Zack Greinke: Difference between revisions
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his last start went pretty badly, so the part pointing out his amazing last five starts is moot. |
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On September 24th 2009 Greinke was ejected from the bench for heckling home plate umpire [[Greg Gibson]]. Gibson would later issue warnings to both benches after Royals' starting pitcher [[Anthony Lerew]] threw a curveball near [[Mike Lowell]]'s head. Gibson ejected Royals' manager [[Trey Hillman]] for arguing about the warning. |
On September 24th 2009 Greinke was ejected from the bench for heckling home plate umpire [[Greg Gibson]]. Gibson would later issue warnings to both benches after Royals' starting pitcher [[Anthony Lerew]] threw a curveball near [[Mike Lowell]]'s head. Gibson ejected Royals' manager [[Trey Hillman]] for arguing about the warning. |
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Edging closer to his first Cy Young award, Greinke is ending the 2009 season in a similar fashion to how he started it. Through his September 22, 2009 win against the Boston Red Sox, Greinke has allowed a mere one earned run in his past 35 innings. That is a .26 ERA over his last five starts. |
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==Personal== |
==Personal== |
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Revision as of 04:01, 14 October 2009
| Zack Greinke | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Kansas City Royals – No. 23 | |
| Starting pitcher | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| debut | |
| May 22, 2004, for the Kansas City Royals | |
| Career statistics (through September 9, 2009) | |
| Win–Loss | 49-53 |
| Earned run average | 3.73 |
| Strikeouts | 737 |
| Teams | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Donald Zackary "Zack" Greinke (Template:Pron-en GRIN-kee; born October 21, 1983 in Orlando, Florida) is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Kansas City Royals.
High school & minor league
After being named the Gatorade National Player of the Year in 2002, he was selected out of Apopka High School (and turning down a scholarship to Clemson) in the first round of the 2002 draft, he spent the winter of 2002-03 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.
Major league career
Greinke made his major-league debut on May 22, 2004 against the Oakland Athletics, starting the game in which Reggie Jackson's number was retired by the A's.
He ended the 2004 season with a record of 8 wins and 11 losses (second most wins on the team, after Jimmy Gobble) and a 3.97 ERA. 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 batted 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.[1] It was later revealed that he was suffering from social anxiety disorder and depression.[2] 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 until returning on a rehab assignment with Wichita.
In 2007, He returned to the Royals rotation at the start of the season, but was sent to the bullpen in early May after alternating good starts with bad ones and compiling a 1–4 record with a 5.71 ERA. As a reliever, he was very effective, going 4–1 with a 3.54 ERA. After the 2007 season he signed a one year contract to stay in Kansas City and to avoid arbitration.
Greinke's 2008 saw him return to the rotation and put up a good year, starting in 32 games with a record of 13 wins and 10. His 3.47 ERA was the best by a full-time Royals starter in 11 years.[3]
On January 26, 2009, Greinke agreed to a four-year contract with the Royals worth $38 million.[3]
Greinke started off his 2009 season by not allowing a run in his first 24 innings. Greinke's 2008 ended with 14 scoreless innings, which meant that for 38 innings in a row, he hadn't given up a run.
On April 24, Greinke pitched his second complete game in a row, winning 6-1 over the Detroit Tigers after having pitched a complete game shutout against the Texas Rangers in his previous start. Over those two starts, Greinke pitched 18 innings, allowed one unearned run and collected 20 K's. This streak was broken on April 29, 2009 as the Blue Jays scored 1 earned run in the first inning on a single hit by second baseman Aaron Hill. However, Greinke was beginning to attract national attention for his play, appearing on the cover of the May 4, 2009 cover of Sports Illustrated. This made him the first Royals player to appear on the cover of this magazine during the season since David Cone did in 1993. His record as of September 6 is 13-8 with a 2.22 ERA [4] On July 5, 2009, Greinke was selected to represent Kansas City in the 2009 All Star game where he pitched a hitless 4th inning with 2 strikeouts.
On August 25, 2009, Greinke struck out 15 batters, breaking Mark Gubicza's record for strikeouts in a single game for the Kansas City Royals.[5]
On August 30, 2009, Greinke had a one-hit complete game against the Seattle Mariners. He joined an exclusive club of four players (including himself) who followed up a 15+ strikeout game with a one-hitter: Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, and Vida Blue.
On September 24th 2009 Greinke was ejected from the bench for heckling home plate umpire Greg Gibson. Gibson would later issue warnings to both benches after Royals' starting pitcher Anthony Lerew threw a curveball near Mike Lowell's head. Gibson ejected Royals' manager Trey Hillman for arguing about the warning.
Personal
Greinke is engaged to Miss Daytona Beach USA 2008 Emily Kuchar[6]. Greinke met Kuchar in high school at Apopka High School, Kuchar is a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader[7].
References
- ^ Eskew, Alan (2007-04-05). "Greinke edged in duel with Dice-K". MLB.com. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
- ^ "'A long way to go' Greinke battles depression in bid for K.C. rotation". Sports Illustrated. 2007-03-15. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
- ^ a b "Rising righty Greinke, Royals agree to four-year deal". CBS Sports. 2009-01-26. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
- ^ "Sports Illustrated putting Greinke on cover". The Kansas City Star. 2009-04-27. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
- ^ Dodd, Rustin (2009-08-26). "Greinke's KC-record 15 K's wow Tribe". MLB.com. Retrieved 2009-08-27.
- ^ Zack Greinke & Emily Kuchar: Greinke & Kuchar getting married (photo)
- ^ Quiet Greinke making plenty of noise
See also
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | American League Pitcher of the Month April 2009 |
Succeeded by |