My Favorite Grizz

Now, I know several other people on this blog have had opportunities to detail their experiences with the Grizz, and their history and the things they love most, i thought i'd throw my wooden nickel in as well. I'm a relative newbie to the Grizz fanbase, as i lived in Idaho for a short stint in my life. I'm not proud of the fact that i was a white sox fan there, but i voluntarily left the team when those two fans, Anthony John "AJ" Ligue, and his son, Jermayne, beat up that proud Royals coach Tom Giambi. My father was transferred to Chicago soon after that to teach in an "inner city" school. I say inner city, just to explain the joke a little more, when really its a quite upper class neighborhood that was only poor and downtrodden when That Other Team was in town here, before they were ridden out on a rail.

In any case, i floundered in a baseball team-less world for some time. When i went to college in 2003, i discovered the joy that is the Grizz. Their strong hitting, their coaching, their incredible pitching. And it was the incredible pitching that i noticed most of all. The Grizz had that wonderful pitching that i've only seen duplicated in the present team. But worshiping the present Grizz and their trio of Cy Young* candidate pitchers is for another post.

Now though, i want to talk of one man. One legend. One reason i put an asterisk next to Cy Young's name in my previous paragraph. There is one man that is the true embodiment of Grizz spirit. His name is used as a rallying cry for the Grizz before every game. I hear talk that whence he retires, the baseball overlords will do all within their power to change the name of the Cy Young award to his name. That's right. You all know him as Grant Madison.

Grant Madison has been voted by every sports journalist everywhere as the greatest player to ever play the game. Which stat should i talk about first, his record 6000 strikeouts, or his legend - wait for it - dary! ability to win every game he has played since 1988? Both are without a doubt true marks of glory, assuring him status as a first ballot hall of famer, destined to receive 110 percent of the vote. You may say to me, Ryan Gregory Beariot, how can a player receive more than 100 percent of the vote? Pure Madison Grit (PMG (copyrighted 1986)), that's how.

Madison's career started on September 3, 1986, a game i vividly recall as my first memory. In fact, my first words to my parents were "madison" followed soon after by "cardinals suck somefing awful." what can i say, my parents raised a smart kid. Madison didn't do too well his first game, though he did strike out 4 in 2 IP. the fact that he also gave up 3 home runs in those two innings didnt seem to bode well for Madison's future as a Grizz. However, legendary Grizz player Bert Brankles (of the famous Brankles Boulevard, you all know) saw something in the kid. That something, Brankles said in a post game interview, was PMG. Madison heard what Brankles said about him and his next game was an absolute gem. He struck out the first 14 batters he faced before being ejected. The situation has been widely analyzed but what happened seems to be clear. Cardinals pitcher Rod Anklebiter threw at Brankles at his second at bat, after Brankles hit his 9th grand slam of the year against Anklebiter. Madison had to defend the man who had stuck up for him, even though he was pitching a perfect game, so he threw at Anklebiter's groin. The fact that Anklebiter wasn't wearing a cup that day probably didnt help matters in whether or not Madison deliberately threw at Anklebiter. Even though the Grizz were up 5-0, since Madison didn't finish 5 innings he could not get the win.

When asked in post game interviews why he did it, Madison replied with three simple words. Pure. Madison. Grit. The reporters, especially Ray Marciatti, seemed confused at this statement. Marciatti in fact wrote a column the next day about how Madison was ruining the sport. After Madison won his next 8 games in a row, of course, Marciatti was laughed out of town. (interesting sidenote: he now works as a cabana boy at the Boise White Sox pool)

Madison's long and glorious career so far has been summarized in several books so far, namely "Pure Madison Grit" by Patty O'Murphy, famed Chicago writer, and "He Struck Out Jesus With His Curveball" by Bert Brankles, detailing their time spent together. Now, this entry has already gotten far too long, but for some highlights:

Madison's 1st no hitter against the Braves in 1989.
Madison's 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 7th no hitters against the Cardinals.
Madison's 6th no hitter against the Red Sox, where his home run in the bottom of the 9th broke up Red Sox pitcher Curtis Sockwuss's own third bid for a no-hitter.
Madison's 3 perfect games, the most of any pitcher ever.
All 4 19 strikeout games of his, only eclipsed by current Grizz pitcher Woody Kerry's 27 strikeout game, the first all strikeout game in MLB history.

But behind all of his superhuman abilities lied a teacher. A man who could help young pitchers excel in new ways never seen before. Speaking of that 27 strikeout game, it is rumored that Woody Kerry saw Madison working on a new pitch, called the Centrifuge Gyroball before one game. Madison taught him how to throw it, and Woody Kerry has been throwing 103 mile an hour strikes ever since. Grizz pitcher Ryno Dumpsy had been having a few law problems along with his control issues, until Madison straightened both of them out. Dumpsy's 2.00 ERA and two Roberto Clemente awards ever since that point shows the effectiveness of Madison's teaching methods. Madison even cleared Tad Flowers's name in the 2005 murder investigation of James "Joke" Bones, former Grizz CF. Madison investigated the crime itself and found the culprit to be none other than Cardinals manager Joey LaFemme. The fact that Madison was still able to throw 110 mile an hour heaters past batters as he worked the murder investigation shows just how awesome he is.

But there is one Grizz pitcher that I haven't mentioned yet. The one who has been impacted by Madison the most. That's right, i'm talking about Jorge Zammano, the best hitting pitcher the Grizz have ever had. Zammano's pitching ability is almost as good as Madison's is, as exemplified by his 4 no hitters against the Cardinals, second only to Madison. His hitting is also a product of Madison's teaching, as i'm sure we all saw in his batting left handed, into the wind, one handed bunt, directly to the little orphan boy in the wheelchair, home run that he hit yesterday off of the Reds. Zammano was once asked how he could exemplify True Grizz Spirit so much, and his only answer was those three little words: "Pure Madison Grit."

And so, before i get any more emotional here, let's all raise a toast to Grant Madison, the greatest Grizz pitcher of them all. May him and his Grit always light the way to the future of the Grizz. And your favorite Madison moments are certainly welcome in the comments.