120.3 |
2.24 |
0.569 |
4.63 |
|
|
85NLCS |
97WSG1 |
18 |
17 |
8 |
2 |
121 |
2.38 |
0.575 |
4.35 |
|
|
66WS |
83WS |
17 |
15 |
8 |
3 |
124.3 |
2.61 |
0.640 |
4.67 |
|
|
86ALCSG7 |
03ALCSG3 |
22 |
22 |
8 |
5 |
130 |
3.05 |
0.562 |
3.82 |
|
|
72ALCS |
78WS |
21 |
18 |
9 |
5 |
124.3 |
3.11 |
0.687 |
3.50 |
|
|
89ALCS |
05ALDS |
26 |
16 |
10 |
4 |
120 |
3.15 |
0.647 |
5.44 |
|
|
97ALDS |
06ALDS |
20 |
19 |
7 |
7 |
121.3 |
3.19 |
0.660 |
3.26 |
|
|
98ALDS |
03WS |
22 |
22 |
11 |
5 |
136 |
3.44 |
0.736 |
4.45 |
|
|
95ALDS |
06ALDS |
19 |
16 |
7 |
9 |
121 |
3.50 |
0.664 |
3.50 |
Mariano Rivera is currently at 117.3 innings and will jump to the top of this list once he surpasses 120 innings pitched in the postseason. Bob Gibson, Sandy Koufax, Christy Mathewson and a few others had excellent runs that did not amount to 120 innings pitched prior to the dawn of ALCS, NLCS, ALDS and NLDS play. Greg Maddux, however, had the best string of 120 or more consecutive innings ever from a starting pitcher in the postseason.
