In a 15-season career, covering 1806 games, Madlock, nicknamed "Mad Dog", compiled a .305
batting average with 2008
hits, 920
runs, 348
doubles, 163
home runs, 174
stolen bases, 605
bases on balls and 860
runs batted in (RBI).
Early years Madlock was drafted by the Washington Senators in the 5th round of the secondary phase of the
1970 amateur draft. After spending a few years in the minor leagues, with a season with the
Ossining Oxen in the team's only season, he made his debut with the Texas Rangers (who had moved from Washington after the 1971 season) on September 7, 1973, and played 21 games with them, batting .351. Prior to his promotion, he led the
Pacific Coast League in total bases (268) and runs scored (119), finished second in batting (.338) and had 22 homers and 90 RBI at
Triple-A Spokane. He was traded along with
Vic Harris from the Rangers to the
Chicago Cubs for
Ferguson Jenkins on October 25, 1973. His new manager with the Cubs
Whitey Lockman said about him, "Our scouts are extremely high on Madlock as being one of the best hitting prospects they have seen in some time." Madlock replaced
Ron Santo as the Cubs' third baseman and hit .313, the highest average for a Cubs third baseman since
Stan Hack batted .323 in 1945. In 1975 Madlock won his first batting title with a .354 average. On July 26 of that year he went 6-for-6 during a Cubs' loss to the
New York Mets. He also made the first of his three
All-Star appearances and shared Game MVP honors with
Jon Matlack.
Batting averages In 1976 Madlock repeated as batting champion with a .339 average, edging out
Ken Griffey Sr. of the
Cincinnati Reds on the final day of the regular season (October 3, 1976). In an 8–2 win over the
Montreal Expos, Madlock collected four singles to raise his average from .333 to .339, one point ahead of Griffey. Griffey belatedly entered his team's game (which the Reds won 11–1 over the
Atlanta Braves), and went 0-for-2, dropping his average to .336. During the advent of MLB
free agency following the
1976 season, Madlock demanded a multiyear contract with an annual salary of about $200,000, but was rejected by team owner
Philip K. Wrigley who then announced that Madlock would be traded "to anyone foolish enough to want him." In what was considered one of the five worst trades in Cubs history by the
Chicago Tribune's Chris Kuc in 2016, Madlock and
Rob Sperring were dealt to the
San Francisco Giants for
Bobby Murcer,
Steve Ontiveros and minor-league right-handed pitcher Andy Muhlstock on February 11, 1977. He was a starting third baseman again on a ballclub that eventually won the
1979 World Series. He batted .328 with the Pirates during the regular season and .375 in the World Series. In 1980 Madlock's average dropped to .277 as the Pirates finished third in the
National League East, eight games behind the eventual
World Champion Philadelphia Phillies. For Madlock, the season became infamous for an incident during a May 1 game against the
Montreal Expos at
Three Rivers Stadium. Madlock poked umpire
Jerry Crawford in the face with his glove after being called out on strikes with the bases loaded.
National League President
Chub Feeney fined Madlock $5,000 and suspended him 15 games. Madlock appealed the suspension and remained in uniform before finally serving the suspension on June 6, after National League umpires threatened to eject him from every game he tried to play in.
Batting titles Madlock won two more batting titles, in 1981 and 1983, making him the first player to win multiple batting titles with two different teams. He also finished second in the National League in batting in 1982, his .319 average bettered only by
Al Oliver's .331. Afterwards, however, his play mirrored the decline of the team. In August 1985 the Pirates traded him to Los Angeles which, like Pittsburgh in 1979, was contending for a division title. The Dodgers lost to the
St. Louis Cardinals in the
NLCS but Madlock hit three home runs in the loss. In , the Dodgers released Madlock, who signed a few days later with the
Detroit Tigers, hitting .279 with 14 home runs and 50 RBI in 87 games including a three home run game on June 28, where he again earned a trip to the postseason. On September 23, he collected his 2,000th career hit off
Bruce Hurst at
Fenway Park. In the 1987 ALCS, he went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts as the Tigers lost to the
Minnesota Twins. Madlock became a free agent at the end of the 1987 season and played for the
Lotte Orions in Japan in 1988. Madlock's four batting titles is the most of any player in major league baseball history who is not enshrined in the
Hall of Fame. He is one of 102 players in MLB history with 2,000 hits and a batting average of .300.
"Mad Dog" Madlock also had a fiery temper, and was involved in several incidents (including the 1980 episode) that exemplified it: • August 16, 1975: In the first inning of a game against the
Houston Astros at the
Astrodome, Madlock was ejected for arguing with umpire
Art Williams on a close play at first base in which Madlock was called out. He was ejected by not only Williams but also home plate umpire
Bruce Froemming, who overheard Madlock's angry profanity-laden tirade. • May 1, 1976: Madlock was fined $500 for
charging the mound after San Francisco pitcher
Jim Barr brushed him back with a pitch during a game at
Candlestick Park. •
Spring training, 1978: Madlock, as a Giant, got into a clubhouse fight with
John Montefusco after interrupting an interview with the pitcher. Afterwards, Madlock ripped Montefusco: "I've heard and read where Montefusco has said this team is a team of losers." As a player, Madlock was ejected from 18 games. He was also ejected from three games during his two years as a Tiger coach. Over time, Madlock's approach to umpires changed. Umpire Jerry Crawford remarked after his 1980 dispute with Madlock that "[t]here's no question [Madlock has] calmed down. He's changed, which is great, because a guy of his ability doesn't have to do the things to umpires that he was doing." Madlock's agent,
Stephen Greenberg, son of baseball great
Hank Greenberg, added that "[t]he Crawford incident was a benchmark. Now if he disagrees with an umpire, he uses his charm, which can be considerable." ==Post-playing career==