Zack Greinke

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Zack Greinke
Los Angeles Dodgers – No. 21
Starting pitcher
Born: (1983-10-21) October 21, 1983
Orlando, Florida
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
May 22, 2004 for the Kansas City Royals
Career statistics
(through 2013 season)
Win–loss record 106–82
Earned run average 3.65
Strikeouts 1,480
Teams

Career highlights and awards

Donald Zackary "Zack" Greinke (/ˈɡrɪŋki/ GRING-kee; born October 21, 1983) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball. He has also pitched for the Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Greinke made his MLB debut with the Royals in 2004. He appeared in the MLB All-Star Game and won the American League Cy Young Award in 2009 with the Royals. After the 2010 season, the Royals traded Greinke to the Brewers, and in 2012, the Brewers traded him to the Angels.

Early life and high school

Greinke was born in Orlando, Florida, the son of Marsha Ann (née Wilkin) and Donald Ray Greinke.[1][2] Don was a history teacher who stressed the importance of education for the Greinke kids. Zack experienced social anxiety at school, finding it hard to "fit in" with his peers.[3]

As a teenager, Greinke helped lead his amateur all-star team to the Senior League World Series title in 1999. He played shortstop for the team and his coach estimated that he hit close to .700 in the tournament to lead his team.[4]

When Greinke started playing baseball at Apopka High School, he was primarily a shortstop, he hit over .400 with 31 home runs in his high school career.[5]

Greinke worked as a relief pitcher as a sophomore and junior, before moving into the starting rotation as a senior.[5] During his senior season, in 2002, Greinke compiled a 9–2 record, a 0.55 earned run average (ERA), and 118 strikeouts in 63 innings. He also held opposing batters to a .107 average.[5] He led his team to a 32-2 record, their third straight district title and he was selected as Gatorade National Player of the Year.[6] After the High School season ended, he played in the Florida Athletic Coaches Association All-Star Classic and impressed pro scouts with his performance against some of the best hitters in the country.[7]

Greinke was selected in the first round of the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft by the Kansas City Royals,[8] who felt he was a polished player who could move quickly through their system.[5] Greinke turned down a scholarship offer from Clemson University[9][10] to sign with the Royals for a $2.5 million signing bonus.[11]

Minor leagues

He pitched in six games in the minor leagues for the Royals in 2002, with three games for the Gulf Coast Royals, two for the Low-A Spokane Indians, and two innings for the High-A Wilmington Blue Rocks. He had a 3.97 ERA in 11⅓ innings.[12]

In 2003, Greinke opened the season with Wilmington, where he was 11-1 with 1 1.14 ERA in 14 starts.[13] Those numbers earned him spot on the Carolina League mid-season[14] and post-season all-star teams as well as Carolina League Pitcher of the Year.[15] His manager with the Blue Rocks, Billy Gardner, Jr., remarked that Greinke was the best pitcher he had ever seen at that level of the minor leagues.[16] He was promoted in July to the AA Wichita Wranglers of the Texas League,[16] where in nine starts he was 4-3 with a 3.23 ERA.[17] He had his first share of adversity with Wichita, as he had a couple of games where he was hit hard. But he bounced back and helped Wichita make the playoffs with a victory in the final game of the season.[16]

Greinke was named the Royals Minor League Pitcher of the Year for 2003[18] and began 2004 with the Omaha Royals of the Pacific Coast League, where he was 1-1 with a 2.51 ERA in six starts.[19]

Major league career

Kansas City Royals (2004–10)

After starting the year at AA, Greinke made his major league debut on May 22, 2004 against the Oakland Athletics, allowing two runs in five innings. He recorded his first career win on June 8, when he pitched seven scoreless innings against the Montreal Expos.[20] 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 pitching for the Kansas City Royals in 2009

Greinke was quiet and sometimes awkward in the clubhouse. To alleviate some of his anxiety and solitude, the Royals arranged for him to live with legendary Royals third baseman George Brett.[21] Still, Greinke's uneasiness grew. By the 2005–2006 offseason, he almost quit baseball. He has stated that he was "surprised [he] came back" to baseball.[22] He left spring training for personal reasons in late February 2006.[23] It was later revealed that he was suffering from social anxiety disorder and depression.[24] He reported back to the Royals' spring training facility in Surprise, Arizona, on April 17, where he underwent ongoing pitching sessions. He was placed on the 60-day disabled list due to psychological issues and took time away from baseball entirely.[25] He began seeing a sports psychologist and taking anti-depressant medication.[3][21]

In 2007, he returned to the Royals rotation at the start of the season, but was sent to the bullpen in early May. Greinke's 2008 saw him return to the rotation and put up a good year. His 3.47 ERA was the best by a full-time Royals starter in 11 years.[26] On January 26, 2009, Greinke agreed to a four-year contract with the Royals worth $38 million.[26]

Greinke started off 2009 by not allowing a run in his first 24 innings. Greinke's 2008 season ended with 14 scoreless innings, which meant that for 38 innings in a row, he had not given up a run. Greinke was named American League Pitcher of the Month for April, his 5 wins, 0.50 ERA and 44 strikeouts all tops in the Majors.[27] On August 25, Greinke struck out 15 batters, breaking Mark Gubicza's record for strikeouts in a single game for the Royals.[28] On August 30, Greinke had a one-hit complete game against the Seattle Mariners

His record for the 2009 season was 16–8, and he posted an ERA of 2.16, the lowest in MLB. On October 21, Greinke was named American League Pitcher of the Year by Sporting News.[29] On October 28, Greinke was awarded the MLBPA Players Choice AL Pitcher of the Year. On November 17, 2009, Greinke won the AL Cy Young Award.[30] Greinke credited some of his performance to his use of "modern pitching metrics" — statistics on team defense and defense independent pitching statistics — to calibrate his own approach to pitching. Greinke specifically mentioned FIP (fielding independent pitching), an indicator developed by sabermetrician Tom Tango, as his favorite statistic. "That's pretty much how I pitch, to try to keep my FIP as low as possible.[31]

Milwaukee Brewers (2011–2012)

Greinke during his tenure with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2011 spring training

On December 17, 2010, Greinke reportedly asked the Royals to trade him, citing he was not motivated to play for a rebuilding team.[32] On December 19, he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers with Yuniesky Betancourt and $2 million for Alcides Escobar, Lorenzo Cain, Jeremy Jeffress, and Jake Odorizzi. He was given the number 13, instead of his preferred number 23, due to number 23 already being issued to Rickie Weeks.[33] In February 2011, Greinke suffered a fractured rib while playing basketball.[34] He subsequently started the 2011 season on the disabled list.

Greinke made his Brewers debut on May 4, 2011. Greinke finished second on the team in wins despite missing the first month of the season. He finished 2011 with a 16–6 record, 3.83 ERA, and 201 strikeouts (7th in the NL) in 171 innings pitched while surrendering 45 walks. Greinke became only the fifth Brewer pitcher to strike out 200+ batters in a season. He was fourth in the NL in won-lost percentage (.727), and sixth in wins.[35] He went a perfect 11–0 in his starts at Miller Park.

On April 7, 2012, in his first start of the season, Greinke pitched 7 scoreless innings while giving up 4 hits and striking out 7. The Brewers went on to beat the Cardinals 6–0.[36]

In an oddity, Greinke became the first pitcher to start three straight games for his team in 95 years. On July 7, he was ejected from the game after just 4 pitches for angrily throwing the ball into the ground following a close play at first base. The following day, Greinke started again, but lasted only until the third inning.[37] The All-Star break followed, and Greinke was the Brewers' starter on July 13, the team's next game. Greinke's third start ended after 5 innings. Before this, the most recent pitcher to start back-to-back-to-back games was Red Faber in the 1917, who started both games of a September 3 doubleheader, throwing just six innings in total, followed by a complete game win the following day.[38]

Greinke never recorded a loss in any of his starts at Miller Park.[39]

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2012)

The Brewers traded Greinke on July 27 to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in exchange for top infield prospect Jean Segura and pitchers Ariel Pena and John Hellweg.[39] He made his first start for the Angels on July 29.[40]

After a stretch of four unproductive starts from August 3–19 (1–1, 7.20 ERA in 25 innings), Greinke followed up with four consecutive starts of at least seven innings and two or fewer runs — all of them wins. (In those starts, he produced a 1.88 ERA in 28⅓ innings.)[40]

Greinke became the first pitcher since 1920 to record 13 strikeouts in five innings or less in a game against the Seattle Mariners on September 25. He would then combine with four other Angels pitchers to tie an American League record by striking out 20 batters in a nine-inning game.[41]

Los Angeles Dodgers (2013–present)

Greinke agreed to a six-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers worth $147 million, on December 8, 2012. The deal, which was finalized on December 10, was the largest ever for a right-handed pitcher at the time it was signed.[42]

On April 11, 2013, Greinke fractured his left collarbone in a brawl with Carlos Quentin of the San Diego Padres after Quentin was hit by an inside pitch and charged the mound.[43] He was placed on the disabled list and it was revealed that he would require surgery,[44] which was performed on April 13.[45] It was estimated that he would miss eight weeks of the season. However, he returned to game action on May 10 when he pitched in a rehab game for the Class-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.[46] He returned to the Dodgers on May 15.[47]

On June 11, 2013, Greinke was hit in the head and neck area by Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Ian Kennedy, leading to a bench-clearing brawl. Because Greinke did not participate in the fight, he was not ejected.[48]

He picked up career win #100 on August 5, 2013 against the St. Louis Cardinals. He was 5–0 with a 1.23 ERA during the month of August and was selected as National League Pitcher of the Month.[49] Greinke finished his first season with the Dodgers with a 15–4 record and 2.63 ERA in 28 starts. He also batted .328, the highest batting average for a Dodgers pitcher since Orel Hershiser in the 1993 season.[50] He was awarded with the Silver Slugger Award as the best hitting pitcher in the National League.

Pitching style

Greinke throws six pitches:

  • Four-seam fastball — 93 to 96 miles per hour (150–154 km/h)
  • Two-seam fastball — 92 to 95 miles per hour (148–153 km/h)
  • Cutter — 88 to 91 miles per hour (142–146 km/h)
  • Slider — 83 to 86 miles per hour (134–138 km/h)
  • Curveball — 68 to 77 miles per hour (109–124 km/h)
  • Changeup — 85 to 87 miles per hour (137–140 km/h)

Greinke has also experimented with an Eephus pitch at around 55 mph.

His two-seamer is his most-used pitch against right-handed hitters and is used more frequently than against lefties, as is his slider. His changeup is only thrown to left-handed hitters. Greinke's curveball is typically used early in the count, while his slider is his most common 2-strike pitch.

In the time since PITCHf/x began tracking pitch data, Greinke's slider has produced impressive results. Hitters have only a .154 batting average and .230 slugging percentage against the pitch. It has produced 51% of his strikeouts, exceeding the 39% it composes of his 2-strike pitch total. Its whiff rate is 42% over this span, and more than half the pitches put in play are ground balls.[51]

Greinke has produced good strikeout-to-walk ratios throughout his career, finishing in his league's top 10 four times.[52] As of September 11, 2012 (2012-09-11), Greinke ranks 10th among active pitchers in the category, at 3.5:1.[53]

He also uses effective pitching mechanics, allowing him to disguise his pitches well and delay pitch recognition by the hitter.[3][54]

Personal life

Greinke is married to Miss Daytona Beach USA 2008 Emily Kuchar.[55] Greinke met Kuchar in high school at Apopka High School. Kuchar is a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader.[56] His younger brother, Luke, was also a pitcher. Luke played college ball at Auburn University[57] and was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 12th round of the 2008 MLB Draft,[58] but was out of baseball a year later after injuries derailed his career.[59]

See also


References

  1. ↑ "Zack Greinke No. 13 SP". ESPN. Retrieved January 26, 2011. 
  2. ↑ zack greinke
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Zack Greinke Biography". JockBio. Retrieved 12 September 2012. 
  4. ↑ Humphries, Rob (August 22, 1999). "Conway Wins Senior Crown". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved January 26, 2014. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Eskew, Alan (June 4, 2002). "Royals Draft Report". Baseball America. Retrieved January 26, 2014. 
  6. ↑ "Zack Greinke named 2002 Gatorade National High School Baseball Player of the Year". LA Times. May 29, 2002. Retrieved January 26, 2014. 
  7. ↑ Falkoff, Robert (June 4, 2002). "Royals choose right-hander Greinke". mlb.com. Retrieved January 26, 2014. 
  8. ↑ "Royals Select RHP Zack Greinke in 1st round" (Press release). Major League Baseball. June 4, 2002. Retrieved January 26, 2011. 
  9. ↑ associated press (July 13, 2002). "Greinke was sixth overall pick in draft". espn.com. Retrieved January 26, 2014. 
  10. ↑ "Greinke won't play for Tigers". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. Associated Press. July 14, 2002. Retrieved January 26, 2011. 
  11. ↑ Buchalter, Bill (July 13, 2002). "Greinke Is Ready To Sign And Pitch". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved January 26, 2014. 
  12. ↑ "Zack Greinke Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 13, 2012. 
  13. ↑ "2003 Wilmington Blue Rocks statistics". Baseball Reference. Retrieved January 26, 2014. 
  14. ↑ Janus, Matt (June 9, 2011). "FOUR ROCKS NAMED CAROLINA LEAGUE ALL-STARS". milb.com. Retrieved January 26, 2014. 
  15. ↑ "Carolina League Year-End All-Star Team Announced". oursportscentral.com. August 27, 2003. Retrieved January 26, 2014. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Hill, Benjamin (November 17, 2009). "Path of the Pros: Zack Greinke". mlb.com. Retrieved January 26, 2014. 
  17. ↑ "2003 Wichita Wranglers statistics". Baseball Reference. Retrieved January 26, 2014. 
  18. ↑ "Gettis, Greinke win honors". MLB.com. September 23, 2003. Retrieved December 9, 2009. 
  19. ↑ "Omaha Royals 2004 statistics". Retrieved January 26, 2014. 
  20. ↑ "June 8, 2004 Montreal Expos at Kansas City Royals play by play and box score". Baseball Reference. Retrieved August 31, 2013. 
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Passan, Jeff (April 29, 2009). "Greinke's redemption and pursuit of perfection". Yahoo!. Retrieved 13 September 2012. 
  22. ↑ Hunt, Michael (February 22, 2011). "Greinke man of few words but speaks his mind". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved October 3, 2011. 
  23. ↑ Eskew, Alan (April 5, 2007). "Greinke edged in duel with Dice-K". MLB.com. Retrieved July 18, 2009. 
  24. ↑ "'A long way to go' Greinke battles depression in bid for K.C. rotation". Sports Illustrated. March 15, 2007. Retrieved July 18, 2009. 
  25. ↑ Jones, Matt (June 12, 2012). "Zack Greinke faces former team Kansas City Royals". USA Today. Retrieved December 9, 2012. 
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 "Rising righty Greinke, Royals agree to four-year deal". CBS Sports. January 26, 2009. Retrieved July 18, 2009. 
  27. ↑ Kaegel, Dick (May 5, 2009). "Greinke tops among AL hurlers in April". MLB.com. Retrieved December 9, 2009. 
  28. ↑ Dodd, Rustin (August 26, 2009). "Greinke's KC-record 15 K's wow Tribe". MLB.com. Retrieved August 27, 2009. 
  29. ↑ Bahr, Chris (October 21, 2009). "Sporting News names Zack Greinke, Tim Lincecum AL, NL Pitchers of the Year". Sportingnews.com. Retrieved October 21, 2009. 
  30. ↑ Kaegel, Dick (November 17, 2009). "Greinke gets one more win: AL Cy Young". MLB.com. Retrieved 18 September 2012. 
  31. ↑ Kepner, Tyler (November 18, 2009). "Use of Statistics Helps Greinke to A.L. Cy Young". New York Times. Retrieved November 18, 2009. 
  32. ↑ James, Mike. "Greinke requests trade from KC". 
  33. ↑ McCalvy, Adam (December 19, 2010). "Brewers add Greinke in deal with Royals". MLB.com. Retrieved December 19, 2010. 
  34. ↑ Heyman, Jon (8 March 2011). "Greinke's childish mistake costs Brewers after big investment". SI.com (SportsIllustrated.CNN.com). Retrieved 22 August 2012. 
  35. ↑ "Zack Greinke Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 3, 2011. 
  36. ↑ McCalvy, Adam (April 7, 2012). "Crew welcomes early returns by Hart, Greinke". MLB. 
  37. ↑ Boeck, Scott (July 13, 2012). "Greinke's rubber arm: To start third consecutive game". USA Today. Retrieved July 15, 2012. 
  38. ↑ Kartje, Ryan (July 8, 2012). his-/landing_brewers.html?blockID=757918 "Brewers to start Greinke three straight games". Fox Sports Wisconsin. Retrieved December 9, 2012. 
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 Hoffman, Mark (27 July 2012). "Brewers trade Zach Greinke for 3 Angels Prospects". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 30 July 2012. 
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 "Zack Greinke 2012 Pitching Gamelogs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 13 September 2012. 
  41. ↑ "Zack Greinke strikes out 13 as Angels hold steady in wild-card chase". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 9, 2012. 
  42. ↑ Greinke's six-year deal with Dodgers finalized
  43. ↑ "LA Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke breaks left collarbone in brawl with slugger Carlos Quentin, San Diego Padres". NY Daily News. Retrieved 12 April 2013. 
  44. ↑ Emerick, Tyler (2013-04-12). "Greinke to miss eight weeks following surgery". dodgers.com. 
  45. ↑ Associated Press (2013-04-13). "Greinke undergoes 90-minute surgery on collarbone". yahoo.com. 
  46. ↑ Gurnick, Ken (2013-05-11). "Greinke thinks he's ready to return to LA". MLB.com. 
  47. ↑ Laymance, Austin (2013-05-16). "Greinke's return provides spark against Nationals". MLB.com. 
  48. ↑ "MLB Ejections 071, 072, 073, 074, 075, 076: Clint Fagan (3-8)." Close Call Sports/Umpire Ejection Fantasy League. June 12, 2013.
  49. ↑ Zack Greinke wins NL Pitcher of the Month for August
  50. ↑ Greinke sharp in final tuneup for postseason
  51. ↑ "Brooks Baseball · Home of the PitchFX Tool - Player Card: Zack Greinke". Brooks Baseball. Retrieved 12 September 2012. 
  52. ↑ "Zack Greinke Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 12 September 2012. 
  53. ↑ "Active Leaders & Records for Strikeouts / Base On Balls". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 12 September 2012. 
  54. ↑ "Scouting Royals Pitcher Zack Greinke". Baseball-Intellect. Retrieved 12 September 2012. 
  55. ↑ "Jerry Crasnick: Zack Greinke is a changed man". ESPN. February 21, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2011. 
  56. ↑ Dick Kaegel. "Quiet Greinke making plenty of noise". Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved October 3, 2011. 
  57. ↑ "Luke Greinke Auburn Tigers baseball bio". Auburntigers.com. Retrieved January 26, 2014. 
  58. ↑ Martino, Andy (June 19, 2008). "Luke Greinke is Yankees' cool hand in Single-A Staten Island". NY Daily News. Retrieved January 26, 2014. 
  59. ↑ Hale, Mark (July 18, 2009). "BROTHER OF ROYALS ACE BATTLING INJURIES AFTER BEING CUT BY YANKS". NY Post. Retrieved January 26, 2014. 

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