Story thread · 2 reports / 2 sources

‘Brutal': Greg Maddux's first pitch at Wrigley Field hits NBC 5 photographer

nbcchicago.com · 14dShare

Cubs Hall of Famer Greg Maddux is one of the most accurate pitchers in baseball history, so what could have caused his first pitch at the team’s 150th anniversary celebration to turn wild and hit an NBC 5 photographer? “I’m expecting him to just blaze one across the plate, and all of a sudden he throws it five feet wide and hit my monopod,” NBC 5 photojournalist Brian Moore said. Moore was recording the moment it all unfolded, but he still didn’t expect the reactions. “It’s a little bit embarrassing. I mean, because you actually heard Wrigley. Everybody went, ‘Oh,’ you know, so. And then afterwards, everybody on the Cubs staff is rushing up to me. ‘Are you okay? Are you okay?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’m good. I’m. He didn’t hit me.’” It turns out, the uncharacteristic pitch may have actually been intentional. “Yeah, that was brutal…”Maddux said after. He went on to admit that the wild pitch was actually the result of a bet with his former Cubs teammate Rick Sudcliff “Sutcliffe was going

First report: Why Greg Maddux, known for elite command, says he threw a wild first pitch at Wrigley Field — theathletic.com, 16d