Donald Zackary "Zack" Greinke (born October 21, 1983
in Orlando, Florida) is a Major League Baseball
player for the Kansas City Royals. He was a leader
for the Conway (Orlando, Florida) Little League
Senior World Series Champions in 1998. He also
played for the United States Junior Olympic team in
1999. He graduated from Apopka High School in
Apopka, Florida. He is a right-handed pitcher, who
throws a fastball topping out at 99 mph (159 km/h);
a slider; changeup; curveball; and a slow curve,
which he has thrown as slow as 50 mph (80 km/h).
After being named the Gatorade National Player of
the Year in 2002, he was 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, starting
the game where Reggie Jackson's number was retired.
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 from social
anxiety disorder and was having trouble working with
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 away from
baseball entirely until returning on a rehab
assignment with Wichita. In 2007, Greinke succeeded
in staking his claim of the inside portion of the
plate and was dominant throughout spring training.
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 "lights out", 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.
Zack's brother, Luke, plays baseball for Auburn
University, and currently leads the team in hitting
as an outfielder/designated hitter.
