| Zack Greinke | |
|---|---|
 Greinke with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2015 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1983-10-21)October 21, 1983 (age 41) Orlando, Florida, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| May 23, 2004, for the Kansas City Royals | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 1, 2023, for the Kansas City Royals | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 225–156 |
| Earned run average | 3.49 |
| Strikeouts | 2,979 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Donald Zackary Greinke (/ˈɡreɪnki/GRAYN-kee;[1] born October 21, 1983) is an American former professionalbaseballpitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 20 seasons. Greinke primarily played with theKansas City Royals across two stints; from his 2004 debut to 2010, and from 2022 to 2023. He has also played for theMilwaukee Brewers,Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim,Los Angeles Dodgers,Arizona Diamondbacks, andHouston Astros, with the last of which Greinke finished as a runner-up in the2019 and2021 World Series. Greinke is considered to be one of the greatest pitchers of his generation.[citation needed]
The Royals selected Greinke in the first round with the sixth pick of the2002 MLB draft, after he won theGatorade 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 withdepression andanxiety in 2005 and 2006, and he missed most of the 2006 season. He returned in 2007 as arelief pitcher, before rejoining thestarting rotation in 2008 and developing into one of the top pitchers in the game. In 2009, he appeared in theMLB All-Star Game, led the major leagues inearned run average, and won theAmerican LeagueCy Young Award.
Following his first stint with the Royals, Greinke would bounce around the league as ajourneyman, 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 consecutiveGold Glove Awards from 2014 to 2019, as well as his second league-leadingearned 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-timeAll-Star, six-timeGold Glove Award winner, two-timeSilver Slugger Award winner, two-time earned run average leader, and an American LeagueCy Young Award recipient.[2]
With 2,979 careerstrikeouts, Greinke was 21 strikeouts short of being the 20th member of the3,000 strikeout club.[3] Greinke was also one of only five pitchers (Nolan Ryan,Randy Johnson,Greg Maddux, andRoger Clemens) to strike out 1,000 different batters, with his 1,000th strikeout coming againstJoey Wiemer on May 14, 2023.[4]
Greinke was born inOrlando, Florida, the son of teachers Donald and Marsha Greinke. He is ofGerman descent, and was active inLittle League and also excelled intennis andgolf tournaments as a youth.[5][6] As a teenager, Greinke helped lead his team to theSenior League World Series title in 1999. He playedshortstop for the team, and hiscoach estimated that hehit close to .700 in the tournament.[7]
Greinke was primarily ashortstop when he started playingbaseball atApopka High School. He hit over .400 with 31home runs in his high school career.[8] He worked as arelief pitcher as a sophomore and junior, before becoming astarting pitcher as a senior.[8] During his senior season, in 2002, Greinke compiled a 9–2win–loss record, a 0.55earned run average (ERA), and 118strikeouts in 63innings. He also held opposing batters to a .107 average.[8] He led his team to a 32–2 record and their third straight district title, and was selected asGatorade National Player of the Year.[9] After the high school season ended, he played in the Florida Athletic Coaches Association All-Star Classic and impressed pro scouts with his performance against some of the best hitters in the country.[10]
TheKansas City Royals selected Greinke in the first round, with the sixth overall selection, of the2002 Major League Baseball draft.[11] They felt Greinke was a polished player who could move quickly through their system.[8] Greinke turned down a scholarship offer fromClemson University[12][13] to sign with the Royals for a $2.5 million signing bonus.[14]
Greinke pitched in sixminor league games (five starts) for the Royalsfarm teams in 2002: three games for theGulf Coast Royals, two for theLow-ASpokane Indians, and two innings for theHigh-AWilmington Blue Rocks of theCarolina League. He had a 3.97 ERA in11+1⁄3 innings.[15]
In 2003, Greinke opened the season with Wilmington, where he was 11–1 with a 1.14 ERA in 14 starts.[16] Those numbers earned spots on both the Carolina League mid-season[17] and post-season all-star teams as well as Carolina League Pitcher of the Year award.[18] The Blue Rocks'manager, Billy Gardner, Jr., remarked that Greinke was "the best pitcher I've ever seen at this level of the minor leagues."[19]He was promoted in July to theDouble-AWichita Wranglers of theTexas League,[19] where in nine starts he was 4–3 with a 3.23 ERA.[20] He had a couple of games where he struggled at Wichita and gave up a lot of runs. However, he bounced back and helped them make the playoffs with a victory in the final game of the season.[19]
Greinke was named the organization's Minor League Pitcher of the Year for 2003.[21] He was promoted by the Royals in 2004 to theTriple-AOmaha Royals of thePacific Coast League, where he was 1–1 with a 2.51 ERA in six starts.[22]
Greinke was called up to the major leagues on May 22, 2004, and made his major league debut against theOakland Athletics, allowing two earned runs in five innings. At 20 years old, he was the youngest player in the majors and came close to picking up the win, but the team'scloser,Jeremy Affeldt, gave up the lead with two outs in the bottom of theninth inning.[23][24]
Greinke recorded his first career win on June 8, when he pitched seven scoreless innings against theMontreal Expos.[25] In 24 starts, Greinke finished the 2004 season with an 8–11 record and a 3.97 ERA.[26]
On June 10, 2005, Greinke recorded his first major leaguehit; ahome run offArizona Diamondbacks pitcherRuss Ortiz in a 12–11 loss. However, he also allowed 15 hits and 11 runs in that game. The 15 hits allowed tied a franchise record, while the 11 runs set a club record.[27] In 2005, Greinke led the American League in losses, finishing with a 5–17 record and a 5.80 ERA in 33 starts.[26]
Greinke was sometimes quiet and awkward in the clubhouse. To alleviate some of hisanxiety andsolitude, the Royals made arrangements for him to live with RoyalsHall of Fame third basemanGeorge Brett.[28] Still, by the 2005–2006 off-season he nearly quit baseball; Greinke later remarked that, at the time, he did not expect to return.[29] He leftspring training for personal reasons in late February 2006.[30] It was later revealed that he was diagnosed with depression and asocial anxiety disorder.[31] He reported back to the Royals' spring training facility in Surprise, Arizona, on April 17, where he underwent ongoing pitching sessions. He was placed on the 60-daydisabled list due to psychological issues and took time away from baseball entirely.[32] He began seeing asports psychologist and takinganti-depressant medication.[28] Greinke only made three appearances out of thebullpen in 2006, and finished the year 1–0 with a 4.26 ERA.[26]
In 2007, Greinke returned to the Royals rotation at the start of the season, but was assigned to the bullpen in early May.[33] In 52 appearances (14 starts), Greinke finished 2007 with a 7–7 record, one save, and a 3.69 ERA.[26]
Greinke returned to the rotation in 2008 and performed well that season. He made 32 starts in 2008 and finished with a 13–10 record along with 183 strikeouts.[26] His 3.47 ERA was the best by a full-time Royals starter in 11 years.[34] On January 26, 2009, he agreed to a four-year contract with the Royals worth $38 million.[34]
After ending the 2008 season with 15 scoreless innings, Greinke started off 2009 by not allowing a run in his first 24 innings, which meant that for 39 innings in a row, he had not given up a run.[35] Greinke was namedAmerican League (AL)Pitcher of the Month for April, his five wins, 0.50 ERA and 44 strikeouts all tops in the Majors.[36] On August 25, Greinke struck out 15 batters, breakingMark Gubicza's team record for strikeouts in a single game.[37] On August 30, Greinke had a one-hit complete game against theSeattle Mariners.[38]
Greinke's record for the 2009 season was 16–8, and he posted an ERA of 2.16, the lowest in MLB.[26] On October 21, he was named American League Pitcher of the Year bySporting News.[39] On October 28, Greinke was awarded theMLBPA Players Choice AL Pitcher of the Year. On November 17, 2009, he won the ALCy Young Award.[40] Greinke credited some of his performance to his use of "modern pitching metrics" — statistics on team defense anddefense independent pitching statistics — to calibrate his own approach to pitching. Greinke specifically mentionedFIP (fielding independent pitching), an indicator developed bysabermetricianTom Tango, as his favorite statistic. "That's pretty much how I pitch, to try to keep my FIP as low as possible.[41]
Despite a stellar 2009 season, his performance in 2010 began to regress as he finished the year 10–14 with a 4.17 ERA and 181 strikeouts.[26]
On December 17, 2010, Greinke reportedly asked the Royals to trade him, claiming that he was not motivated to play for a rebuilding team.[42] The Royals were unlikely to afford signing Greinke to a long-term deal once he became a free agent, so they agreed to trade him for some quality prospects.[43] On December 19, he was traded to theMilwaukee Brewers withYuniesky Betancourt and $2 million forAlcides Escobar,Lorenzo Cain,Jeremy Jeffress, andJake Odorizzi. He was given the number 13, instead of his preferred number 23, due to number 23 already being issued toRickie Weeks.[44] Greinke would later admit that he handled the trade request poorly, saying that he was "pretty rude" on the way out,[45] but the deal worked out well for both teams.[46]
In February 2011, before reporting to his firstspring training with the Brewers, Greinke suffered a fractured rib while playingbasketball.[47] He started the 2011 season on the disabled list.[48]
Greinke made his Brewers debut in the second game of adoubleheader on May 4, 2011.[49] Despite missing the first month of the season because of his injury, Greinke finished second on the team in wins with a 16–6 record in 28 starts. He also had a 3.83 ERA, and 201 strikeouts (seventh in theNational League (NL)) in 171 innings pitched while surrendering just 45 walks.[26][50] Greinke became only the fifth Brewer pitcher to strike out 200+ batters in a season. He was fourth in the NL in won-lost percentage (.727) and sixth in wins.[50] He went a perfect 11–0 in his starts atMiller Park, the Brewers' home stadium.[51]
On April 7, 2012, the Brewers defeated the Cardinals 6–0 in Greinke's first start of the season after he pitched seven scoreless innings while giving up four hits and striking out seven.[52]
In an oddity, Greinke became the first pitcher to start three straight games in the Majors in 95 years. On July 7, he was ejected from the game after just four pitches for angrily throwing the ball into the ground following a close play at first base. The following day, Greinke started again, but lasted only until the third inning.[53] TheAll-Star break followed, and Greinke was the Brewers' starter on July 13, the team's next game. Greinke's third start ended after five innings. Before this, the most recent pitcher to start three consecutive games wasRed Faber in 1917, who started both games of a September 3 doubleheader, throwing just six innings in total, followed by a complete game win the following day.[54]
To begin 2012, Greinke made 21 starts with the Brewers and had a 9–3 record, 120 strikeouts, and a 3.44 ERA.[55]
Despite his success with the Brewers, the team was struggling and not likely to make a playoff run. When talks on a contract extension broke down, the team traded Greinke to theLos Angeles Angels of Anaheim on July 27, 2012, in exchange for top infield prospectJean Segura and pitchersAriel Peña andJohnny Hellweg. BrewersGeneral ManagerDoug Melvin remarked that it was one of the tougher decisions he had to make because he was fond of Greinke.[55]
Greinke made his first start for the Angels on July 29.[56] After a stretch of four unproductive starts from August 3–19 (1–1, 7.20 ERA in 25 innings), Greinke followed up with four consecutive starts of at least seven innings and two or fewer runs — all of them wins. In those starts, he produced a 1.88 ERA in28+1⁄3 innings.[56]
Greinke became the first pitcher since 1920 to record 13 strikeouts in five innings or less in a game against theSeattle Mariners on September 25. He then combined with four other Angels pitchers to tie an American League record by striking out 20 batters in a nine-inning game.[57] He finished his time with the Angels with a 6–2 record and a 3.53 ERA in 13 starts.[56] Overall in 2012, combined with both teams, Greinke made 34 starts with a 15–5 record, 200 strikeouts, and a 3.48 ERA.[26]
Greinke agreed to a six-yearfree agent contract with theLos Angeles Dodgers worth $147 million, on December 8, 2012. The deal, which was finalized on December 10, was the largest ever for a right-handed pitcher at the time it was signed.[58] It was surpassed a year later byFélix Hernández's seven-year, $175 million contract extension with theSeattle Mariners.[59] Greinke later explained that he chose the Dodgers over theTexas Rangers, who also were pursuing him, primarily because they offered more money.[60]
On April 11, 2013, Greinke fractured his left collarbone in a brawl withCarlos Quentin of theSan Diego Padres after Quentin was hit by an inside pitch and charged the mound.[61] He was placed on the disabled list and it was revealed that he would require surgery,[62] which was performed on April 13.[63] It was estimated that he would miss eight weeks of the season. However, he returned to action on May 10 when he pitched in a rehab game for the Class-ARancho Cucamonga Quakes.[64] He returned to the Dodgers on May 15, tossing5+1⁄3 innings of one-run ball and striking out four to earn the win.[65]
On June 11, 2013, Greinke was hit in the head and neck area byArizona Diamondbacks pitcherIan Kennedy, leading to abench-clearing brawl. Because Greinke did not participate in the brawl, he was unaffected.[66]
Greinke picked up his 100th career win on August 5, 2013, against theSt. Louis Cardinals.[67] He was 5–0 with a 1.23 ERA during the month of August and was selected asNational League Pitcher of the Month.[68] Greinke finished his first season with the Dodgers with a 15–4 record and 2.63 ERA in 28 starts. He also batted .328, the highest batting average for a Dodgers pitcher sinceOrel Hershiser in the1993 season.[69] He was awarded with theSilver Slugger Award as the best hitting pitcher in the National League.[70]
Greinke began the 2014 season by setting an MLB record with 22 straight starts (dating back to July 2013) where he allowed two or fewerearned runs.[71][72] He was selected to the National League squad at the2014 Major League Baseball All-Star Game[73] and finished the season with a 17–8 record and a 2.71 ERA in 32 starts, the highest win total in his career.[26] He won theGold Glove Award as the best fielding pitcher in the National League.[74]
WhenJustin Upton of theSan Diego Padres homered against Greinke in the eighth inning on June 13,2015, it was the last run he surrendered until the All-Star break.[75] Greinke was then selected to theAll-Star Game, his second straight appearance,[76] and chosen to be the starting pitcher for the National League squad. At that point in the season, Greinke carried a major league-leading 1.48 ERA with a 7–2 record.[77] After Greinke retired 28 consecutive batters over a span of two starts,NationalsoutfielderMichael Taylor ended the streak in the third inning on July 19.[78]
Greinke's recorded ascoreless innings streak which reached 45 innings; it started on June 18 and ended on July 26 start against theNew York Mets atCiti Field and is the sixth-longest streak in MLB history. He shared the NL Player of the Week honors with his teammateClayton Kershaw for July 13–19.[79] Greinke finished the 2015 season with a 19–3 record, 200 strikeouts, and a major-league-best 1.66 ERA.[80] His ERA was the second lowest in Dodgers history behindRube Marquard in1916, and hisERA+ (225) and major-league-leadingWHIP (0.844) were the best in franchise history.[81][82] He led all major league pitchers inleft on base percentage, stranding 86.5% of base runners.[83]
Greinke pitched in two games in the2015 National League Division Series against theNew York Mets. He allowed five runs in13+2⁄3 innings and took the loss in the deciding fifth game in the series.[84] At the conclusion of the series, it was announced that he would opt out of the last three years of his contract with the Dodgers and become a free agent.[85] He officially opted out on November 3.[86]
After the season, Greinke was selected as the Outstanding National League Pitcher at thePlayers Choice Awards,[87] and won his second Gold Glove Award.[88] Greinke finished second in the NLCy Young Award voting toJake Arrieta.[89]
On December 8, 2015, Greinke signed a six-year, $206.5 million contract with theArizona Diamondbacks.[90] Greinke started on Opening Day 2016 atChase Field against theColorado Rockies; he gave up seven runs in four innings, including two home runs to rookie shortstopTrevor Story, who was making his MLB debut. The Diamondbacks lost the game 10–5.[91] In his second start, on April 9, Greinke matched up againstKyle Hendricks and theChicago Cubs. He allowed three runs in the first inning, and struggled through the rest of his outing. The Diamondbacks lost the game 4–2.[92] Greinke got his first win as a Diamondback on April 19, 2016, against the San Francisco Giants, allowing just one run in over six innings of work.[93][94] On July 3, 2016, Greinke was placed on the 15-day disabled list due to a left oblique strain.[95][96] On August 24, 2016, he recorded his 2000th career strikeout in the Diamondbacks' 10–9 win overAtlanta Braves.[97] Greinke made 26 starts in his first season with Arizona, and he had a 13–7 record and a 4.37 ERA in158+2⁄3 innings.[26] He won his third consecutive Gold Glove Award after the season.[98]
In2017, Greinke was selected to theNL All-Star team, his fourth All-Star selection. At the time of his selection he was 10–4 with a 3.05 ERA in109+1⁄3 innings, 128 strikeouts (10.21 strikeouts per nine innings), WHIP of 1.02 and a .219 opponents batting average.[99] On September 16 versus theSan Francisco Giants atAT&T Park, he completed eight shutout innings with two hits allowed and eight strikeouts as Arizona won, 2−0. Hisgame score of 90 was the second-best of his career, and he also hit two doubles at the plate.[100] In 32 starts in 2017, Greinke finished with a 17–7 record, 215 strikeouts, and a 3.20 ERA in202+1⁄3 innings.[26] The Diamondbacks finished with a 93–69 record and clinched a Wild Card spot, but lost to the Dodgers in the Division Series. Greinke won his fourth consecutiveRawlings Gold Glove Award after the 2017 season. He also finished fourth in the Cy Young voting behindMax Scherzer,Clayton Kershaw andStephen Strasburg.[101]
Greinke was once again named an All-Star in 2018.[102] He finished the season with a 15–11 record and a 3.21 ERA in 33 starts.[103] Following the season, he won his fifth consecutive Gold Glove Award.[104]
On April 2, 2019, Greinke hit two home runs and struck out 10 as the Diamondbacks won 8–5 against the Padres.[105] In 2019 with Arizona before he was traded, he was 10–4 with a 2.90 ERA.[26]
Greinke batted .271 with three home runs and 8 RBI with the Diamondbacks in 2019, earning him his second careerSilver Slugger Award.[106]
On July 31, 2019, the Diamondbacks traded Greinke to theHouston Astros with cash considerations for four minor league prospects:Corbin Martin,J. B. Bukauskas,Seth Beer, andJoshua Rojas.[107] The Diamondbacks also agreed to pay $24 million of Greinke's remaining $77 million salary.
On September 14, 2019, against theKansas City Royals, Greinke became the 19th pitcher in MLB history towin a game against all 30 MLB franchises.[108] In2019 with the Astros, he was 8–1 with a 3.02 ERA.[26] Between the two teams, in 2019 he was 18–5 with a 2.93 ERA, as in 208.2 innings (sixth in the majors) over 33 starts he walked only 30 batters (1.3 walks per nine innings, the best ratio of his career and third-best in the major leagues), and had a WHIP of 0.982 (fifth-best in the major leagues).[26] At the plate, he batted .280/.308/.580 with three home runs and 8 RBI in 50 at bats.[26] Greinke started Games 3 and 7 of the2019 World Series for Houston. Greinke allowed two runs on two hits in6+1⁄3 innings in his Game 7 start.[109][110] He was pulled by managerA. J. Hinch in the seventh inning after surrendering a one-out home run toAnthony Rendon, followed by a walk toJuan Soto, with the Astros leading 2–1.[109][110] He was replaced byWill Harris, who allowed a two-run home run toHowie Kendrick. The Astros lost the game 6–2, prompting questions by members of the media about Hinch's decision to pull Greinke.[109][110][111]
In2020, Greinke produced a 3–3 record with a 4.03 ERA in 12 starts spanning 67 innings, and was second in the AL in walks per nine innings (1.209) and fourth in home runs per nine innings (0.806).[26][112]
On April 1,2021, Greinke earned his first Opening Day win and 209th win overall as the Astros defeated theOakland Athletics, 8–1, at theOakland Coliseum. He pitched six scoreless innings, the 65th time his career he has produced at least six scoreless innings.[113] In the May 25 contest versus theLos Angeles Dodgers, he reached 3,000 career innings, the 135th pitcher in major league history to achieve this milestone.[114] On June 4, 2021, Greinke threw a complete game for the first time since April 19, 2017. He allowed six hits with one run and one walk and three strikeouts in a 13–1 win over theToronto Blue Jays atSahlen Field inBuffalo, New York.[115]
In 2021, Greinke finished with an 11–6 record and 4.16 ERA over 30 games (29 starts).[26] He ranked second in the AL in walks per nine innings (1.895) and fifth in WHIP (1.170) and home runs (30).[116] In theWorld Series versus theAtlanta Braves, Greinke started Game 4, recording four scoreless innings. At the plate, he singled in the second inning to become the first Astros pitcher to get a hit in World Series play.[117] In Game 5, he was called in as apinch hitter in the fourth inning and recorded a single, becoming the first pitcher to record a pinch hit in the World Series sinceJack Bentley in1923.[118] On November 3, 2021, Greinke was declared a free agent.[119]
Greinke expressed interest in finishing his career with the Royals, which he mentioned toGeorge Brett during the 2021-22 lockout.[120] On March 16, 2022, Greinke signed a one-year, $13 million contract to return to theRoyals.[121] On March 31, Greinke was announced as the Royals' Opening Day starter, the first time he'd been given the role for the Royals since 2010, marking the largest gap between Opening Day pitching starts for the same team.[122] He made his 500th career start on June 29 versus theTexas Rangers, going six innings in a 2−1 win.[123] Greinke finished 4–9 with a 3.68 ERA in 26 starts with the Royals in 2022.[26]
Greinke re-signed with the Royals on a one-year contract worth $8.5 million on February 3, 2023.[124] On March 24, Greinke was named the Royals' Opening Day starter for the second consecutive year.[125] On May 15, Greinke became the fifth pitcher (afterNolan Ryan,Randy Johnson,Roger Clemens, andGreg Maddux) to strike out 1,000 unique batters over his career.[126] He became a free agent following the season.
Greinke throws six different pitches:
His curveball has two speeds with different types of movement, and he will sometimes throw a curve that is more in the middle range combining the types of movement. His two-seamer is his most-used pitch against right-handed hitters and is used more frequently than against lefties, as is his slider. His changeup is thrown only to left-handed hitters. Greinke's curveball is typically used early in thecount, while his slider is his most common two-strike pitch.[128]
Greinke's slider has been one of his more effective pitches. Hitters have only a .154batting average and .230slugging percentage against the pitch. It has produced 51% of his strikeouts. Itswhiff rate is 42%, and more than half the pitches put in play areground balls.[129] However, he limits the use of the slider in order not to put excessive strain on his arm.[130]
Greinke has produced goodstrikeout-to-walk ratios throughout his career, finishing in his league's top 10 five times[26] and ranking eighth among active pitchers in the category, at 3.76:1 as of the end of the 2017 regular season.[131]
Greinke has been described as a "scientist as a pitcher" and is known for preparing for each start more extensively than most.[132]
Owing to his upright overhand pitching style, with a pause where the ball is hidden down next to his right knee before release, a forward-facing follow-through, and late movement that reaches the lower third of the strike zone, he is in an excellent position for fielding soft, short hits coming at him, which helped him gain many assists and six consecutive NLGold Glove Awards as a pitcher. He was still awarded an NL Gold Glove in 2019 because he started the 2019 season in Arizona before being traded.
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Greinke is a good hitting pitcher, having won twoSilver Slugger Awards in his career with a .225 batting average. He has also amassed nine stolen bases over his career (on ten stolen base attempts), and he has expressed a desire to end his career with ten home runs and ten stolen bases; he has nine of each, with his last home run and stolen base each being in 2019. He entered Game 5 of the2021 World Series as a pinch-hitter and recorded a hit, being the first pitcher to have a pinch hit in a World Series game sinceJack Bentley of theNew York Giants in1923.[133] As of 2025, he is the last pitcher to have a hit in a postseason game, as the designated hitter was introduced in the National League in 2022, meaning that the pitcher is not required to hit at any point. In his fourth at-bat as a major leaguer, Greinke hit his first home run. Years later, when teammateAlex Gordon was in a slump, Greinke had the idea to take him into the video room and show the clip of his home run multiple times before leaving by saying, "Do more of that."[134]
Greinke is married to Emily Kuchar, whom he met while attending Apopka High School. Kuchar is a formerDallas Cowboys cheerleader and wasMiss Daytona Beach USA 2008.[135][136] Their sons were born in 2015, 2017, and 2021.[137][138] They reside inOrlando, Florida.
Greinke's younger brother, Luke, was also a pitcher who playedcollege baseball atAuburn University.[139] Luke was drafted by theNew York Yankees in the 12th round (380th overall) of the2008 MLB draft,[140] but was out of baseball a year later because of injuries.[141]
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | American League Pitcher of the Month April 2009 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | National League Pitcher of the Month August 2013 July 2018 | Succeeded by |
