Chicago Cubs: Stop making Kyle Hendricks the next Maddux

For all you ERA fans out there, Hendricks has a lower career ERA than Maddux.

That’s it case closed, Hendricks is better than Maddux ever was I might as well give up now.  Well not exactly.

First of all, ERA is a stat that has to do with the team around you.  Secondly, Greg Maddux at 42 playing for the Dodgers was a tiny bit worse than when he was 28.

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That’s another thing, Greg Maddux pitched for 23 years!  I feel like it’s safe to say that Hendricks will fall short of that mark.

Let’s look at both of their best seasons; for Hendricks, it’ll be last year, for Maddux it was probably 1995.  The reason why I say probably is that he won the Cy Young four years in a row.  I’d say that’s not a bad stretch.

1995 Maddux had a 1.63 ERA, a 2.26 FIP, and a 0.811 WHIP while giving up 0.3 home runs per nine.  There’s a reason why he won the Cy Young four times in a row.

2016 Hendricks had a 2.12 ERA, a 3.20 FIP, and a 0.979 WHIP while giving up 0.7 home runs per nine.  Those numbers are great; they just aren’t Maddux great.