(RADIO.COM Sports) Baseball is a funny game.
Even the greatest of pitchers can struggle against the league average hitter. Hall of Fame right-hander Greg Maddux had a few of those tough matchups himself, but perhaps none more striking than former Phillies and Cubs infielder Mickey Morandini. A one-time All-Star, Morandini was a career .268 hitter with 32 home runs over 11 seasons in the big leagues, yet he somehow seemed to get the best of Maddux time and time again.
"Yeah, he was a p---k," Maddux told Chris Dimino on the "Hardball" podcast. "I couldn't get that dude out. Throw it away, he hit it left-center. Throw it in, he hit it right-center."
In 100 plate appearances against Maddux, the light-hitting Morandini had a slash line of .344/.371/.495 with three doubles, four triples, a home run and eight RBIs. His average against Maddux is the second-highest of any player with at least 70 plate appearances against him, trailing only Tony Gwynn's .429 average.
Morandini was also the one to knock Maddux out of Game 6 of the 1993 National League Championship Series when he hit a two-run triple off Maddux in the sixth inning to give the Phillies a 6-1 lead en route to the NL pennant.
"Just one of those matchups," Maddux said. "For some reason, he was a really tough out for me."
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