New Hall of Famer Maddux enjoys part-time baseball

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Greg Maddux is enjoying his part-time role in baseball these days.

The newly elected member in baseball’s Hall of Fame gets to spend plenty of time with his family while also working as a special assistant helping the Texas Rangers’ pitching coach, his brother Mike.

“That’s probably the best perk, is I’m able to get a little bit of both,” Greg Maddux said Thursday. “I have a kid that’s going to be 17 soon … I’m getting a chance to watch him grow up and play at the high school level, help his team out as well. And spend time with family and still get my baseball fix in too.”

Two weeks after getting his call from the hall, and being on 97 percent of the ballots in his first year of eligibility, the four-time NL Cy Young Award winner said it was still “pretty exciting.”

Maddux won 355 games in a big-league career that started with Chicago Cubs from 1986-92. He won his first Cy Young in his final season at Wrigley Field, then won the award in his first three seasons with the Braves. After 11 seasons in Atlanta, he returned to the Cubs for three more years, and pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego after that.

When Maddux is inducted July 27, he will not have any logo on his Hall of Fame plaque.

“I feel good about it, I spent half my career in Chicago and half of my career in Atlanta,” he said. “So I’m going to go in neutral, I guess.”

Maddux said he hasn’t yet really thought about what that day will be like or what he will say in his speech.

“I know I’m nervous. I know that much,” he said. “I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to be pretty special.”

Wearing a cap and pullover, both bearing the logo of a Las Vegas country club, Maddux spoke in a room with some of the Rangers’ top pitching prospects in attendance. They were there for a midwinter pitching camp, and Maddux smiled when asked if he had to tell the young pitchers that he was still approachable.

Maddux, who has been with the Rangers for two years, will be at spring training next month.

“I think most of the guys know me well enough,” he said. “I’m pretty approachable. And if they don’t know that, they’ll learn that. That’s the purpose of me being here, is to help them and share my experiences with them. I learn from the players in front of me, and hopefully I can help the players behind me as well.”