All-Star odd couple
Meticulous Maddux, wacky Wells take on Coors Field
Posted: Tuesday July 14, 1998 01:55 PM
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Star struck: Maddux (left) has won four Cy Young Awards, but Wells has pitched a perfect game (Stephen Dunn, David Seelig/Allsport) |
DENVER (CNN/SI) - With apologies to Neil Simon, is there an odder couple than the starting pitchers in the 69th All-Star Game on Tuesday night at Coors Field?
There's Greg Maddux for the National League, a slight, studious-looking man who wears glasses off the mound and works quickly on it, nibbling at the corners, a master of location and deception.
His American League opponent, burly David
Wells, is the freest of spirits, a guy who might count pitches but not calories.
The only pitcher in major league history to win four consecutive Cy Young
Awards (1992-95), Maddux, 32, is appearing in his seventh All-Star Game. At
the break, the Atlanta ace is one of only three pitchers in the majors with
12 wins at 12-2 with a 1.54 ERA with four shutouts.
The portly and eccentric Wells, listed at 225 pounds but weighing closer
to 245, has the rumpled look of a common man who loves to share beers with
fans at the local tavern -- and probably has. He favors heavy-metal music
and has tattoos of his late mother and son on his chest and shoulder,
respectively.
While hardly a perfect physical specimen, he threw only the 13th perfect
game in modern baseball history, beating Minnesota on May 17 in Yankee
Stadium. The 35-year-old left-hander has an 11-2 record and 3.75 ERA for
New York at the break.
Any game at Coors Field figures to be high-scoring, but at least one of
the participants isn't so sure.
"With these two starting pitchers, I don't know if it's going to be a
high-scoring game," Ken Griffey
Jr. said. "Maybe a quick game."
Maddux, who has made no secret of his dislike for Coors Field, to the
point of telling several Rockies pitchers he would never sign with Colorado
because of the ballpark, took a less harsh line on Monday.
Asked if he was looking forward to pitching there, he said, "Yes, I am.
These games are great to play in. It's almost like spring training. There
is no pressure to win or anything like that. You just go out and play the
game and have fun.
"Obviously, your slider doesn't slide as much and your curve doesn't
curve as much, but you can still pitch here. The biggest difference is the
outfielders have to play a little deeper, and you're concerned about the
extra-base hit. You just have to pitch smart."
Wells pitched for the Yankees in an exhibition game at Coors Field in
1995.
"It's very hard," he said. "As Greg said earlier, your curve doesn't
curve and your slider doesn't slide. You just have to create something.
I've been around long enough, I'll try to come up with something. This park
makes you think.
"I have a vision of a high-scoring game, but hopefully not when I'm in
there."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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