Greg Maddux wanted the ball. After eleven seasons and three Sisk Awards, surely he'd earned it.

Cooktown Sharkbait manager Ron Oester was reluctant. It was still Week One, not the time to start using your best pitcher on three days' rest. Maddux had just pitched and won on Opening Day, beating Gympie and Pedro Martinez 6-2. Now Stawell was in town, two-time defending ABL champion Stawell, and Oester was feeling uneasy. He went to Maddux and said two words, "Your game."

Maddux wanted to pitch for one reason. Rookie Kerry Wood, the number one pick in the draft and the league's new wonderkind, was making his ABL debut that night. Maddux wanted to see what the kid had. Greg decided right away, the kid had plenty.

But Maddux knew a few tricks. He always enjoyed pitching against this Stawell lineup. Such a challenge, every batter a dangerous man with a dangerous bat. But you could get them to get themselves out. If you were sharp. Maddux, this night, was.

Maddux retired 15 of the 1st 16 Stawell batters he faced, walking only Andrew Jones with 2 out in the 2nd. Meanwhile, Maddux batted against Wood in the 3rd, rolling out to 2nd after "watching" two blinding fastballs. Yes, this kid could throw. But could he pitch?

In the 5th Wood made his 1st mistake, throwing a chopper in the dirt to put a runner on. Maddux bunted, and Roberto Alomar drilled home the run with a single. Cooktown 1, Stawell 0.

Maddux walked 1 more, but as the 8th began he'd yet to surrender a hit. It had been a little over three seasons since his first no-hitter, an Opening Day gem against the now-defunct Bamaga Loggerheads. Pulling the trick against Stawell would be a far more impressive feat. But Jay Bell put an end to such thoughts with a ringing single to right with 1 out. Kerry Wood was lifted for a pinch-hitter, but Maddux still did not allow a run and took a 1-0 lead into the 9th.

But Stawell never stops being dangerous. Chipper Jones led off the 9th with a double. Barry Bonds lined a double into the left-center gap to score him and knot the game at 1. Mike Piazza followed with a towering fly ball to left that hit high off Bruce, the towering left field wall at Surf's Up Stadium, and Bonds streaked home. 2-1 Stawell.

And so it ended, Maddux coming close, but Stawell winning their 3rd game in 4 tries in the young season when John Wetteland shut down Cooktown without a whiff in the final two innings. Could anyone stop this Stawell club?

Last Edited By: ablprop 02/01/09 10:01 AM. Edited 2 times.