DUGOUT: KC’s Greinke finally enjoying baseball

When does a poor pitcher become an ace? Does a 6-0 record do the trick?

Kansas City Royals' starting pitcher Zack Greinke has done everything his team has asked of him, and so much more. Following a beautiful game on Friday night, Greinke is 6-0 — the first to do so in the majors — and has an ERA of 0.40 through 45 innings.

Greinke has won nine straight starts dating back to last season and was the holder of 43 straight innings of no-run pitching before last week against the Blue Jays. He still won that game, but those two runs Greinke surrendered pushed his ERA to 0.50.

On Friday, Greinke took the mound against the White Sox and didn’t disappoint the 21,000 fans in attendence. Throwing nine complete innings, Greinke didn’t allow a runner to cross the plate. He scattered just six hits, walked none, and struck out ten to bring his major-league leading strikeout total to 54. It was the third complete game of the season for the 25-year-old hurler.

Greinke was drafted back in 2002. He was rushed to the majors in 2004 as a 20-year old and was portrayed as the savior of the bottom-dwelling Royals. He was mediocre that year; going 8-11 with a 3.97 ERA. The next year, however, Greinke was 5-17 with an ERA of 5.80. The next two years, Greinke was used from the bullpen with varying success, but he returned as a starting pitcher in 2008.

Last year he went 13-10 with a 3.47 ERA. This year, it’s safe to say that Greinke has been the best pitcher in baseball.

What most people don’t know about this young ace with the devastating slider is that he suffered from social anxiety. 2005, in particular, was a rough year for Greinke, who found even the slightest contact with other people less than desirable.

Even now, Greinke was recently featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. He didn’t want to pose for a cover shoot, however, and only allowed photographers to shoot him while warming up in the bullpen. He is now taking antidepressant pills and has the situation largely under control.

Before he was diagnosed and subsequently took seven months off from baseball to receive treatment, Greinke, quite frankly, didn’t enjoy baseball. Greinke counted down the days until the season was over and couldn’t stand the time of waiting between his starts.

One of Greinke’s favorite activities was hitting home runs. He wanted desperately to be a batter so he could play every day, although he knew there was no chance of that. He became a full-time pitcher for the first time as a senior at Apopka High School. He didn’t want to pitch, but he was too good not to. Greinke had an ERA of 0.55, struck out 118 and walked just eight batters. He was named the Gatorade National High School Player of the Year.

Teammates and coaches alike will both tell you that Greinke didn’t enjoy baseball before his long hiatus. Greinke would spend hours staring at ceilings or playing little games by himself to keep himself occupied. He would often go on long walks to pass the time and held on to dreams of becoming a positional player.

Now, however, with a 6-0 record and one of the best starts in Kansas City Royal’s history, Greinke is enjoying simply playing baseball.

St. Louis Cardinals' cetnerfielder Rick Ankiel was carted off the field on Friday after a scary collision with the outfield wall. The speedy Ankiel had just tracked down a line drive off the bat of Philadelphia Phillie’s third baseman Pedro Feliz and was heading full-speed into the left-center field wall. He couldn’t slow himself down; he barely had enough time to brace himself for the impact, and hit head-first.

He fell to the warning track, where he remained until a cart came with a gurney and a neck brace. Team Dr. George Paletta said Ankiel showed signs of whiplash and displayed puffiness in his face.

Chicago Cubs’ ace Carlos Zambrano strained his left hamstring during Sunday’s contest against the Florida Marlins and was placed on the disabled list. He is expected to miss at least two or three weeks. Zambrano was fielding a bunt during the contest and injured his hamstring while running to first base.

The 6-5, 255-pound Zambrano could make some pinch-hit appearances for the Cubs before he returns to the mound. He is hitting .278 so far this season and has already hit one home run. Zambrano was 3-1 with a 4.50 ERA before the injury.

Another National League ace injured while fielding a bunt was Philadelphia’s Cole Hamels. He hurt himself on April 28 and is now running in the outfield to test his injured left ankle. Hamels, a year removed from being the World Series and NLCS MVP, is set to resume pitching this Friday against the Atlanta Braves.

Andrew Kneeland is a sophomore at Sahuarita High School. He is an intern at the Green Valley News.