Who has been the best "control" pitcher in baseball?

Any of the Braves' fantastic starters throughout the early-to-mid 90s would qualify. Glavine has made a living on the outer half of the plate, which is just phenomenal.

And, as others have said, Maddux is a master. His velocity was never that great, but he's a master of both control and movement. Proof? Look at the number of come-backers he gets (which led to all those Gold Gloves -- possibly another topic). Look at all the broken bats and weak grounders. Look at the way the Braves could position defenses based on his pitching. Then there was the streak of consecutive innings without a walk that approached Hershiser's record before Maddux issued an intentional pass -- an unselfish move putting the team ahead of any personal recognition. His strikeouts to walks ratio, which I'm not familiar with the numbers, is staggering. And then there's this one: I heard the Braves announcers on TBS relate an anecdote several years ago about Maddux talking to his left fielder in the dugout before an inning. He told him that when a certain batter came to the plate, he was going to fly out to the warning track on a certain pitch. I don't know if I believe it, but Greg Maddux is the only artist in the game who could make me consider such a seemingly ridiculous story.

Greg Maddux

It has to be Greg Maddux. 1997, 19 wins, 20 walks in 232 innings pitched. Career, 951 walks in 4370 innings, amazing!

Right with him, Curt Schilling. 703 walks in 3174 innings. Since he is a power pitcher, that is even more amazing. In 2002, 316K's, 33 walks. Wow!

For the guy below talking about 1800's pitchers, Pud Galvin is another goodie. But I don't think we can really talk about pitchers from back then since none of us were around to see them. the game was totally different. Some guys were pitching 600+ innings, winning 45+ games...it just wasn't the same.

In modern baseball you are right Maddux is awesome. His one season was terrific. But I am a little bit of a baseball nut and here is someone you might enjoy reading about:

Tommy Bond

3628.2 IP only 198 Base on Balls.

Cy Young

7354.2 IP and 1217

Without a doubt Greg Maddux. Couldn't break a pane of glass with his fastball, but his control is superior to anyone.

Greg Maddux bar none.

Maddux, Smoltz, or Glavine.

Theyre all old and they dont throw hard, but they all are still winning 10+ games a year and probably can until their mid 40s.

Greg Maddux has been the best in my generation.

Good choices, all of them, but don't forget a certain Roy Oswalt. This guy could throw a fastball at a fly on the wall from 60 feet away, kill the fly and then have the ball make a hole in the wall....all of this followed by screaming and cussing from his wife.

greg maddux no doubt if u ever seen him pitch u would agree