Zack Greinke

American pitcher and 2009 AL Cy Young Award winner known for a rare combination of pitching excellence, elite fielding (six Gold Gloves) and hitting ability for a pitcher.

Born in Orlando, Florida, on 21 October 1983, Donald Zackary Greinke was drafted sixth overall by the Kansas City Royals in 2002 and debuted in the majors in 2004. After early struggles and a well-documented battle with social anxiety disorder that briefly led him away from the game in 2006, Greinke returned to become one of the sport's most complete pitchers. Greinke's finest season came in 2009, when, pitching for a Royals team that scored the second-fewest runs in the American League, he went 16-8 with a league-leading 2.16 ERA and 242 strikeouts, winning the AL Cy Young Award unanimously. It remains one of the most dominant individual pitching seasons of the 2000s relative to the team around him. Over an 18-year career spanning the Royals, Brewers, Angels, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Astros and a return to Kansas City, Greinke won 225 games with a 3.49 ERA and 2,979 strikeouts. He was a six-time All-Star, led MLB in ERA twice (2009, 2015), and won an extraordinary six consecutive Gold Glove Awards from 2014 to 2019, reflecting his defensive polish on the mound. He also won two Silver Slugger Awards as one of the best-hitting pitchers of his generation. Greinke retired after the 2023 season, finishing with 2,979 career strikeouts, among the most by any pitcher not to reach 3,000. He is widely regarded as a future Hall of Fame candidate for his rare blend of durability, defensive excellence and peak dominance.

Cerebral, control-oriented pitcher with an unusually complete all-around game

One of the most complete pitchers of his generation, excelling on the mound, in the field and at the plate