Zack's father, Don Greinke, was a middle school teacher. His mother also was a school teacher. Both are retired now (2009), but they keep busy.

"My Mom can't help but find work somewhere, she just has to be doing something. My Dad just fixes the yard and goes to the gym every day and that's about it. My Mom just keeps finding work and takes the dog on a bunch of walks and stuff," Greinke said.

When Greinke started playing baseball at Apopka High School in Apopka, Florida, he was an infielder who played mostly shortstop, with a powerful bat; he did not pitch at all. He looked up to slugger Mark McGwire. By the end of his high school career, he had batted over .400 and hit 31 home runs.

Greinke became a pitcher by accident, as an experiment to see if his strong throwing arm would result in him being a good pitcher. As a senior in 2002, Greinke was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year.

That senior year at Apopka High School in Florida, Zack signed a letter of intent with Clemson. The school was impressed with his 9-2, 0.55 ERA, and 118 strikeouts in 63 innings.

But the Royals signed Greinke to a bonus of $2.47 million after making him the 6th overall pick in the 2002 draft. Cliff Pastornicky was the scout who signed him.

"I was probably the only person—me and the Clemson coaches—who thought going to college was the best idea," Zack recalls.

Greinke is intelligent and a gentleman with excellent manners. He is intelligent, which is apparent with his being an honors student at Apopka High School in Florida. But he is not very talkative—not to reporters, not even to teammates. He thinks through his responses and then replies.

But characterizing him with any particular adjective is like trying to describe the sky with a single word. Some days he's aloof. Some days he's poignant. Some days he's brilliant. Some days he's hushed.

“He's a very quiet kid,” pitching coach John Cumberland said in 2004 spring training. “And he's a little bit different. But different in a good way. I don't mean anything negative by that. He has a lot of confidence in himself. He's cocky, and I don't see anything wrong with that. He believes in himself. He's not been intimidated so far in his pro career by anybody. I hope that continues.”

Greinke was a tennis prodigy when he was 8 years old, but baseball soon won out.

An amazing athlete, Zack played both tennis and golf in the 14-year-old age group when he was just 11 years old.

Greinke used to play Ping-Pong with a friend, Ricky Santo, and lost every time. It killed him. So Greinke replayed individual points—his head a working TiVo that dissected Ricky's game—and pounded Ricky the next five games they played.

At age 4, Greinke played first base because he was the only kid on the team who consistently caught the ball.

He liked it when his father, Don, cut a hole in the fence behind their Orlando house so they could escape to the Conway Middle School field for a catch. In high school, Greinke would rap on Sonny Hill's door at 7:30 a.m. in the fall, begging his coach to come outside for some tossing before school.

“Passion, I tell you,” Hill said. “He always had it. He always was ahead of everyone else, and it's because he loved it.”

Oh, he loved other aspects of it, too. A high school tournament in Atlanta held a home-run derby before the games. Before he used all his outs, Greinke already clinched the competition. Then he started batting left-handed. No good reason, it seemed, other than to show off. Which Greinke did when he blasted a home run, tossed his bat and walked off the field.  (Jeff Passan-K.C. Star-5/19/04)

Greinke has played the game almost year-round since Little League baseball won his heart over tennis and golf. But because his parents have been watchful, his coaches mindful of his long-term future in the game, and his teams deep in pitching, he might be the ultimate prize prospect: a Sun Belt high school ace with a fresh arm.

Zack is a baseball rat who just likes to work at and play the game. He has great makeup.

2003

In 2003, Greinke was named to the Futures Game roster, played in July at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago.

In 2003, Zack was named the Carolina League Pitcher of the Year. He went 11-1 with a 1.14 ERA at Class A Wilmington before his promotion to Double-A Wichita.

In 2003, he was named the Royals' Minor League Pitcher of the Year, as the Alex George award winner. Greinke held Carolina League opponents to a .178 average.

Greinke said he is pretty thrifty and hasn't spent much of the $2.5 million bonus he received from the Royals. "I haven't spent that much," he said. "My goal is to be the cheapest millionaire in history."

That frugal nature started as a child. "I'd get allowances from my parents but I'd always keep some to put in the bank," Greinke said. "I think that made my parents proud."

Not that Greinke has tucked away every nickel from that signing bonus. He did invest in a house, a Lincoln LS for himself, and a truck for his brother. Oh, and "a couple of clothes."

Before 2004 spring training, Baseball America ranked Zack as the top prospect in the Royals organization.

Zack's wife, Emily (Kuchar) is a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader and a former Miss Daytona Beach in 2008.

The couple married in 2009. He let her handle almost all of the wedding arrangements.

Greinke is a bit of a character, and charmingly honest. For example: say a Royals pitcher gives up a long home run. He stomps around the dugout grumbling, “I didn’t think it was that bad a pitch.”

Greinke will say: “Oh yeah, it was a bad pitch.”

“Thanks, Zack.”

“No, really. I went back and looked at on the video. It was a fat pitch. Right down the middle. It was terrible. I could have hit it out.”

“All right! Got it! Thanks, Zack.”

“Um,” Greinke will say then as he sees anger twisting in his teammate’s face, “did I say something wrong?"  (Joe Posnanski-KC Star-1/15/06)

Greinke always had a talent for looking bored. Everyone noticed it. Scouts, in fact, wrote those words, "He looks bored," on their reports again and again. During interviews Greinke would stare at the ceiling, as if the answers could be divined from the tiles. Before games, Greinke would sit in front of his locker and look off into the distance.

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS

Zack left the Royals spring camp on February 25, 2006. For two weeks, his absence went unexplained. It was then found that Greinke was undergoing counseling from a sports psychologist near his home in Orlando, Florida as part of a treatment program for longstanding emotional issues.

For all of his 22 years, Greinke has been a man defined by two powerful but disconnected traits: 1) He is a phenomenal baseball player, and 2) He is emotionally unequipped to handle everything that comes with playing at the highest level.

Small talk always eluded him. Locker rooms, clubhouses, and crowds made him uncomfortable. He felt out of place everywhere but the mound. Then, two months ago, he felt lost there, too. During one spring training bullpen session, everything spilled out, forcing him to finally deal with longstanding emotional issues.

“The way I was throwing,” he says, “it wasn’t me throwing. I couldn’t throw a strike. I couldn’t think about throwing a strike. I couldn’t focus. And I had the worst bullpen of my life one day, and the next time I was trying to throw my arm off just because I was going crazy. I was throwing everything 100 miles per hour. That’s when I was like, I can’t keep doing this.”

From an early age, Greinke didn’t know what to do with empty spaces. Even during Little League, he hated to arrive at the ballpark a half hour before games. He never seemed to know what to do or say.

“I knew there was something wrong with me,” he says, “but I never thought about going to see anyone to talk about it.”

He gravitated toward solitary pursuits. Even today, he loves golf, fishing, and mountain climbing. High above Phoenix, where he likes to trek, he can look down on everyone else, happy up near the clouds.

Growing up, there were signs. As an 8-year-old tennis player with a 50-0 record, he finally got beat. It was the only tournament match he lost, and he said it was the last one he would play.

“I lost on purpose,” he says. “I had problems; I’d get real nervous before the games. The last time, I got so nervous and I was like, ‘Dad, I can’t play anymore.’ I was going crazy thinking I was gonna lose. I got so nervous I ended up hitting every ball straight into the net. The second set, I was loose and I beat the guy like 6-2. I ended up quitting in the last one. I hit them into the net again.”  (Wright Thompson-K.C. Star-4/20/06)

In 2005, Greinke apologized to his teammates for the way he treated them. "I treated a lot of them like crap because I felt so miserable that I acted rude to everyone," he told the Kansas City Star. "I was taking it out on people I was friends with. The way I was doing it, it was out of control."

Zack two months off at the start of 2006, during which he was found to have social anxiety disorder, a condition marked by tension in social settings. He began taking medication, which made a big difference. He began to think more positively about baseball, too, which made a big difference. When he returned to pitch that June of 2006, at Double A Wichita, he found himself enjoying the experience. He started to throw as hard as he could.

During 2007 spring training, Zach explained the despair he went through in 2006:  

“I really don’t know what it is or what it was,” Greinke said. “Depression kind of runs in my family. Supposedly, it goes down through (genetically). But I don’t know if that’s what I was actually going through.

“The medicine I take is an antidepressant. So (depression) must have something to do with it. That and social anxiety. But I don’t think it was a serious case. I mean, I never thought about killing myself.

“It was always, once I got away from baseball, I was fine. So I didn’t think about it as (an emotional disorder). I just thought that, at the baseball field, I was unhappy.”

That misery reached such depths that Greinke often contemplated quitting baseball while still in the minors. His inability to handle the down time between starts heightened his turmoil and made him yearn to be a hitter or at least a relief pitcher.

“I’d talk to my agent all the time and ask him: ‘How can I tell the Royals that I don’t want to pitch? That I want to try hitting?’” said Greinke, who added he knew there was no chance of that happening, which increased his frustration. “I thought that was why I hated baseball. I thought it was because I wanted to hit.

“It would be at least once a month that I’d be crying to myself while I’m going to bed with a bat in my hand, just swinging it. It’s stupid. That doesn’t happen anymore.”  (Bob Dutton-KC Star-2/22/07)

April 13, 2007: Zack was granted a leave from the team to attend the funeral of his grandparents. After traveling to Kansas City to watch their grandson's start against the Red Sox, Mary L. and John B. Wilkin died within hours of each other on April 12 and April 13.

Greinke was suspended for five games and fined an undisclosed amount for intentionally throwing at Nick Swisher during a game on August 3, 2008 after warnings had been issued to both Clubs following a bench-clearing incident.

Greinke likes playing cards with teammates to pass time before games. His favorites?

"Pluck, Spades, or Hold 'Em—all those are good," he said.

Greinke is always the competitor, of course, but he finds cards as a way to relax.

"I feel like it's best when you don't get intense in cards and just stick to the plan and strategy and don't really mess with it, because when you do something that doesn't work or the odds aren't in your favor, you're going to lose more than you're going to win that way. So that's how I play," Greinke said.

He also plays golf, or just stays on the computer during down time.

In 2010 spring training, Tracy Ringolsby, FSN Rocky Mountain writer, asked Greinke where his Cy Young trophy was.

"My parents have it," Zack said. "It's probably hanging up above the fireplace. They get all my awards."

And that one is?

Zack doesn't particularly enjoy the public life, but there is no false front for him. Former manager Buddy Bell put it best when he once said that Greinke always tells the truth, "even when he shouldn't."

Greinke said, "I am the same person I always have been, but my attitude is different. I used to get so nervous and upset. I was always angry and doing stuff. I over-trained. I'd do something and wouldn't feel it was good enough and so I'd go out and run three miles or five miles."

The Greinke family has some ties to Wisconsin. Zack's Dad, Don, has two second cousins. Art and Bill Greinke are from Waukesha, Wisconsin, and Sheboygan, Wisconsin, respectively.

Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy was asked about Greinke. "His personality's a lot different than others, but once you get to know him and figure him out, he's a joy to be around. He's a lot of fun," said Lucroy. "He has a really dry sense of humor, but he's mostly cracking jokes all the time and running his mouth. It's a lot of fun, because he means well, he wants to win, and he loves this team."

Before his Game 1 start in the 2011 NLCS, Zack was frank and joked around about his teammates. On teammate Ryan Braun's description of his awkwardness, Greinke drew laughs: "He's jealous of a lot of things I do."

As for his impression of center fielder Nyjer Morgan, it was honest, and Greinke drew more laughter. "Ninety-five percent of the time, he's great," Greinke said. "Everyone else probably likes him 100 percent of the time. But every now and then, he talks too much for me and gets annoying. But I tell him that. Everyone on the team loves him."

Just before the 2012 draft, Greinke helped the Brewers by breaking down video of potential draft choices.

Just before Zack signed with the Dodgers in December 2012, the team was blown away by Greinke’s baseball knowledge and candor in a personal interview. Manager Don Mattingly hailed Greinke as a baseball junkie and said the social anxiety disorder is a non-issue.

Dodgers teammate Clayton Kershaw noticed in 2013 spring training that Greinke is very attentive.

"He just studies,” Kershaw said. “He watches, and I think that’s how he learns. Whether it’s pitchers on our staff or games or video or whatever it might be, he looks like he just takes it right in. I think it’s a testament to how smart he is and how much he likes the game.”

Greinke got in a little trouble when he commented in February 2014 that he was not excited about the Dodgers opening the season in Australia a week before 28 other teams begin their campaigns.

"I would say there is absolutely zero excitement for it," Greinke told ESPNLosAngeles.com. "I can't think of one reason to be excited for it."

The Dodgers responded to the uproar from Australia by explaining that the team, as a whole, is looking forward to the excursion.

"Zack has this endearing, contrarian quality to him that we all know and love about him," Dodgers president Stan Kasten said. "He's famously focused and meticulous about his training regimen. It's what makes him so good and such a great teammate. This is clearly going to alter his routine. I understand that aspect of it."

Zack is married to Emily. They met in high school when she was a library assistant and she later went on to be a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader for 2 seasons.

They have 2 sons, Bode and Griffin. Bode was born in the middle of his historic scoreless streak in 2015. Zack flew the day after his birth (on a Friday) to New York to start on Sunday. And the streak ended in the third inning.

June 8-11, 2017: Zack was on the paternity list. Greinke's wife, Emily, is set to give birth to the couple's second child.

Greinke is quiet and he thinks a lot about his craft. At some point, he seems to have devised a new plan of attack. Instead of exerting maximum energy on every pitch, he exerts maximum game plan in every start, mixing up an assortment of above average pitches rather than smothering hitters with his nastiest. "Each has its strength, because when you could just throw as hard as you can and throw a slider as hard as you can, you feel dominant, you feel powerful," Greinke said. "Right now, you have to use your brain more." (5/16/14)

In 2012, while with the Brewers, Greinke became the first Major League pitcher in 95 years to start three straight games.

Dodgers teammate/catcher A.J. Ellis relates: "Zack is a very thoughtful, very deliberate person. We don't bother him with idle talk. He always means what he says and is very particular with his words. He makes you think out of the box."

And Greinke is excellent at scouting young players.

Ellis says, "Zack likes to tell me, 'Someday when I run a Major League team, you're going to be my general manager. I'll be the assistant GM, but I'll run the team. You'll be the GM so you have to deal with the media, instead of me.'

"And you know what? He'd be great at it," A.J. says. (August 2015)

A man of few words, Greinke’s reputation as distant is nearly legendary. At best, conversations are kept to a minimum.

“I remember the first day I became manager of the Royals,” Kansas City manager Ned Yost said. “Zack was with the Royals at that time and throwing in the bullpen. I came over to him, introduced myself, and said, ‘Hi. I know you don’t like to talk, so I won’t say anything going forward.’ Zack turned and said one word, ‘Thanks.’”

April 14, 2017: Greinke found it hard to fool his ex-teammates. 'They are an older, smarter team,' D-backs righty says after the loss to Dodgers. "It wasn't like the best I've ever pitched, but it's just their at-bats are super quality and they hit the ball hard a lot," Greinke said. "It was just a good game by them."

Greinke pitched for the Dodgers from 2013-2015 before signing a six-year, $206 million free-agent deal with the D-backs. Is it possible that the familiarity his former team has with him is what causes him issues against them? "I don't know," Greinke said. "I'd say they are an older, smarter team and they've seen a lot of good junk pitches and so I don't trick them as much as some other teams, but even their young guys take good at-bats against me."

"It obviously wasn't Zack's best day," D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. "I think he was just miss-locating some pitches. His fastball command was maybe not as good as it had been in his last start. And they laid off some secondary stuff. I think they had a good game plan. Zack threw some quality pitches that were taken and forced him to elevate the ball and bring it in the zone and they took advantage of some mistakes." (S Gilbert - MLB.com - April 15, 2017)

March 8, 2018: Greinke listed his former home in Studio City (right outside Los Angeles) for $7.55 million. Yes, that's a lot of money. Inflated California real estate prices aside, though, this house might actually be worth that much if you take into consideration just how totally incredible it looks. This article from the Los Angeles Times lays it out with more than 50 detailed, color photographs detailing some of the house's splendor, which include:

A home theater, A gym, A wet bar, Chef's kitchen, Seven bedrooms, Pool, Hot tub, Putting green, A guest house in the backyard accessible via a bridge, An outdoor shower by the pool,  And so on. You get the idea. (A Garro - MLB.com - March 8, 2018)

Zack is not your average pitcher. For that matter, he's not your average athlete. A tennis prodigy at age 8, he turned to baseball, and when he was playing Rookie-level ball, he was a shortstop in addition to a pitcher. Suffice to say, he's a good athlete.

Greinke put that athleticism to good use by pitching, hitting, and running the D-backs to victory in June 2018.  After his single in the second, Greinke stunned the Marlins by taking off for second base and sliding safely with his second steal of the season, becoming the first pitcher since 2013 with multiple steals in a season.

"The stolen bag, that's all my fault. It shouldn't happen," said Marlins starter Trevor Richards. "I wasn't thinking he was going to go, and I was focusing on the hitter and just staying in my delivery trying to get the guy at home plate out."

"Like most stolen bases, it's not on the catcher, it's on the pitcher," Greinke said. "It was like a risk-reward. He could have picked me off. Just take a guess, and I guessed right this time." 

Marlins manager Don Mattingly praised Greinke's hitting prowess as well.  "Quite honestly, he can really hit," Mattingly said. "We were talking on the bench. He's probably got a better swing than like 70 percent of the guys in the big leagues, and I'm serious about that, if you look at his mechanics."

Greinke raised his batting average to .300 with the two-hit effort.  "I just placed it good, one right up the middle, the other one right where they weren't standing," Greinke said.  (Sattell - mlb.com - 6/28/18)

July 12, 2018 : Greinke walked out of D-backs manager Torey Lovullo's office with a wry smile on his face and announced the news that he was selected to the All-Star Game presented as a replacement for Cubs lefty Jon Lester who was unable to pitch in the main event. This was Greinke's fifth All-Star Game selection.

2018: Greinke had the highest current WAR (12.5) of any Diamondback player.

Zack is  an avid fantasy football player, and was the champion in the D-backs clubhouse league in 2018…he hasbeen described by his opponents as a "relentless, masterful trader" and has been known to trade draft slot positions as well as multiple weekly player trade requests. 

"He had hands-down the greatest fantasy football team ever assembled last year," said league commissioner and D'Backs clubby extraordinaire Chad Chiffin. "He had the high score 9 of the 13 weeks. He easily averaged 200 points per week."

2019 Spring Training: Zack Greinke stood in front of the media, his hair long, his neck sore. He had arrived the day before, two days after his fellow pitchers, and while his tardiness was his own choice—and while he seemed to have second thoughts about it—he did not seem to have reservations about where he was reporting to duty.

Even after an offseason that saw the Diamondbacks part ways with a slew of veterans, Greinke said he does not want to play for any other team.

He is happy to be with the Diamondbacks. He isn’t happy to be at spring training.

“I actually don’t think it’s too long,” Greinke said. “I think it’s too boring.” (Nick Piecoro - Arizona Republic - Feb. 17, 2019)

Zack facts:

• Is an avid fantasy football player and was the champion in the D-backs clubhouse league in 2018. Has been described by his opponents as a "relentless, masterful trader" and has been known to trade draft slot positions as well as multiple weekly player trade requests.

• Gave his 2009 Cy Young Award to his parents, but kept the samurai sword that Mizuno presented him in recognition of that season.

• Lived with Hall of Famer George Brett while playing for the Royals in 2004.  (Gilbert - mlb.com - 3/16/19)

July 2019: Greinke was invited to participate in the All-Star Game, but he opted out for personal reasons.

Sept. 2019: Greinke has moved within striking distance of the benchmark while cracking the 4.0-WAR mark for the sixth time in seven years. He also has checked off a pair of old-school milestones (200 wins and 2,500 strikeouts).

Nov 7, 2019: How do you win the NL Silver Slugger Award when you're an AL pitcher? You start the season with the D-backs, hit really well and then get traded to the Astros. Greinke did that, earning his second Silver Slugger by far outdistancing any competition. He hit .280 (14-for-50) with four doubles, a triple and three homers before heading to Houston on July 31.

When Zack won the AL Cy Young Award in 2009, he was also given a samurai sword by Mizuno. While he gave the Cy Young trophy to his parents, he naturally kept the sword for himself.

"I've only kept one award in my whole life, and it's the coolest thing ever," Greinke said in 2010. "Mizuno gave me a samurai sword for winning the Cy Young. It's awesome."  (Clair - mlb.com - 5/17/2020)

Former teammates recall stories over years spent playing with Zack. MLB pitcher, Brian Anderson, told one story. "Zack came off the mound during a game and sat next to me and looked at me and said, “I’m going to throw a 50-mph curveball next inning.” I’m looking at him like, “That’s one of the strangest things I’ve ever heard said in the middle of an outing. We were playing the Tigers. Dmitri Young was at the plate. He started him up with a fastball, 93 or 94. Strike one. And the next pitch was this curveball that came popping out of his hand. It squirted out and up and was so slow, and it had Dmitri completely fooled and it comes into the strike zone. Dmitri has the bat on his shoulder, and he’s kind of chuckling as he peeks into our dugout on the first-base side like, “What was that?” While he’s doing that, I’m leaning forward and peeking at the miles per hour in the stadium, and it was 50. I’m not kidding you. It wasn’t 51, it wasn’t 49, it was 50. I sat back and was like, “This kid’s on another planet.”

Jimmy Gobble, pitcher recalls: "He could not play golf for four months and go out there and shoot a 73, 74 and play a five-yard cut, a 10-yard fade, stuff like that. He had this kind of baseball golf swing where he incorporated a leg kick. And he played with flip flops. And he would hit the crap out of a golf ball. That was his power swing. It was like, “Who the hell are you?’” He would manipulate swings to hit the ball farther. He would cut it, he would draw it, and he would tell you what he was about to do. In his mind, that’s just how he operates. I think that’s what makes him such a unique pitcher."

Tony Peña Jr., shortstop: We had a blowout game where I ended up pitching that day. And when they came up to me and go, “Hey, can you pitch?” I go, “Yeah.” First thing he says, “I bet you can’t throw 90 (mph).” I’m like, “Oh, that’s a piece of cake.” So I go into the batting cage and start warming up. As I go out to the pitching mound and make my first pitch, and he sees the velo, he looks at me from the dugout, went down straight to the clubhouse and put a gift card in my locker.(Jenks/Lewis-TheAthletic-Feb 19,2020)

A ballpark with no fans and Zack can make for some terrific entertainment. Greinke took to calling his own pitches during the Astros’ 5-1 victory over the Giants at Minute Maid Park by giving hand signals to catcher Martín Maldonado. And he could even be heard talking about changing up the signs, which was picked up clearly on television microphones.

Greinke, who held the Giants to one run and seven hits in 6.1 innings for his first win of the season, said he began giving hand signals to Maldonado with a runner on second base earlier this year in an effort to speed up the game.

“Today, there was a man on second base and it got all messed up and it took longer than I was hoping it would take,” Greinke said. “It’s 50 percent my fault and 50 percent Maldy’s fault. I don’t like taking a long time with a man on second base especially.  I’m trying to find a way to speed that up. So far this year, it's been good. It got messed up today.” 

While Greinke gave signs all game with a runner at second, there was confusion in the seventh inning. With Brandon Crawford on second base and Mauricio Dubón at bat, Greinke could be heard discussing the signs with Maldonado.

“Second set after one,” Greinke told Maldonado from the mound. “Second set after two,” he said moments later.  (McTaggart - mlb.com - 8/12/2020)

March 1, 2021: For Greinke, its a 'joy' having his kids at ballpark.

Greinke admits he didn’t enjoy last season very much. He’s probably not alone in that feeling. The start-and-stop schedule necessitated by the spread of the coronavirus reduced the season to 60 games and left the players isolated in ways they could have never imagined.

Nearing the end of his career and with two young sons wanting to see their daddy pitch, the veteran Astros right-hander was separated from his family more than he wanted in 2020 and lamented that his kids didn’t get to be around the game. He’s hopeful that the protocols will be lessened this year as the COVID-19 numbers trend downward and he can have his sons following him around at the ballpark soon.

“The best part about being able to play still now is I can bring my kids to the field and watch games and work out with them in the clubhouse and stuff,” Greinke said. “Last year, families weren’t allowed to do anything really. It made it not as enjoyable. Hopefully, this year, they’re allowed to come and do some more stuff. It brings a lot of joy to me and other parents that have kids and they’re still in the Major Leagues. The kids think it’s the greatest thing. I hope I can do that this year.” (B McTaggart - MLB.com - March 1, 2021)

Royals 2022 Teammates sharing stories: 

Collin Snyder, pitcher: We’re in Texas and a couple of guys were playing cards before the game. They were talking about guys collecting stuff. (Dylan) Coleman asked if Greinke collects anything cool. And he was just like: “Got a bunch of houses.”

Jake Brentz, pitcher: He’s hilarious and he doesn’t even try.

Brad Keller, pitcher: I was like, “I’m not getting righties out as well as I want to. I feel like I’ve been getting lefties out more.” That night, he went home and I get a text message at like 2 a.m. He’s sending me all the data points. He’s like, “This is what I saw. These are the things I gather.” Out of the blue. 

Michael Massey, second baseman: When I was younger, I would watch him on TV. I’m like, “This guy is incredible, future Hall of Famer, I wonder what he does to get ready before a start.” Flash forward. Now I’m his teammate and I’m warming up in the weight room. He comes in with his big, baggy shirt on. He sits down on the ground, pretzel style. Literally crisscross applesauce. He’s just sitting there for a minute. He pulls a banana out of his pocket and starts eating a banana crisscross applesauce on the weight room floor. He drops the banana peel, stands up with a baseball, walks over to the wall and starts slowly throwing a ball off the wall and catching it. I walked out and was like: “So that’s what a Hall of Fame pitcher does before he starts, huh?” Cam Gallagher, catcher: 

He always wears this three- or four-XL Travis Mathew t-shirt that’s waaaay too big for him. The sleeves come down to his elbows. I asked him about it. He said, “I don’t know, it used to not be this big.” He tried to propose a trade (fantasy football) to me, and I gave him a smart remark. The next day he said, “Good luck to everyone, except for Cam.” As a joke in the group chat, I said, “When we face off against each other, if I beat you, you’ve got to sign that four XL t-shirt and send it to me.” He goes: “Deal. But if I win, you’ve got to sign a used jockstrap and send it to me.” It’s just constant entertainment. (Jenks/Lewis-TheAthletic-Sep 26,2022)

Feb 3, 2023:  All offseason long, this was the outcome both sides wanted. It just took, well, all offseason long. Zack Greinke will be back in 2023, wearing No. 23 for the club he said was, "probably my No. 1 place I was hoping to be." The veteran pitcher agreed to a one-year deal with the Royals this week, an agreement that was made official on Friday, kicking off Royals Rally -- the organization’s fan fest -- at Kauffman Stadium. "We’re really happy to announce Zack’s signing," general manager J.J. Picollo said. "I think it’s something we all knew was coming and were hopeful about, going back to the end of the season last year. We had a really good conversation with Zack, he was very clear about how much he liked Kansas City and that he wanted to come back. Along the way, we had some changes with our staff. There were some things to work out.

"We’re just happy he’s back, we know how much he means to this organization and city. And it’s been fun to have him around. He’s been great for our young pitchers, great for the organization, I know our fans appreciate who he is and what he represents and that he’s still a Royal."To make room on the roster for Greinke, left-handed pitcher Anthony Misiewicz was designated for assignment.

Greinke, 39, is heading into his 20th Major League season since debuting with the Royals as a 20-year-old in 2004. Over that time, he has built an extensive resume, suiting up for the Brewers, Angels, Dodgers, D-backs and Astros, in addition to Kansas City. He returned to the Royals last year -- for the first time since 2010, and was the team's Opening Day starter.

 Greinke allowed two earned runs or fewer in 17 of his 26 starts, posting a 3.68 ERA in 137 innings -- he spent two short stints on the injured list with forearm-related injuries -- and an ERA+ of 111, which is better than league average by 11 percentage points.

Because of that effectiveness, the veteran righty didn’t consider retiring this offseason.

"If I felt bad, then maybe I would have [considered it] more," Greinke said. "But I didn’t really consider it. [My] family likes me playing, I like playing, I feel like I’m still solid. So I’ll keep trying."And to answer your next question: No, he doesn’t know if 2023 will be his last year."It might be. It might not be," Greinke said. "I don’t have a plan at the moment, like a definite plan for it. If I pitch good, feel good, most likely I’ll keep playing."

In 2022, Greinke ranked in the fourth percentile among MLB pitchers in fastball velocity (just over 89 mph). Among 140 pitchers who threw at least 100 innings, nobody had a lower strikeout rate than him (12.5 percent), although he also tied for the 12th-lowest walk rate (4.6 percent).

Given Greinke’s age and the decline in his stats, there is risk for Kansas City here, too, but that took a backseat in bringing him back, both because of his 2022 performance and his legacy as a Royal.Greinke is putting the finishing touches on what's likely to be Hall of Fame career. Among active pitchers, he ended the 2022 season ranking first in starts (514) and innings pitched (3,247), second in wins (223, behind only Justin Verlander) and third in strikeouts (2,882). His 76.5 total wins above replacement (WAR), per Baseball-Reference, place him third among players who remain active, behind only Mike Trout and Verlander.

The starter is also a six-time All-Star, six-time Gold Glove Award winner and two-time Silver Slugger Award winner. He won the 2009 AL Cy Young Award with the Royals and logged two other top-five finishes on the National League side.The milestones don’t necessarily drive Greinke, though. The main reason he wanted to return to Kansas City? He and his family had fun last year.

"That was probably the most fun I’ve had in a while, even though we didn’t win a lot of games ... " Greinke said. "The players were fun to be around, the young guys. They’re just happy to be playing, trying their hardest, trying really hard to get better. When we did go on a couple of win streaks, you could tell how much fun it’s going to be if the team ends up doing good this year. It’s going to be even better, because there are good personalities on the team."

Greinke served as a role model for the Royals’ young pitching staff last year, earning praise for his clubhouse presence with the bevy of rookies in Kansas City’s locker room.

"I don’t think that can be overstated," Picollo said. "You need to have that type of presence on the team and somebody they can look to and depend on for leadership, just with his work ethic. And his work ethic is next to none." (A Rogers - MLB .com - Feb 3, 2023)

May 13, 2023:  Zack Greinke noticed the Royals dugout was a little more excited than usual after he completed the fifth inning Saturday night as he walked through a swarm of his teammates applauding their veteran starter.

That was when Greinke realized the feat he had accomplished.

With his strikeouts of Brewers rookies Brice Turang and Joey Wiemer in the bottom of the fifth inning in the Royals’ eventual 4-3 walk-off loss at American Family Field, Greinke has now struck out 1,000 different batters in his career. Only four pitchers in AL/NL history had ever done: Hall of Famers Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson and Greg Maddux, as well as seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens.

Greinke, in his 20th Major League season, now joins that list.

“It’s pretty neat,” Greinke said in his typical, matter-of-fact way, saying he’s heard about the stat but that it didn’t cross his mind Saturday until he got into the dugout.

“They were a little more excited than normal,” said Greinke, who has 2,914 total career strikeouts to his credit. “I was like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s what happened.'” (A Rogers - MLB.com - May 14, 2023)

Greinke, at 39, remains a marvel: innovative, confident, cerebral, a pitcher like no one else on planet earth.

Why? Well …   

#1. It all started because Zack Greinke wouldn’t throw his side sessions. He didn’t see the need. Sure, he would loosen his arm in the outfield, and he loved to field grounders at shortstop. But when it came to bullpen sessions between starts — the age-old form of training — Greinke was resolute.

“I don’t need to work on my pitches,” he told Dave LaRoche, the Royals’ pitching coach at Triple-A Omaha.

It was 2004, and Greinke was a 20-year-old prodigy on the cusp of the majors, an inscrutable talent who was equal parts stubborn, confident and blunt, gifted with extraordinary feel. Once, when Greinke was in A-ball, he called catcher Scott Walter out to the mound. Greinke sensed it was the perfect time for a cutter.

“Do you even throw a cutter?” Walter said.

“No,” Greinke said. “But I can do it.”

It did seem like Greinke could do anything, but he would still not throw a side. Finally, LaRoche offered a mea culpa: If Greinke threw a few fastballs to prove he was healthy, he could spend the rest of the sessions messing with other pitches.

One day Greinke asked LaRoche to show him his famous eephus pitch, which he’d used as a reliever with the Yankees in the early 80s. LaRoche had nicknamed the pitch “La Lob,” a high-degree-of-difficulty Bugs Bunny curveball tossed extra high.

“Well, I can do that,” Greinke said.

LaRoche agreed to show Greinke the way, but with one nonnegotiable rule: Greinke had to promise to never, ever throw it in a game.

Five months later, as a 20-year-old in the big leagues, in just his 19th career start, Greinke threw a 50 mph “La Lob” curveball for a strike against Omar Infante.

On the mound, Greinke told himself: Don’t start laughing out here. 

#2. Greinke has never stopped learning, never stopped tinkering and searching for something new. Even at 39 years old.

One day this winter, he was throwing in Kansas City. Brian Sweeney, the Royals’ first-time pitching coach, showed up to meet him. For most of the session, Sweeney, 48, stood silently. He just wanted to watch. Finally, Greinke turned to Sweeney, who had never spoken a word to the pitcher.

“Are you going to coach or what?” Greinke asked.

A few weeks later, Greinke and Sweeney were lost in a conversation about Greinke’s new “sweeper,” a type of pitch that didn’t exist when Greinke debuted. Was the sweeper more effective with eight inches of horizontal break or 18 inches? What did the data reveal? What did hitters see? What other pitches complemented the sweeper? Greinke engaged with all of it, eager for an edge. He looked at Sweeney again.

“Better job coaching this time,” he said. “You weren’t very good the first time.”

#3. When Greinke was young, he hated the label “genius.” What he did was not genius. It was pragmatic. And to him, at least, it was obvious, even if almost no one else saw it that way.

Years ago Greinke and Arizona catcher Jeff Mathis were going through the game plan against the Cincinnati Reds’ lineup. But when they got to first baseman Joey Votto, Mathis could tell Greinke didn’t have an answer. Votto, himself a cerebral iconoclast, possesses one of the best eyes in baseball and an appreciation for Greinke.

“I feel like we have some similarities,” Votto said. “First of all, I have a lot of respect for him. But I just remember going to All-Star games with him and thinking: ‘I f— with this guy.’”

Greinke was stumped. Then, boom, it hit him: He was going to throw Votto a hanging slider in the middle of the strike zone.

“Uuuuuhhh, I don’t really know,” Mathis said. “But if you want to do this, I’m not going to argue.”

Greinke threw a slider that spun aimlessly across the top of the zone. Votto took it for a strike. Greinke threw another cement-mixer at the belt. Votto took it again.

“He steps out,” Mathis said, “and kind of does his Joey Votto look around like, What the f— was that?”

What Greinke had intuited was that no hitter recognized spin like Votto, that he would see slider and expect it to break out of the zone, that he could use Votto’s own gift against him, that all he had to do was throw a meh slider that stayed in the strike zone and Votto wouldn’t swing.

“I just left that game shaking my head like, ‘This son of a bitch,’” Mathis said.

#4. In time, Greinke came to love his bullpen sessions. They became another canvas on which to paint, a place for him to experiment with new pitches. “His bullpens are something to behold,” Sweeney said, “because you never know what you’re going to get.”

Sometimes he throws 15 pitches. Sometimes he throws 70. Sometimes Greinke just throws one pitch. Once, at spring training, catcher Paul Phillips watched Greinke spend an entire bullpen session trying to hit specific speeds on the radar gun.

I’m going to try to throw this one 71. 

I’m going to try to throw this fastball 92.

“That’s like going to the fair,” Phillips said. “Guess your speed! You get three pitches!”

Last year (2022), Greinke walked up to rookie catcher MJ Melendez before a game with some news. He was going to throw a two-seam sinker. Melendez was caught off guard for one small reason: He didn’t know Greinke even threw a two-seam sinker.

But Greinke had worked on the pitch in the bullpen between starts, and he believed it would stump the White Sox’s right-handed hitters. He allowed just two runs in 5 2/3 innings, then didn’t throw the sinker again for five or six starts.

“He’s the most creative guy I’ve ever been around,” Royals pitcher Kris Bubic said.

#5. When Greinke was a rookie, people wondered if his pitching style was too … well, cute. The thing people missed about Greinke was that there was usually a method to the madness, even then. When he arrived at spring training in 2007, he promised to ditch the slow curve. He wasn’t worried about optics; he just wasn’t sure it actually worked.

The year before, he had stepped away from baseball while dealing with social anxiety and depression. When he returned to the majors in late 2006, he had an epiphany of sorts in an appearance against the Twins. He threw soft and got bombed. He needed to throw harder. Everyone kept saying he was like Greg Maddux. Greinke didn’t agree. The way he saw it, Maddux had better movement on his pitches and a wider strike zone.

Greinke started throwing harder. He touched 100 out of the pen (It is entirely possible that Greinke has thrown a pitch at every mph from 50 to 100). He re-joined the rotation and his career took off. But then something happened: the Royals acquired reliever Joakim Soria, who had his own Bugs Bunny curveball.

So in 2009, Greinke faced the Tigers. He was a sensation that year. Sports Illustrated put him on the cover and called him the best pitcher in baseball. (“They’ll probably sell their least amount of magazines in a long time,” Greinke told the Kansas City Star at the time. “Except when NASCAR was on the cover.”) He made his first All-Star game in Chicago and shook hands with President (and White Sox fan) Barack Obama, although Greinke was disappointed by the interaction. “Because none of the White Sox guys like me,” he explained to the Star. “So I was hoping that he’d recognize me and be like, ‘You punk, I hate you.’”

In the ninth inning, Greinke was about to close out another gem. Tigers slugger Magglio Ordonez came up with two outs. Greinke wanted to end the game with a slow curve — an homage to Soria, the team’s closer.

“I wanted to do it,” Greinke later admitted, “so I could talk trash to Soria.”

He spun a 62 mph curveball with two strikes. It just missed. He struck out Ordonez anyway with a slider on the next pitch.6. That Greinke can manipulate a baseball at will is a testament to his athleticism, touch and extraordinary feel. He once pulled driver on a 190-yard par 3 and hit his ball to five feet of the hole. He once smacked a double using a split-grip on the bat because he liked the way it felt when he swung a samurai sword. In Arizona, he would realize a pitch was bad the millisecond the ball left his fingertips and use it to his advantage.

“It might be the only time I heard Zack cuss,” Arizona pitcher Archie Bradley said. “He’d be like ‘f—!’ or ‘dang it!’ He said he did it because he tried to throw off the hitter.”

“Some of the hitters would turn around,” Mathis said, “and be like: ‘What the heck was that?’”

When Diamondbacks manager Torey Luvullo visited Greinke on the mound to gauge how he felt about the next hitter, Greinke wouldn’t give a yes or no answer — he’d give a specific, honest percentage.

“He’d say: ‘I’m like 60 percent positive I can get this guy,’” Bradley said.

His feel shows up in other unorthodox ways. During a recent start against the White Sox, Greinke should have backed up home plate but instead cut off a throw between home and third base and nailed a runner at second. Greinke returned to the dugout, and Sweeney, the pitching coach, joked about what seemed like good fortune.

“Perfect place to be, huh?” Sweeney said.

“Yeah,” Greinke said. “I’ve actually done that eight times in my career.”

Not seven. Or nine. Greinke knew the exact number, and he knew exactly where to be to make the play.

“Against all conventional wisdom,” Sweeney said.

#7. Greinke is not afraid to fail, and when a hitter does get the best of him, he lets them know.

“Zack would throw what he thinks is the perfect pitch and the guy doesn’t swing at it,” Bradley said. “And in the middle of the at-bat, Zack will ask him: ‘How did you take that?’”

One time Greinke gave up a triple to Neil Walker in Pittsburgh and rushed over to back up third base. When the play ended, he walked up to Walker.

“How did you hit that pitch?” he said. “Like, that was a really good swing. I don’t know how you hit that.”

#8. Greinke observes. He’s curious. He asks questions. One of those questions came in 2018, when Greinke was standing next to catcher Alex Avila during batting practice. Greinke’s fastball velocity was declining, and hitters weren’t swinging and missing as much. All his pitches seemed to be just about the same speed.

“Alex, what do you think?” Greinke asked.

Avila is pretty sure Greinke already had the answer, that he just wanted confirmation, so Avila mentioned an old pitch.

“What about the curveball?” he asked.

The Dave LaRoche Special had never left Greinke’s back pocket, but for years it was more of a novelty. Greinke liked Avila’s idea, so one Saturday in June, he threw the slow curveball 12 times against the Pirates, the most in his career. He struck out four batters with the pitch. When the game was over, however, Greinke was already thinking about the next adjustment. The Pirates’ Austin Meadows had hammered one curveball to deep center field. It stayed in the park, but Greinke wondered if he needed a new trick.

“Maybe 12 times was too many,” he said.

#9. The first time Jeff Mathis met Greinke was at a restaurant in Kansas City. They weren’t teammates yet and the pleasantries quickly turned into a conversation about pitching. Greinke was at the height of his powers, so Mathis asked what Greinke’s favorite thing to do was, expecting a response along the lines of “just blowing people’s doors off.”

Instead, Greinke’s answer shocked Mathis: fielding bunts and holding runners.

A few days later, Greinke faced Mathis with runners on. Mathis was often asked to bunt in those days, and Greinke knew it, so he spun his La Lob curveball up there. (When a pitcher came up in a bunt situation, Alex Avila didn’t even bother putting down the sign. He knew the slow curve was coming).

Mathis started to push the bunt down the third base line, and it was right then he realized Greinke was standing on the line, almost waiting for the ball, a step ahead of everyone else as always.

“Zack is the only pitcher I know that would throw a pitch, sprint off the mound to a point on the field and I’ll be damned if almost every time he did that it wasn’t weak contact and he fielded the ball and threw the guy out,” Bradley said. “It was in-credible.”

Several years ago, Greinke was pitching for the Diamondbacks in Boston. Greinke didn’t survive the second inning, but before he was pulled, a Red Sox hitter sent a swinging bunt up the line. Greinke bolted from the mound, fielded the ball and fired an off-balance throw to home, nailing the runner.

When the inning ended, Greinke walked back to the clubhouse. Bradley, curious how Greinke would react to a rare shelling, followed. Greinke headed right for a video monitor and watched the play he’d just made. Then he turned to Bradley: “That play just won me the Gold Glove.”

“I couldn’t help but laugh,” Bradley said. “And you know what? He won the Gold Glove.”

Much later on, Greinke was sitting with Bradley when a Diamondbacks’ PR staffer walked by. Greinke won three Gold Gloves in Arizona. “Hey Zack,” the staffer said. “Your Gold Gloves are still in the office if you want to take them.”

At least one of them had been there for two years.

#10. Twenty seasons into his career, after one Cy Young, 224 wins, six Gold Gloves, and nearly 3,000 strikeouts, Greinke still cares about the little things. Just the other day, Royals reliever Scott Barlow watched Greinke in the outfield. Greinke tossed balls into the padded wall, then fielded them as they rolled on the warning-track dirt, hit the lip of the grass and popped up in unpredictable ways.

For a moment, Barlow watched in appreciation, a future Hall of Famer trying to simulate bad hops, using his own unique approach to get better. (Dodd/Jenks - Jun 7, 2023 - The Athletic) 

In 2010, without Miguel Olivo, Greinke’s ERA rose by two full runs. He recovered to have a standout career, of course, and in 2021, The Athletic’s Rustin Dodd and Jayson Jenks collected a trove of stories from his catchers. And as long as we’re remembering Olivo, this anecdote, from John Buck, deserves a retelling:

“I had been catching him for a while. This was right at the end. And it happened to be the year he was having his Cy Young year (2009). In the middle of that, he said, ‘John, I know I’m throwing good, but I’m starting to second-guess myself. I don’t want you to catch me anymore.’ I was just kind of like, ‘What?’ I was young, too. My ego was hurt. And then he goes, ‘I just think you’re too smart. You just make me out-think what I’m calling. You have too many good reasons, and sometimes I just want to throw it. And with Miguel Olivo, I just don’t get that.’ We’re both sitting there, and Olivo is like, ‘OK, so I’m dumb?’ And Zack goes, ‘Yeah, but I like throwing to you.’ Olivo and I were like, ‘How do we both want to punch him, but we both get it and appreciate his honesty?’” (Kepner - Aug 9, 2024 - The Athletic)

TRANSACTIONS

June 2002: The Royals took Zack in the first round, out of Apopka High School in Apopka, Florida.

February 7, 2008: The Royals and Greinke avoided salary arbitration when they settled for about $1.4 million.

January 20, 2009: Zack and the Royals filed for salary arbitration. Greinke asked for $4.4 million and the Royals countered at $3.4 million.

But on January 26, 2009: Greinke and the Royals agreed to a four-year, $38 million contract with the Royals. The deal called for Zack to receive $3.75 million in 2009, $7.25 million in 2010, and $13.5 million in 2011 and 2012.

December 19, 2010: The Brewers sent SS Alcides Escobar, OF Lorenzo Cain, and rightanded pitchers Jake Odorizzi and Jeremy Jeffress to the Royals; acquiring Greinke, SS Yuniesky Betancourt, and cash (reportedly $2 million to offset the buyout of Betancourt's 2012 club option).

July 27, 2012: The Angels sent shortstop Jean Segura and Double-A pitchers Johnny Hellweg and Ariel Pena to the Brewers, acquiring Greinke.

December 6, 2012: Greinke and the Dodgers agreed on a deal of six years and $147 million.

November 4, 2015: Greinke opted out of his Dodgers' contract and entered the free-agent market.

December 4, 2015: Zack signed with the Diamondbacks, a six-year, $206 million deal, with an opt-out clause after three years. 

July 31, 2019: The D-backs traded Greinke and cash to the Astros for RHP Corbin Martin, RHP J.B. Bukauskas, 3B Joshua Rojas, and LF Seth Beer.

Nov 3, 2021: Zack chose free agency.

March 17, 2022: The Royals signed Zack to a 1-yr, $13M pact with $2M available in innings bonuses.

Nov 6, 2022: Zack chose free agency.

Greinke throws his four-seam FASTBALL in the 87-89 mph range with good movement. He also hits spots with a CURVEBALL that comes in at on average of 69 mph. It has been called the "slowball," "lollipops," "eephus-like curveball," and "Bugs Bunny curve." Greinke gets high strikeout rates with this pitch.

And Greinke is doing this In 2019, where pitchers pair 99 mph heaters with 92 mph sliders designed in labs. They ramp up mid-80s curveballs with 3,000-plus rpm spin rates. The fifth guy out of a team's bullpen throws breaking balls harder than most pitchers' fastballs used to be.

And Greinke is out there striking people out with lollipops, has a 2.78 ERA and 0.876 WHIP in 2019. Already cemented as one of the best pitchers of his generation, Greinke has reinvented himself to continue to pitch brilliantly. He paints the edges. He's a master of pitch mix and sequencing, throwing hitters off-kilter. 

MLB Network's Ron Darling said of Greinke, "Most pitchers are playing checkers when they pitch; Greinke's playing chess."

Great pitchers have one or two killer pitches. Greinke has three or four of them. Who is he pitching like? Well, a lot of people say Greg Maddux, but no, seems to me they’re actually quite different. I think a much better comparison would be someone like Satchel Paige, who threw so many different pitches he would name them (the hesitation pitch, the bat dodger, the trouble ball, the midnight creeper, etc.).

He seems a lot like Juan Marichal, who would combat batters with a flurry of different motions and angles and pitches. Hitting Marichal was like trying to hit a geometry lesson.  (Joe Posnanski-K.C. Star-5/27/09)

Zack likes to talk in between innings, which is a bit surprising for the quiet guy.

Zack has smooth, easy arm action and a compact delivery. He repeats his delivery real well. And Greinke simply carves up hitter after hitter.

He has excellent command of all of his offerings. He likes to move his heater on both corners of the strike zone. And he pitches well north and south (up and down) in the strike zone, too. And that is unusual for a pitcher to do well on all four edges of the strike zone.

Zack is a solid righthanded power pitcher. He is tenacious on the mound—a real bulldog. You have to like his mental toughness, polish, and poise. In fact, his poise could be at the heart of his success. He over powers batters both physically and mentally.

Greinke is a student of the game. And he is always absorbing more information from his pitching coach. Zack keeps a book on hitters. He studies them even when he is not charting them the day before his start, or pitching against them. And he charts all his own pitches. He watches opponents during batting practice, noticing where they hit the ball.

He knows baseball and loves pitching, studying it day and night. It is his mind that separates him from other pitchers. He understands the weaknesses of hitters and he has the command to pitch to those weaknesses with all four pitches. He carves guys up, with superb control, while altering speeds on both his fastball and curve.

Zack is calm. He has even been known to take a nap before he warms up to start a game. And on the mound, he never looks nervous.| “I am relaxed out there,” Greinke said, “because I'm confident in my abilities. I let my teammates play behind me. There's no need to get nervous because everything has already been taken care of on defense.”

Greinke doesn't get a lot of strikeouts because he endeavors to get hitters to hit a weak groundout early in the count. That allows him to pitch later into games.

“He constantly changes speeds on every pitch. He was at the 2003 Futures All-Star Game and he had just gotten two guys out, and then he throws a 58-mph curveball that bounces in front of the plate. He throws two strikes that are fouled off, and then he bounces another 61-mph curve. The next pitch is a dart on the corner at 92, strike three. The hitter didn't know what to expect.

“His composure and presence are way beyond his age.”

Greinke does not like to go a long time without pitching. "I feel better going on a short day than eight days in between starts," he explained. "I feel like I'm too strong and maybe feel too good and too rested."

In 2004 spring training, Royals President Dan Glass said he was most impressed with one of Greinke's Major League goals: “He wants to have a three-pitch inning,” Glass said. “Most guys would want to strike three guys out in an inning, but he wants a three-pitch inning. That's pretty cool.”

"He looks like he's 12 years old, but he's got the heart of a lion and the mind of a very, very wise person," former Royals manager Tony Pena said back in 2004. "This kid, he pitches like he has been in the big leagues for 20 years. He looks like a veteran on the mound. He doesn't let anything get to him."

Zack is a master at inducing soft contact. Most of his pitches float, sink or dart just off the plate down and away, mocking hitters with their carefully measured proximity, the way a mechanical rabbit does a greyhound.

Knowing that his expertise in going down and away precedes him, Greinke, midway through the 2015 season, he began throwing his changeup down and in to righthanders.

Every Greinke pitch begins the same. He pulls the baseball behind his body, out of the batter's view, as he points his glove toward the target. Everything stays so well in the same linear path—left arm, head, then right arm, then ball release—that Greinke could deliver a pitch down the narrow aisle of a regional jet.

The hitter doesn't see the ball until just before Greinke lets go of it. All five pitches come from spots that vary by no more than an inch, an imperceptible difference to a hitter.

Then the real artistry happens: The baseball behaves as Zack intends, to the befuddlement of hitters. Rarely across baseball history has the most fundamental principle of pitching—prevent the other team from scoring runs—been exercised this brilliantly for this long. (Tom Verducci - Sports Illustrated - 8/03/15)

BREAKOUT YEAR IN 2009

In 2009, Greinke won the AL Cy Young Award. That year, Greinke led the American League in ERA (2.16) and was second in strikeouts, behind only Justin Verlander (269) of the Tigers. With Zack's 242 strikeouts and 51 walks, he fanned 191 more batters than he walked.

In April 2009, Greinke went 5-0 with a 0.50 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 36 innings. He allowed only two earned runs, threw two complete games, and became only the fifth pitcher since 1912 to post a 5-0 first month while owning an ERA under 1.00.

On August 25, 2009, Zack struck a Royals' franchise record 15 strikeouts in a 6-2 win over the Indians at Kauffman Stadium. That knocked Mark Gubicza out of the Royals' record book.

There is a stat called ERA+ that compares a pitcher’s ERA to the league’s, producing a number that can be handy to rank pitchers historically. An ERA+ of 100 is exactly average, an ERA+ of 110 is 10 percent better than league average, and so on.

In 2009, Greinke’s ERA+ of 2.03 was the best in the American League (minimum 200 innings) since Pedro Martinez (2.91) in 2000. In fact, Greinke was just the fifth pitcher to have an ERA of less than half the league average while striking out more than 200.

May 2014: Greinke finished a historic 22 consecutive starts with two or fewer earned runs allowed. He surpassed Roger Clemens' run from 1990-91.

July 25, 2014: Greinke recorded a four-strikeout inning in an 8-1 win over the Giants, the second of his career and fifth recorded by a Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher. Greinke also struck out four batters in an inning with the Angels in 2012. He, Chuck Finley, and A.J. Burnett are the only pitchers in MLB history with more than one four-strikeout innings. (Ken Gurnick MLB.com, 7/26 2014)

July 26, 2015: Greinke extended his scoreless streak to 45 2/3 innings, giving up a run for the first time in six weeks. Opposing pitcher Jacob deGrom poked a single up the middle with runners on first and third.

2015 All-Star Game: Greinke became the first All-Star Game pitcher with four strikeouts since Pedro Martinez in the 1999 game.

The Mets ended Zack Greinke's scoreless streak at 45 2/3 innings by scoring a run on Jacob deGrom's fielder's choice in the third inning.  With 45 2/3 innings, Greinke has the fourth-longest scoreless streak since 1961, behind Orel Hershiser (59), Don Drysdale (58) and Bob Gibson (47). It was the third-longest streak in Dodgers history, behind Hershiser and Drysdale.

"Five years ago I thought that one and Joe DiMaggio's [56-game hitting streak] were the two toughest," Greinke said. "It looks like people are getting closer to the Hershiser one."

Greinke was pitching for the first time in a week, and one day after returning from Los Angeles following the birth of his first child. He ended up allowing two runs over seven innings.

"Surprisingly, it wasn't as distracting as you'd think flying back and forth cross country," he said. "I felt strong today. I would maybe complain, but I started off really well and got worse. You'd think if it bothered me, I would have started off bad and get better." (Gurnick - mlb.com - 7/26/15)

In 2015, Greinke beat out teammate Clayton Kershaw and Jake Arrieta of the Cubs to win the Players Choice Award for NL Outstanding Pitcher.

2016 Season Pitch Usage: 4-seam Fastball: 40.5% of the time; Sinker 8.4% of the time; Change 20.7%; Slider 20.6%; Curve 9.7%; and Slow Curve .4% of the time—he threw 10 of them the entire season.

April 2016: The Diamondbacks' ballpark played very small during Zack's early-season starts. He made some great pitches that got turned around because of strong wind gusts, for example, or wind-blown doubles. That may have gotten into his mind. Five starts into the 2016 season, Zack had a 6.16 ERA and he was not sure why. "I thought I was doing all right, but the results were really bad," Greinke told MLB.com. "I didn't think I was pitching that bad at the beginning to have the results that I was getting."

That prompted Greinke to check out the numbers behind the numbers. Things like exit velocity and other advanced metrics, which can be found easily now, thanks to Statcast. What Greinke saw was that his exit velocity was still good, but his command was just off a bit. "It made me feel better about what I was doing," he said. So Greinke didn't make any radical changes, and over his next 12 starts, he had an ERA of 2.63. Included in that stretch was a six-start winning streak during which he had a 1.60 ERA.

Greinke doesn't always pore over the numbers. If things are going well, he tends to not overanalyze things, but when he has some struggles, he will dig into the numbers to try and understand why. Statcast helps explain why Greinke is having more success this year in 2017, and one of the biggest reasons has been the effectiveness of his slider. In 2016, the average exit velocity on his slider was 87.6 mph, which ranked 58th out of 84 qualifying pitchers. In 2017, he is tied for the fourth-lowest at 82.7 mph.

Greinke nodded when shown those numbers because it synced up with what he was feeling. "I've been throwing more sliders in the strike zone and on the corners," Greinke said. "I just know I've been attacking more with the slider close to the zone. It's been good even when it's in the zone, so I'm more comfortable in that spot. When the results are good, I'm going to keep doing what's working." Since he is not a pitcher who relies on an overpowering fastballs, hitting the corners is an important element for Greinke to have success.

In 2016, according to Statcast, Greinke hit the corners of the strike zone with 8.7 percent of his pitches, which ranked 30th. This year 2017, he has hit the corners with 10.4 percent of his pitches, which ranks second. That came as a little bit of a surprise to when he was shown the numbers. "I feel like I'm doing a pretty good job of it," he said about hitting the corners. "The numbers say I'm doing better. Most of the time I felt like I could do that last year in 2016, but looking at it I wasn't." (S Gilbert - MLB.com - July 1, 2017)

In 2017, Baseball America's annual Best Tools survey rated Greinke with the Best Changeup in the NL.

2017 season Pitch Usage:  4-seam Fastball 42.5% of the time; 2-seam Sinker 6.8%; Slider 22% of the time; and Curve 12.4%. Zack also has a slow cure, but only showed it 19 times during the year.

2018 Season Pitch Usage: 4-seam Fastball: 43.2% of the time; Sinker 5.5%; Change 20.8%; Slider 17.1%; his Curve 11.%; and Slow Curve 1.8% of the time. Average velocity: 4-seam 90 mph, Sinker 90.7,  Change 87, Slider 83.8, Curve 71.3 mph, and Slow Curve 68.2 mph.

In 2018, Zack led the Majors with 37 strikeouts on pitches 70 mph or slower—16 more than James Shields/CWS (21). And, Greinke was the third pitcher since 1974 with 3 stolen bases. Also: Tom Browning/CIN in 1988 and Joaquin Andujar/STL in 1985.

March 2019: Zack Greinke will start on Opening Day for the D-backs when they take on the Dodgers in Los Angeles on March 28.

May 21, 2019:  Zack reached a big career milestone at Petco Park, but he also saw a personal streak end in untimely fashion.  Greinke recorded his 2,500th career strikeout when he fanned Franmil Reyes in the fourth. Two innings later, Greinke’s streak of 178 batters faced without allowing a home run ended when Eric Hosmer delivered a two-run shot that sent the Padres to a 3-2 victory.

Zack is the 37th pitcher to reach 2,500 strikeouts and the fifth active, joining CC Sabathia (3,013), Justin Verlander (2,795), Max Scherzer (2,536), and Felix Hernandez (2,501).

By the time his seven-inning, five-strikeout outing was over, Greinke was up to 2,502 strikeouts, ahead of Hernandez and tied with Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson for 35th all-time.  (O'Neill - mlb.com)

May 31, 2019: Zack Greinke is doing something beautiful. He's throwing rainbows, and making the Major League hitters who swing at them look for a glorious moment like they belong anywhere but a batter's box. Greinke's Bugs Bunny curveball is one of the game's most aesthetically pleasing pitches—cartoonishly slow, often floating in barely over 60 mph—and it induces some of the most hopeless swings that you'll see from a hitter at baseball's highest level.

It's a modern-day descendent of the true eephus, baseball's iconic lob pitch made famous by Rip Sewell in the 1940s. But it's more than an eye-candy thrill for fans. Greinke's eephus curve has been integral to the late-career adaptation of one of MLB's canniest pitchers. And the fact that he's doing this in the golden age of velocity only makes it sweeter.

Greinke, at age 35 and with a fastball that now sits in the high 80s, has a 2.78 ERA and 0.876 WHIP through 12 starts this season. Already cemented as one of the best pitchers of his generation, Greinke has reinvented himself to continue to pitch brilliantly. He paints the edges. He's a master of pitch mix and sequencing, throwing hitters off-kilter. And he throws eephus curves.

This season, Greinke has thrown 80 pitches under 70 mph. That's by far the most of any pitcher. In fact, the next-closest "pitcher" is Greinke's own teammate, John Ryan Murphy ... who you might recognize as a catcher. Murphy, designated for assignment last week, pitched in two blowouts, and just lobbed the ball in. Greinke's thrown nearly double the sub-70 mph pitches as the next-closest true pitcher, Oakland's Chris Bassitt, who's thrown 45.

But here's the best part. In the at-bats decided on those sub-70 mph eephus-like curves, hitters are 0-for-31 with 12 strikeouts. On about three-fourths of the 80 slow curves he's thrown in total, Greinke has gotten either a strike (called, swinging or foul) or an out on a ball in play. That's right—hitters are hitless against the slowest of Greinke's slow curves. They've been unable to figure out a curveball that comes in, on average, at 69.3 mph—a speed range almost no pitchers in the Majors dip into. This is no gimmick. It's an honest weapon, especially with two strikes, when Greinke's especially likely to throw the slow curve now compared to years past.

Greinke's eephus curve isn't a new pitch. He's had it at his disposal since at least the beginning of the decade. But in the last couple of seasons, as he beguiles hitters into his mid-30s, he's started to integrate it more deeply into his repertoire.

For most of the pitch-tracking era, which began in 2008, Greinke's slow-curve usage hovered around one to two percent of his total pitches thrown. But by 2018, 6.6 percent of his pitches were sub-70 mph easily establishing a career high. This year, he's raised the number again, to 6.8 percent. And as he's increased his eephus curve use to its highest level yet, the pitch has attained its highest level of effectiveness.

Greinke will throw the slowball against anybody. He'll throw it to elite sluggers like Gary Sanchez (whose excuse-me swing couldn't have come any later). He'll even throw it to pitchers bunting with two strikes (just ask the Padres' Matt Strahm). And the hacks. Just look at the awkward hacks. Greinke can catch even the best hitters wildly off-guard.

On top of all that, there's the final layer that this is happening in 2019, when pitchers are nastier than ever before largely because they're throwing harder than ever before, at all points across their arsenals. In 2019, pitchers pair 99 mph heaters with 92 mph sliders designed in labs. They ramp up mid-80s curveballs with 3,000-plus rpm spin rates. The fifth guy out of a team's bullpen throws breaking balls harder than most pitchers' fastballs used to be.

And Greinke is out there striking people out with lollipops. How could you not love it? (D Adler - MLB.com - May 31, 2019)

August 18, 2019: Zack Greinke became the third active pitcher to reach 200 wins and stopped the Astros’ five-game losing streak in the process by holding the A’s to one run in seven innings in a 4-1 victory in Sunday’s series finale at the Coliseum.

Greinke (13-4), making his third start since being traded from the D-backs on July 31, joined CC Sabathia (251) and teammate Justin Verlander (219) as the only active pitchers to reach the milestone. He’s the 115th pitcher in Major League history to win 200 games. Verlander won his 200th game in Oakland a year ago Monday.

Sept. 15, 2019: Greinke joined Nationals ace Max Scherzer as the only active pitchers who have recorded victories against every MLB club.

2019 Season Pitch Usage: 4-seam Fastball: 41.1% of the time; Sinker 6.5%; Change 20.9%; Slider 14.7%; his Curve 13.6%; Cutter 1.2%; Split less than 1%; and Slow Curve 2% of the time. Average velocity: 4-seam 90.1 mph, Sinker 90.1, Change 87.5, Slider 83.8, Curve 70.7 mph, Cutter 86.3; Split 78.4; and Slow Curve 67.8 mph.

Oct 8, 2020: Oct 8, 2020: Whether Zack Greinke signaled his pitch or not isn’t clear, but Athletics center fielder Ramón Laureano certainly hit it like he knew what was coming when he launched a hanging slider for a three-run homer to give Oakland an early lead in Game 4 of the American League Division Series at Dodger Stadium. The Astros went on to win the game, 11-6, and close out the best-of-five series.

Greinke held up two fingers to catcher Martín Maldonado before delivering his 3-2 pitch to Laureano, a system the two have sometimes employed this year to change the signs or sequence they’re using with runners on base.

“That's just what I've been doing this year for the most part,” Greinke said. “I just switched the pitch so that doesn't waste time shaking off and stuff. It’s just a way to save some time.”

For his part, Laureano certainly didn’t acknowledge picking up any insight from Greinke’s gesture.

“I don’t look at him when I hit,” Laureano said. “I just look at the grass. Whenever he’s ready, [then] I just look at him.”

Laureano had unleashed a midgame pep talk to fire up the Athletics in their Game 3 comeback win Wednesday, but this time, Oakland’s center fielder let his bat do the talking with his second-inning smash as well as a solo homer in the fourth, though it wasn’t enough to overcome an Astros club that went deep four times en route to the series-clinching victory. (G Johns - MLB.com - Oct 8, 2020)

2020 Season Pitch Usage: 4-seam Fastball: 42.9% of the time; Sinker less than 1%; Change 22.7%; Slider 16.4%; his Curve 14.6%; Split 2.5%; and Slow Curve less than 1% of the time. Average velocity: 4-seam 88.2 mph, Sinker 88.1, Change 86, Slider 84.7, Curve 70.9 mph, Split 77; and Slow Curve 62 mph.

2020 Season: The man, the myth, the legend, Zack Greinke didn’t have the best year last year. A 4.03 ERA is the highest he’s seen since 2016, and while his 3.72 SIERA and 3.70 xERA suggest he had a bit of bad luck, it still wasn’t nearly as good of a year as we’ve seen from Greinke in the past.

The main issue? His fastball. Last year, the pitch posted a ridiculously high 40.3% line drive rate against, so it’s no surprise opposing hitters has a .387 wOBA against it and a .217 ISO.

The pitch also lost a couple ticks in velocity last year, which is a bit concerning given Greinke’s age, but if there’s anyone I trust to compensate for declining fastball velocity, it’s Greinke, because he’s done it before (let’s not forget, once upon a time the guy threw 95 MPH, now he’s throwing 88). (Ben Palmer - Jan. 26, 2021)

March 16, 2021 - Zack Greinke, Major League Baseball’s active leader with 459 career starts, will make No. 460 on Opening Day for the Astros when they play the A’s in Oakland on April 1, manager Dusty Baker announced Monday morning.

Greinke has tabled his slider at different stretches before during his career but continues to try to make it an effective pitch to go with his four-seam fastball and his curveball. The slider was his second-most used pitch in 2017, when he threw it 22.5% of the time, according to Statcast, but he used it less in ’18 (17.3%), ’19 (16.1%) and last year (16.1%). Opponents hit .308 against the slider in’ 19 and .298 last year. They are 5-for-13 (.385) against the pitch this year. (B McTaggart - MLB.com - April 13, 2021)

July 19, 2021:  Zack recorded his 217th career win against the Indians, tying him for 80th all time with Bob Caruthers, Freddie Fitzsimmons and Mickey Lolich.  It was also his 20th career win with the Astros in 42 career starts.

2021 Season:  Greinke showed one alarming sign of decline last year, a K/9 which dropped from 9.00 to 6.32, precipitous for sure. This was primarily due to a jump on HR/FB. Greinke’s other metrics remained consistent (excellent control, his fastball velocity actually increased). He posted a 4.16 ERA with a 15-year low of 6.32 strikeouts per nine last season.

Zack started the 2022 season with a career record of 219-137 and a 3.41 ERA, having given up 328 home runs and 2,892 hits in 3,110 innings. And 2,809 strikeouts, 712 BB, and 25 IBB.

2022 Improvements: Zack Greinke picked up his first win of the season on June 24 — some 4,825 days since his last win for Kansas City, on Sept. 30, 2010. It didn’t take him nearly as long to get his second victory of the season. Returning to the mound for the second time since a right flexor strain sidelined the right-handed pitcher on May 29, Greinke again pitched a six-inning, one-run quality start in a 2-1 Wednesday afternoon victory over the Texas Rangers. And he did it with a new pitch in his arsenal: the cutter.

The pitch was a staple for Greinke in 2012 and 2013. But he abandoned the cutter after that and didn’t throw another one until 2019. He’d used it only sparingly ever since. That changed last in June . Greinke said  that the pitch is an offshoot of his normal slider. “The thought is to mix it up some and throw more pitches,” he said. Thrown 5 mph faster on average than his slider, his cutter has similar movement — albeit less horizontal movement. And it’s working: hitters are just 2-for-13 with two singles when they make contact.

Of Greinke’s six offerings, the cutter has induced the second-highest percentage of swings and misses. “I’ve been just as impressed with the slider, what he’s been able to do with that lately. It’s got a different shape and he’s been able to manipulate how much side-to-side run he’s getting,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “It’s a radically different pitch than what we even saw earlier in the spring.” 

Greinke has always been known for his unique arsenal of pitches: Matheny called him a “student of the game.” The six pitches the 38-year-old throws regularly in 2022 is actually down from the seven or eight he threw during his peak years. But it’s not just that he uses a lot of different pitches — the pitches Greinke throws are a bit different from those thrown by others, too.

His power changeup doesn’t use a typical change of speed to keep hitters off-guard, for example. Just 2 mph slower on average than his fastball, the changeup instead relies on late movement. Now, it seems he has another unique pitch. Whatever you want to term it — a cutter, “power slider” or some other sort of breaking ball — it’s been extremely effective this season, especially against right-handed hitters.  Greinke joked that he needed a break because he was ”starting to get old out here.” Kidding aside, part of what makes this future Hall of Famer special and helps prolong his career is Greinke’s ability to add to, and tweak, his lineup of pitches. Add this cutter/slider to the mix.  (NATHAN HAN- JUNE 29, 2022)

2022 Season: Stats: 137 IP, 3.68 ERA, 73 K, 4.03 FIP, 4.78 xERA, 4.80 K/9, 1.77 BB/9, 1.9 fWAR

Zack Greinke returned to where it all began in 2022, signing a one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals. He last pitched for the Royals – the organization that drafted him sixth overall in 2002 – more than a decade ago. He was happy to be back.

Now, he will hit the free agent market once again, looking for another team to take a chance on his arm. A reunion with Kansas City isn’t out of the question, but one has to think Greinke has postseason aspirations. While he already has a Hall of Fame resume, he has yet to win a ring. That’s surely something he’d like to do before he hangs up his cleats for good.

 Greinke may no longer be an ace, but he still has gas left in the tank. As his performance this past season showed, he has plenty to offer a contending team. He shouldn’t have any trouble finding another short-term deal this winter.  ( Leo Morgenstern | October 25, 2022)

Speaking this week with Anne Rogers of MLB.com, the Kansas City Royals veteran pitcher Greinke revealed that he is making a major change for the 2023 season — he is turning analytics to help improve his game.

Zack is an excellent hitter. He's better than some of the hitters on his team.

In 2018, Greinke was  the first pitcher since Bob Gibson in 1969 with a hit, RBI, and a stolen base in at least two games in a season.

He holds runners on base well, too.

PERENNIAL GOLD GLOVER

In 2014, Greinke won his first Gold Glove of award as the best fielding pitcher in the NL.

In 2015, Zack was awarded his second straight Rawlings Gold Glove for the NL.

In 2016, he won Gold  Glove #3.

In 2017, Greinke was named the NL Gold Glove Pitcher for the fourth time in a row.

In 2018, Greinke continued his run of NL Gold Glove dominance by picking up his fifth consecutive award.

He tied with the Braves' Julio Teheran for the Major League lead among pitchers with seven defensive runs saved. Since 2014, he leads NL pitchers in DRS with 32.

In 2018, Greinke won his second Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award.

April 2, 2019: Greinke last hit a home run while with the Dodgers in 2015. Greinke has already tied his career high in home runs (2) and is one short of his career high in RBI (5 in 2018).

He is the ninth pitcher with a two-homer game in this century. Here are the others:

Zack Greinke, Diamondbacks: April 2, 2019 vs. Padres. Madison Bumgarner, Giants: April 2, 2017 vs. Diamondbacks. Noah Syndergaard, Mets: May 11, 2016 vs. Dodgers. Micah Owings, Diamondbacks: August 18, 2007 vs. Braves. Dontrelle Willis, Mets: September 20, 2006 vs. Mets. Randy Wolf, Phillies: August 11, 2004 vs. Rockies. Robert Person, Phillies: June 2, 2002 vs. Expos. Mike Hampton, Rockies: June 5, 2001 vs. Astros. Darren Dreifort, Dodgers: August 8, 2000 vs. Cubs. 

April 25, 2019: Greinke made some baseball history with his fifth-inning triple off Bucs starter Jameson Taillon.

It’s the first time since 1930 that a pitcher has hit at least five extra-base hits through the team's first 26 games (Wes Ferrell). The only pitcher with more than five since 1908? Just the greatest dual threat in baseball history: Babe Ruth (8, in 1918).

Greinke’s triple also gave him a cycle in the first month of the season, the only time in history that’s been accomplished by a pitcher. It’s the first time a pitcher has hit for the cycle in a full month since Dontrelle Willis did so in August 2011. (Jake Crouse -MLB.com)

2006: missed spring training and started the season on the 60-day D.L. while undergoing treatment for emotional issues in Orlando, Florida. He received psychological testing and medication as part of his treatment.

Zack was activated on June 21 and sent to the Wichita Wranglers (TL-Royals) to work his way back into pitching shape.

March 8-May 4, 2011: Greinke went on the D.L. after it was revealed that he suffered a hairline fracture in one of his ribs while playing pickup basketball a couple of weeks before spring training. The injury happened while he was going for a rebound. The hairline fracture was between the 7th and 8th ribs on his left side.

April 12-May 15, 2013: Grenke went on the D.L. with a broken collarbone the day after a brawl between his Dodgers and the Padres.

After Padres slugger Carlos Quentin was plunked on the left shoulder in the sixth inning, Quentin started walking toward the mound. Greinke appeared to say something, and Quentin then charged him.

They dropped their shoulders and collided, and Quentin tackled the pitcher to the grass. Both ended up on the bottom of a huge scrum as players from both sides ran onto the field and jumped in. Greinke lowered his left (non-throwing) shoulder into Quentin and took the brunt of the blow as they collided. The force of the blow on the shoulder created a significant fracture of Greinke's collarbone closer to the shoulder than the sternum.

"I never hit him on purpose," said Greinke, who had his left arm in a sling and appeared shaken after the game. "I never thought about hitting him on purpose. He always seems to think that I'm hitting him on purpose, but that's not the case. That's all I can really say about it."

Asked if there was bad blood between the teams, Greinke, who twice hit Quentin with pitches when they were in the American League, said: "Now there probably is. I don't know if there was beforehand."

He said the injury, which will probably cost Zack two months of action, was "Awful. It's silly that something could happen like that. I'm disappointed."

April 13, 2013: Greinke underwent 90 minutes of surgery to stabilize the broken left collarbone. A metal plate and screws stabilized the break.

February 26-March 12, 2014: Zack missed two weeks with a strained right calf.

February 19, 2015: Greinke had a lubricating injection in his right elbow and was held back from throwing bullpen sessions early in camp. But the team says it is part of Greinke's normal spring routine.

June 29-Aug 9, 2016: Zack was on the DL with left oblique strain.

May 15, 2019: Greinke, who allowed just four hits over 7.2 scoreless innings, was forced to leave the game with abdominal tightness in the top of the eighth with a 2-2 count on Chris Stratton. After a brief discussion on the mound with the training staff, Greinke was pulled and replaced by Yoshihisa Hirano, who struck out Stratton to end the inning.

Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said Greinke is set to have an MRI, which will help determine the extent of the injury. (Editor's note: Greinke avoided the IL.)

July 10, 2021: Greinke, who entered the day leading the American League in innings pitched, threw only 65 pitches -- a little more than half of Cole’s 129-pitch outing in a 1-0 victory over the punchless Astros -- and left the game after four innings with right shoulder soreness.

“It’s been bothering me for a little over a month,” Greinke said. “And just hoping to have a shorter start this time with a bit of extra days from the All-Star break and be rested for the second half is the goal.”

Aug 31-Sept 14, 2021: Zack was on the IL due to health and safety protocols. 

Sept 11-14, 2021: Greinke, who confirmed on Sept. 11 that he tested positive for COVID-19, will return to the Astros on Sept. 14 to face the Rangers in Arlington. Greinke, who said he’s vaccinated, threw a bullpen session on Sept. 11 in preparation of his return to the team. 

Sept 22-Oct 5, 2021: Zack was on the IL with neck soreness.

Sept 25, 2021: Greinke, who had been scheduled to start the series opener game against the A’s, said his neck began hurting him on Sept 22 and worsened the next day while the Astros were finishing up a series in Anaheim. He said the pain in his neck prevented him from throwing or running, but he’s not sure how long he’ll be out. “I’m not positive on that,” he said. “Hopefully not too long.”

May 30-June 24, 2022: Zack was on the IL with right flexor strain.

Aug 21-Sept 7, 2022: Zack was on the IL with right forearm tightness.

July 6-July 20, 2023: The Royals placed Zack Greinke on the 15-day injured list. Greinke is dealing with shoulder tendinitis.

Aug. 7-22, 2023: The Royals placed right-hander Zack Greinke on the 15-day injured list, per Anne Rogers of MLB.com, with right posterior elbow soreness. 

Aug 8, 2023: The 39-year-old missed two weeks in July (but only one start because of the All-Star break) with right shoulder tendinitis in his first IL stint of the season. It's unclear whether Greinke's elbow has been bothering him for a while, him, but manager Matt Quatraro said the Royals are hopeful the veteran starter won't miss more than the 15 days required to stay on the IL. "We just weighed the options of him either fighting through this and maybe needing an extra [day] through the next time or just letting it calm down and getting him back for the last five or six starts of the year,"