Royals Zack Greinke is the 2009 Cy Young Award Winner. - Page 2

Chiefspants · 01:12 PM

YEEAAHHH!

KANSAS CITY -- Zack Greinke won again on Tuesday -- this time taking the Cy Young Award as the American League's best pitcher.

Mariners right-hander Felix Hernandez received two first-place votes and finished second in the balloting with 80 points. Tigers right-hander Justin Verlander received one first-place vote and placed third overall.

Hernandez and Verlander each won 19 games, and there was a suggestion in some places that Greinke's 16-8 record, a rather modest win total for a Cy Young winner, might override his Major League-best ERA of 2.16. But that did not happen.

Certainly, there was no argument that Greinke was one of the most dominating pitchers of 2009 in either league. His performance and his award brightens what was a disappointing season for the Royals.

"Zack Greinke has always been a potentially tremendous talent and we were all fortunate to watch him perform this past year," Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. "He was everything that he and all of us expected him someday to be."

Greinke, 26, became the third Cy Young winner in club history. Bret Saberhagen won in 1985 and 1989, and David Cone won in 1994. Cone was the only other starter to win the AL award with as few as 16 wins and he did it in a strike-shortened season. Brandon Webb was the last starter to win the National League award with so few wins, having gone 16-8 for Arizona in 2006.

"It's a great tribute to Zack and who is he is as a person and everything that he's had to battle through," Moore said. "It's a great story."

It sure is -- Greinke emerged from the shadow of a social anxiety disorder that took him away from the game for two months in 2006. He worked his way back to the Royals with a tour in the Minors that year and spent most of 2007 laboring in the bullpen. Back full force in 2008, he made 32 starts en route to a 13-10, 3.47 season that set the stage for this thunderous year.

Among other accomplishments, Greinke struck out 15 batters and threw a one-hitter in back-to-back outings in August as he headed toward a strong finish. He was 6-1 with a 1.75 ERA in his last 11 starts.

He attracted Cy Young notice from the beginning, winning his first six starts and registering a 0.40 ERA. Only legendary pitchers Walter Johnson in 1913 and Fernando Valenzuela in 1981 had won their first six starts while posting lower ERAs.

His strong getaway was helped by the development of a changeup, a pitch that successfully augmented his sizzling fastball and devastating slider. That was a Spring Training project that Greinke attacked with his usual single-minded zeal. Never mind that he got hammered in some exhibition games.

"He knew a changeup would make him better and he stuck with it," pitching coach Bob McClure said. "As the season progressed, it got better and better and better. He got more movement with it, it was much more comfortable, he was throwing it in all different counts."

There's no doubt that Greinke could have won 20 or more games with a bit more help. For one thing, the bullpen blew four leads after he'd left the game. For another, the Royals didn't score many runs for him. In the 17 starts in which he took a loss or had no decision, the Royals scored a total of 37 runs for him, just 2.2 per game, including only 15 runs in the eight losses (1.9).

Even so, he stood tall.

"If a player is going to win an award, you always have to look at whether or not he was dominant," Phillies scout Gordon Lakey said, "and, in his case, he was certainly dominant. You put him on a team with the offense the Yankees had or you put Sabathia on a team that doesn't have a lot of offense, the record would probably just be the opposite. They just didn't score a lot of runs for him but he had the ability to win close games even when they didn't score, especially early in the season."

Earlier, Greinke was named the AL's top pitcher by The Sporting News, the Players Association and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. At midseason, he was the Royals' only player in the All-Star Game and pitched a perfect inning in the AL's 4-3 victory in St. Louis.

Among other things this season, Greinke went through his first four starts and 29 innings before giving up an earned run and through his first 83 1/3 innings before giving up a home run.

His 242 strikeouts, second in the AL to Justin Verlander's 269, included the club-record 15 on Aug. 25 against the Indians.

"He was changing speeds with everything, whether it be his fastball, curveball or slider," said the Indians' Jamey Carroll, who struck out twice in that game. "He was throwing anything and everything up there at different speeds. There was no pattern, and we couldn't get in a rhythm."

Then, in his next start at Seattle, came a one-hitter -- the only hit a second-inning single. Greinke mowed down the last 22 Mariners he faced.

That made him just the fourth pitcher in history to follow a 15-strikeout game with a one-hitter, matching Pedro Martinez (1999), Randy Johnson (1998) and Vida Blue (1971).

His ability to command his pitches, moving the ball in-and-out, up-and-down with pinpoint accuracy, and to vary his speeds, was phenomenal.

"Not many guys command the fastball and throw the ball as hard as he does and yet be as comfortable throwing a 60-mph fastball as a 95-mph fastball," said Lakey, the scout.

There was one big scare for Greinke. On Sept. 17 at Detroit, he was drilled by a fourth-inning line drive just above his precious right elbow. But he finished five shutout innings before going for X-rays (which were negative) and made his pitching coach extremely proud.

"I'll tell you what -- that's a gamer right there," McClure said.

Greinke didn't miss a start and pitched six scoreless innings against the Red Sox in his next outing.

What Greinke did so well this season was to develop a knack of reading hitters and feeling what they were all about. It went beyond just firing away.

"Too many guys are just throwing it and not paying attention to what the hitter is doing or what he did previously on the last swing and they don't feel the hitter," McClure said. "And he's starting to feel the hitter and I think we're just seeing the top of the surface of what he's going to be able to do."

That, of course, was part of Greinke's maturing process, which was as noticeable in the clubhouse and the dugout as it was on the mound. He became more outgoing in a marked change from his earlier years.

"Zack was just super-shy and didn't want to have a relationship with anybody," teammate David DeJesus said. "And then last year he started morphing into a person who would take a chance and go out of his way and do something [with] someone. And then it came to this year when he was just a different person. He was playing cards and having fun. He was up on the [dugout] fence talking to guys in between his starts. It just seemed like he was having a fun time at the field. ... The anxiety [was gone]."

For Greinke there's another big event coming up on Saturday. He and longtime sweetheart Emily Kuchar will be married. The celebrations just keep coming.

**BigRedChief** · 11-17-2009, 01:17 PM

Congrats to Zack. Well deserved.

DMAC · 11-17-2009, 01:18 PM

You the man, Zack! Please stay put.

sedated · 11-17-2009, 01:18 PM

**Old Dog** · 11-17-2009, 01:18 PM

Results weren't even very close:
Greinke 134
Hernandez 80
Verlander 14
Sabathia 13

Frazod · 11-17-2009, 01:18 PM

Excellent.

**BigRedChief** · 11-17-2009, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frazod

Excellent.

Maybe next year we can see a Grienke vs. Pujols showdown?

Kraus · 11-17-2009, 01:22 PM

Congrats to Greinke... Good for him.

Demonpenz · 11-17-2009, 01:22 PM

sweet. Every Tuesday wednesday thursday friday and saturday and every other sunday will be Zack T-shirts to the crowd with historic T shirts with this win, monday will still be military monday, Thursdays willbe Prozack sponsered pill seperater day

KCUnited · 11-17-2009, 01:24 PM

Yes! Hopefully all this attention won't drive him back to the mower.

BigChiefFan · 11-17-2009, 01:24 PM

Wonderful news. He deserved it and I'm glad the voters took notice.

Mr. Laz · 11-17-2009, 01:25 PM

MoreLemonPledge · 11-17-2009, 01:27 PM

Well deserved.

sparkky · 11-17-2009, 01:31 PM

big congrats to Zach, it is well deserved.

it's a damn shame he doesn't have a better team around him but I'm glad he's in KC.
his starts are something Royals' fans can look forward to.

'Hamas' Jenkins · 11-17-2009, 01:38 PM

Congrats to Royals fans and my fantasy team, who Greinke basically carried to 450 bucks.

**gblowfish** · 11-17-2009, 01:51 PM

Not only does he win the Cy Young today, on Saturday night he'll be boinkin' this:

11-17-2009, 01:04 PM
Chiefspants World's Best Boss Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Bronco Country Casino cash: $5654654	Zack Greinke is the 2009 Cy Young Award Winner. YEEAAHHH! KANSAS CITY -- Zack Greinke won again on Tuesday -- this time taking the Cy Young Award as the American League's best pitcher. Mariners right-hander Felix Hernandez received two first-place votes and finished second in the balloting with 80 points. Tigers right-hander Justin Verlander received one first-place vote and placed third overall. Hernandez and Verlander each won 19 games, and there was a suggestion in some places that Greinke's 16-8 record, a rather modest win total for a Cy Young winner, might override his Major League-best ERA of 2.16. But that did not happen. Certainly, there was no argument that Greinke was one of the most dominating pitchers of 2009 in either league. His performance and his award brightens what was a disappointing season for the Royals. "Zack Greinke has always been a potentially tremendous talent and we were all fortunate to watch him perform this past year," Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. "He was everything that he and all of us expected him someday to be." Greinke, 26, became the third Cy Young winner in club history. Bret Saberhagen won in 1985 and 1989, and David Cone won in 1994. Cone was the only other starter to win the AL award with as few as 16 wins and he did it in a strike-shortened season. Brandon Webb was the last starter to win the National League award with so few wins, having gone 16-8 for Arizona in 2006. "It's a great tribute to Zack and who is he is as a person and everything that he's had to battle through," Moore said. "It's a great story." It sure is -- Greinke emerged from the shadow of a social anxiety disorder that took him away from the game for two months in 2006. He worked his way back to the Royals with a tour in the Minors that year and spent most of 2007 laboring in the bullpen. Back full force in 2008, he made 32 starts en route to a 13-10, 3.47 season that set the stage for this thunderous year. Among other accomplishments, Greinke struck out 15 batters and threw a one-hitter in back-to-back outings in August as he headed toward a strong finish. He was 6-1 with a 1.75 ERA in his last 11 starts. He attracted Cy Young notice from the beginning, winning his first six starts and registering a 0.40 ERA. Only legendary pitchers Walter Johnson in 1913 and Fernando Valenzuela in 1981 had won their first six starts while posting lower ERAs. His strong getaway was helped by the development of a changeup, a pitch that successfully augmented his sizzling fastball and devastating slider. That was a Spring Training project that Greinke attacked with his usual single-minded zeal. Never mind that he got hammered in some exhibition games. "He knew a changeup would make him better and he stuck with it," pitching coach Bob McClure said. "As the season progressed, it got better and better and better. He got more movement with it, it was much more comfortable, he was throwing it in all different counts." There's no doubt that Greinke could have won 20 or more games with a bit more help. For one thing, the bullpen blew four leads after he'd left the game. For another, the Royals didn't score many runs for him. In the 17 starts in which he took a loss or had no decision, the Royals scored a total of 37 runs for him, just 2.2 per game, including only 15 runs in the eight losses (1.9). Even so, he stood tall. "If a player is going to win an award, you always have to look at whether or not he was dominant," Phillies scout Gordon Lakey said, "and, in his case, he was certainly dominant. You put him on a team with the offense the Yankees had or you put Sabathia on a team that doesn't have a lot of offense, the record would probably just be the opposite. They just didn't score a lot of runs for him but he had the ability to win close games even when they didn't score, especially early in the season." Earlier, Greinke was named the AL's top pitcher by The Sporting News, the Players Association and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. At midseason, he was the Royals' only player in the All-Star Game and pitched a perfect inning in the AL's 4-3 victory in St. Louis. Among other things this season, Greinke went through his first four starts and 29 innings before giving up an earned run and through his first 83 1/3 innings before giving up a home run. His 242 strikeouts, second in the AL to Justin Verlander's 269, included the club-record 15 on Aug. 25 against the Indians. "He was changing speeds with everything, whether it be his fastball, curveball or slider," said the Indians' Jamey Carroll, who struck out twice in that game. "He was throwing anything and everything up there at different speeds. There was no pattern, and we couldn't get in a rhythm." Then, in his next start at Seattle, came a one-hitter -- the only hit a second-inning single. Greinke mowed down the last 22 Mariners he faced. That made him just the fourth pitcher in history to follow a 15-strikeout game with a one-hitter, matching Pedro Martinez (1999), Randy Johnson (1998) and Vida Blue (1971). His ability to command his pitches, moving the ball in-and-out, up-and-down with pinpoint accuracy, and to vary his speeds, was phenomenal. "Not many guys command the fastball and throw the ball as hard as he does and yet be as comfortable throwing a 60-mph fastball as a 95-mph fastball," said Lakey, the scout. There was one big scare for Greinke. On Sept. 17 at Detroit, he was drilled by a fourth-inning line drive just above his precious right elbow. But he finished five shutout innings before going for X-rays (which were negative) and made his pitching coach extremely proud. "I'll tell you what -- that's a gamer right there," McClure said. Greinke didn't miss a start and pitched six scoreless innings against the Red Sox in his next outing. What Greinke did so well this season was to develop a knack of reading hitters and feeling what they were all about. It went beyond just firing away. "Too many guys are just throwing it and not paying attention to what the hitter is doing or what he did previously on the last swing and they don't feel the hitter," McClure said. "And he's starting to feel the hitter and I think we're just seeing the top of the surface of what he's going to be able to do." That, of course, was part of Greinke's maturing process, which was as noticeable in the clubhouse and the dugout as it was on the mound. He became more outgoing in a marked change from his earlier years. "Zack was just super-shy and didn't want to have a relationship with anybody," teammate David DeJesus said. "And then last year he started morphing into a person who would take a chance and go out of his way and do something [with] someone. And then it came to this year when he was just a different person. He was playing cards and having fun. He was up on the [dugout] fence talking to guys in between his starts. It just seemed like he was having a fun time at the field. ... The anxiety [was gone]." For Greinke there's another big event coming up on Saturday. He and longtime sweetheart Emily Kuchar will be married. The celebrations just keep coming. Last edited by Chiefspants; 11-17-2009 at 01:12 PM.. Reason: I thought it was wise to include the story.
Posts: 18,353

11-17-2009, 01:17 PM	#16
BigRedChief Has a particular set of skills Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: On the water Casino cash: $2889627 VARSITY	Congrats to Zack. Well deserved. __________________ Time is worth more than money.
Posts: 79,206

11-17-2009, 01:18 PM	#17
DMAC MVP Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Springfield, MO Casino cash: $10008735	You the man, Zack! Please stay put.
Posts: 11,651

11-17-2009, 01:18 PM	#19
Old Dog Supporter Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: North Central Kansas Casino cash: $4575131	Results weren't even very close: Greinke 134 Hernandez 80 Verlander 14 Sabathia 13
Posts: 10,675

11-17-2009, 01:18 PM	#20
Frazod WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS Join Date: Aug 2000 Casino cash: $2875085	Excellent.
Posts: 119,526

11-17-2009, 01:22 PM	#22
Kraus Media Center Guy Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Blue Springs, MO Casino cash: $10005364	Congrats to Greinke... Good for him. __________________
Posts: 3,322

11-17-2009, 01:22 PM	#23
Demonpenz Woman should only make babies Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Apartment "G UNIT!" Casino cash: $2982136	sweet. Every Tuesday wednesday thursday friday and saturday and every other sunday will be Zack T-shirts to the crowd with historic T shirts with this win, monday will still be military monday, Thursdays willbe Prozack sponsered pill seperater day __________________
Posts: 54,298

11-17-2009, 01:24 PM	#24
KCUnited Cheat Death Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Land of Drincoln Casino cash: $2038244	Yes! Hopefully all this attention won't drive him back to the mower.
Posts: 34,053

11-17-2009, 01:24 PM	#25
BigChiefFan MVP Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: In the Top 10 Casino cash: $9924205	Wonderful news. He deserved it and I'm glad the voters took notice. __________________ A 35 year drought can make you thirsty.
Posts: 15,777

11-17-2009, 01:25 PM	#26
Mr. Laz Don't Tease Me Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: KS Casino cash: $11047037	__________________
Posts: 95,626

11-17-2009, 01:27 PM	#27
MoreLemonPledge M-I-Z S-E-C Join Date: Apr 2009 Casino cash: $10004927	Well deserved. __________________
Posts: 6,039

11-17-2009, 01:31 PM	#28
sparkky Veteran Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Arkansas Casino cash: $10004900	big congrats to Zach, it is well deserved. it's a damn shame he doesn't have a better team around him but I'm glad he's in KC. his starts are something Royals' fans can look forward to.
Posts: 1,090

11-17-2009, 01:38 PM	#29
'Hamas' Jenkins Now you've pissed me off! Join Date: Jan 2006 Casino cash: $7959572	Congrats to Royals fans and my fantasy team, who Greinke basically carried to 450 bucks. __________________ "When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read 'all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics.' When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty – to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocrisy.”--Abraham Lincoln
Posts: 74,847

11-17-2009, 01:51 PM	#30
gblowfish Be Kind To Your Pets Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Glorious Independence, MO Casino cash: $17606178 VARSITY	Not only does he win the Cy Young today, on Saturday night he'll be boinkin' this: Attached Thumbnails
Posts: 40,843