Zack Greinke
Cy Young winner and six-time All-Star who pitched 20 MLB seasons.
Donald Zackary Greinke (born October 21, 1983) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Greinke played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 20 seasons for the Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Houston Astros. He is considered to be one of the greatest pitchers of his generation.
Quick Facts
- Role
- Starting pitcher (right-handed)
- Royals tenure
- 2005–2009
- Drafted
- 2004 MLB Draft
- 1st round
- 2nd overall pick by Kansas City
- Signature pitch
- Right-handed cutter or slider
- No-hitter
- June 8, 2006 vs. Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field
- Departure
- Traded to Los Angeles Dodgers after the 2009 season
Lore & Background
The Royals selected Greinke in the first round with the sixth 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 (ERA), and won the American League Cy Young Award. Following his first stint with the Royals, Greinke played for the Brewers, Angels, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, and Astros across 2011 to 2021. During this time, he won six consecutive Gold Glove Awards from 2014 to 2019, and led MLB in ERA for a second time in 2015 with the Dodgers. In 2022 he returned to the Royals.
Reader's Guide
Greinke was 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. Greinke is one of three pitchers to win each of the Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, and Cy Young Awards, along with Fernando Valenzuela and Orel Hershiser. Greinke is also one of only five 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.
More in Legendary Players & Managers
Elsewhere in Kansas City Royals
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced