"Don't throw anything inside, call everything outside" - When Greg Maddux planned a pitch with Eddie Perez three months ahead for the playoffs

Greg Maddux was on a different level. His big-league career spanned 23 seasons, mainly with the Atlanta Braves, where he put together a 355-227 record with a 3.16 lifetime ERA.

While many pitchers did and still do control the game with their velocity, Maddux was not the hardest thrower. He had to find ways to get guys out with strategy and pinpoint control.

MLB Network recently came out with a documentary detailing Maddux's career called "One of a Kind." In the documentary, we get a closer look at how far ahead he planned to get guys out.

"It was an easy game in the eighth inning, and he told me, 'Don't throw anything inside on Bagwell, call everything outside.' I said 'Okay,'" said Perez.

Maddux initially wanted Eddie Perez to set up outside the zone for Houston Astros slugger Jeff Bagwell. However, he changed his mind in the middle of the at-bat.

"He wants to go inside, and I go 'Okay, it's your game.' So I went inside, called inside, and Bagwell hit it like a thousand miles. And I was mad, and I was like, 'What are you doing?'" said Perez.

While Perez was questioning the sudden change, especially with the result, this was all apart of Maddux's plan. He quickly reassured his catcher that everything was going to be fine.

"He goes, 'They got a good team, we got a good team. We're going to play them in the playoffs. He's going to wait for that pitch," said Perez.

---

Greg Maddux gave up a run in the regular season to get an out in the postseason

Atlanta Braves - Greg Maddux and Eddie Perez (Photo via IMAGN)

Greg Maddux was right, and the Atlanta Braves would go on to face the Houston Astros later in the postseason. And Maddux would indeed face Bagwell again, but the stakes were much greater.

"Three months later, we're in the playoffs. Bases loaded in the seventh . We threw three straigh changeups, struck him out," said Perez.

You would be hard-pressed to find many pitchers willing to give up a run in the regular season to try and set somebody up in the postseason. This goes to show just how elite Maddux was when it came to his game-planning.

He is the only pitcher in MLB history to win at least 15 games in 17 straight seasons. That led to his first ballot induction into the HOF in 2014.