Global InformationZack Greinke information
| Zack Greinke | |
|---|---|
 Greinke with the Kansas City Royals in 2023 | |
| Free agent | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: October 21, 1983 Orlando, Florida, U.S. | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| May 23, 2004, for the Kansas City Royals | |
| MLB statistics (through 2023 season) | |
| Win–loss record | 225–156 |
| Earned run average | 3.49 |
| Strikeouts | 2,979 |
| Teams | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Donald Zackary Greinke (/ˈɡreɪnki/ GRAIN-kee;[1] born October 21, 1983) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. Greinke primarily played with the Kansas City Royals in Major League Baseball (MLB) across two stints; from his 2004 debut to 2010, and from 2022 to 2023. He has also played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Houston Astros, with the latter of which Greinke finished as a runner-up in the 2019 and 2021 World Series.
The Royals selected Greinke in the first round with the 6th pick of the 2002 MLB draft, after he won the Gatorade National Player of the Year Award as a high school senior. After playing in the minor leagues, he made his MLB debut in 2004. His career was nearly derailed by his battles with depression and anxiety in 2005 and 2006, and he missed most of the 2006 season. He returned in 2007 as a relief pitcher, before rejoining the starting rotation in 2008 and developing into one of the top pitchers in the game. In 2009, he appeared in the MLB All-Star Game, led the major leagues in earned run average, and won the American League Cy Young Award.
Following his first stint with the Royals, Greinke would bounce around the league as a journeyman, playing for the Brewers, Angels, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, and Astros across small stints from 2011 to 2021. During this time, Greinke was known for his streak of six consecutive Gold Glove Awards from 2014 to 2019, as well as his second league-leading earned run average in 2015 with the Dodgers.
A dedicated competitor often described as unique in his talent and demeanor by teammates, Greinke is a six-time All-Star, six-time Gold Glove Award winner, two-time Silver Slugger Award winner, two-time earned run average leader, and an American League Cy Young Award recipient.[2]
At age 40, Greinke is currently a free agent. With 2,979 career strikeouts, Greinke is 21 strikeouts short of being the 20th member of the 3,000 strikeout club; he has the most strikeouts of any pitcher below the 3000-strikeout mark, with the next closest pitcher being Clayton Kershaw with 2,944 strikeouts.[3] Greinke is also one of only 5 pitchers (Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, and Roger Clemens) to strike out 1,000 different batters, with his 1,000th strikeout coming against Joey Wiemer on May 14, 2023.[4]
- ^ "Baseball Player Name Pronunciation Guide". Baseball Reference. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
- ^ "Zack Greinke's catchers try to explain his blunt ... Brilliance?".
- ^ "Pitchers with the most career strikeouts in MLB history, minimum 2900 career strikeouts". Stathead. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
- ^ Chavkin, Daniel (May 14, 2023). "Zack Greinke Becomes Fifth MLB Pitcher to Strike Out 1,000 Different Players". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 3, 2024.