Maddux: ‘Closing’s got to be the hardest job in baseball’

Another Mad Dog Minute!

Don’t tell Greg Maddux that relievers are failed starting pitchers. Maddux, who has made 712 starts, said a closer has baseball’s toughest job because the mental burden is so great.

“When the closer messes up, you lose,” Maddux said, elaborating on comments he made Wednesday after closer Trevor Hoffman blew the save. “Anyone here can go 0-for-4—you can still win. A starting pitcher can get knocked out in the fifth—you can still win. A reliever can come in and walk the two guys he faces—you can still win.

“Mentally, closing’s got to be the hardest job in baseball.”

Maddux, who entered the majors in 1986, is amused how quickly people assume a good set-up reliever can shift into a closer’s role. “Everyone thinks it’s just physical thing—they don’t understand,” he said. “These guys who pitch before (the closer) have a good month and everyone’s like, ‘He should be the closer.’ It’s a little different. And that’s not to mention how a closer is the anchor point of the ‘pen.”