Greg Maddux

Baseball Legends series. No matter what kind of game he was playing, Greg Maddux always hated to lose.

Growing up in an army family that moved often, Greg and his older brother, Mike, were inseparable pals. Their father, a fast-pitch softball pitcher, taught them the fundamentals and inside strategies of baseball; both boys would become major league pitchers. Greg, who had a remarkable memory, absorbed and retained everything he was taught.

A perfectionist, Greg yelled at himself whenever he made what he thought was a bad pitch, even if he struck out the batter. He was drafted by the Chicago Cubs and moved up steadily through the minors, but success did not come immediately in the big leagues.

It was not until a pitching coach taught him how to throw a changeup that Maddux became baseball's best pitcher of the 1990s, winning an unprecedented four consecutive Cy Young awards. With the addition of Maddux to their already stellar pitching staff, the Atlanta Braves, postseason contenders for several years, won the World Series in 1995.

Pitching with his brain as much as his arm, Maddux is the modern equivalent of Hall of Fame pitcher Christy Mathewson, whose 373 wins are the National League record.