LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Greg Maddux finalized his $10 million, one-year
contract with the San Diego Padres on Wednesday, then hinted that
there's really no end in sight to his long, successful career.
The four-time Cy Young Award winner made a quick trip from his
offseason home in Las Vegas to take his physical -- which he passed
-- and then appear at a news conference.
"Last year I felt as good as I've ever felt," said Maddux, who
turns 41 on April 14. "I do like the game, I do like the
competition, I do like wearing a major league shirt. I like the
atmosphere, I like everything about it. I'm not ready to give it
up.
"I feel like as long as I can locate my fastball and change
speeds, I have a chance to keep pitching for a long time."
The deal contains a
$6 million player option for 2008. The price of the option would
increase incrementally up to $10 million if Maddux pitches 200
innings.
Maddux is 333-203 with a 3.07 ERA in
his career. The likely Hall of Famer split last season between the
Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers, going 15-14 with a 4.20 ERA.
His agent, Scott Boras, also had discussed Maddux returning to
the Dodgers. The Padres and Dodgers finished with identical 88-74
records -- San Diego won the NL West and Los Angeles was the wild
card.
With San Diego, Maddux joins a starting rotation headed by
Jake Peavy that also includes Clay Hensley and Chris Young. Maddux
lives in Las Vegas, making San Diego a relatively short commute.
Greg Maddux had a small resurgence in August and September when he moved to the pitcher-friendly NL West after getting the snot kicked out of him in his last three months in Chicago (posting a 5.77 ERA after his 5-0 April), so a move to San Diego, perhaps the best pitchers' park in baseball right now, makes a lot of sense for him.
To read more of Keith Law's analysis of the Greg Maddux deal, click here.
"Southern California was always a place Greg wanted to play. He
was very happy in LA last year," Boras said. "San Diego also has
an environment for his family. His decisions are based primarily on
his family.
"We had probably 10 teams that wanted a contract with him that
were in venues that were probably too far for him -- his children
are in school. Certainly the geographical issue for him at this
time in his career is the most really prevalent in his
decision-making," he said.
Maddux spent his first seven big league seasons with the Chicago
Cubs, then pitched for Atlanta from 1993-2003 before rejoining the
Cubs. Chicago traded him to the Dodgers on July 31.
Under the terms of the deal with San Diego, Maddux's option would
increase to $7.5 million if he pitches 170 innings next year and
$8.75 million if he pitches 185 innings.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.