Vintage Rookie Card

At a card show this weekend and I picked this up. Just really cool to see game-worn material when so much of what we see is not even related to the player.

Greg Maddux

— 2000 Season

In 2000, Greg Maddux continued to show why he was one of the most reliable and intelligent pitchers of his era, anchoring the rotation for the Atlanta Braves during their run of dominant division titles.

Maddux finished the season with a 19–9 record and a 3.00 ERA over 249.1 innings, once again demonstrating his incredible durability and efficiency. At age 34, he remained the workhorse of the Braves staff, throwing over 240 innings for the 13th consecutive season, a remarkable streak in modern baseball.

While Maddux was never known for overpowering hitters, his command and pitch movement were exceptional. In 2000 he struck out 165 batters while issuing only 38 walks, continuing his career-long mastery of control. His ability to change speeds and locate pitches allowed him to dominate hitters despite average fastball velocity.

Maddux was a key part of a legendary rotation that also featured Tom Glavine and John Smoltz (though Smoltz missed the season due to injury). The Braves finished first in the NL East with 95 wins, and Maddux’s consistency helped guide the team into the postseason.

One of Maddux’s most impressive traits in 2000 was efficiency. He frequently worked deep into games with low pitch counts, relying on weak contact and pinpoint accuracy rather than strikeouts. His ability to control the tempo of a game and keep hitters off balance remained elite.

Although he did not win the Cy Young Award that year (it went to Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks), Maddux still finished among the league’s top pitchers and added another chapter to his Hall of Fame résumé.

In short: the 2000 season showcased classic Greg Maddux—durable, efficient, and surgically precise. Even as power pitching became more common in baseball, Maddux proved that intelligence, command, and movement could still dominate the game.

I had this ticket raw. But found someone willing to trade for an auto/graded version & some $. This is a Grail Maddux ticket for me. His best “Maddux” game and arguably his best pitching performance of his career.

still lack these 9 tickets to finish his 35 ticket shutout run:

#Shutouts(win total)Needed:

#2(7)  - 4/6/88 @ ATL

#6(34) - 6/21/89 @ PIT (10IP)

#10(68)- 7/20/91 @ HOU

#15(95)- 9/30/92 vs PIT

#20(136)- 6/15/95 @ MON

#21(144)- 8/20/95 @ STL

#22(161)- 8/13/96 @ PHI

#24(186)- 4/15/98 vs PIT

#28(199)- 8/6/98 vs CIN

Any hep is appreciated….