Zack Greinke
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| Kansas City Royals — No. 23 | |
| Starting Pitcher | |
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
|---|---|
| May 22, 2004 for the Kansas City Royals | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through 2006) |
|
| Wins | 14 |
| Strikeouts | 219 |
| Earned run average | 4.98 |
Donald Zackary Greinke (born October 21, 1983 in Orlando, Florida) is a Major League Baseball player for the Kansas City Royals. He went to high school in Apopka, Florida. He is a right-handed pitcher, who throws a fastball topping out at 94 miles per hour; a slider; changeup; curveball; and a slow curve, which he has thrown as slow as 50 miles per hour.
After being selected out of high school (and turning down a scholarship to Clemson) in the first round of the 2002 draft, he spent the winter of 2002-2003 in the Puerto Rican League. Afterwards, he played for the Wilmington Blue Rocks and Wichita Wranglers, where he was named the Royals Minor League Pitcher of the year, and The Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year, with a 15-4 record and 1.93 ERA. Greinke made his major-league debut on May 22, 2004 against the Oakland Athletics.
He ended the 2004 season with a record of 8 wins and 11 losses (second-highest on the team, after Jimmy Gobble) and a 3.97 ERA. Greinke has been compared to future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux and Royals great Bret Saberhagen. He has sports endorsement deals with Adidas and Rawlings. However, Greinke's 2005 season was not as successful, as he went 5-17 with a 5.80 ERA
Pitching in the American League, Greinke rarely bats due to the designated hitter rule. Greinke's first major league hit was a home run off Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Russ Ortiz in a 12-11 loss on June 10, 2005.
Greinke left the Royals spring training camp for personal reasons in late February, 2006. It was later revealed that he was suffering anxiety and was having trouble with working out in front of others. He reported back to the Royals' spring training facility in Surprise, Arizona, on April 17th, where he has been undergoing pitching sessions. He was placed on the 60-day disabled list due to psychological issues and took time completely away from baseball until returning on a rehab assignment with Wichita. He has returned to the Royals and is currently in spring training and is likely to return in the starting rotation for the 2007 season.
[edit] External links
- Official Homepage
- Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis
