Zack Greinke, being awesome instead of sad
I got a hold of this Zack Greinke article via Deadspin on Friday, and after nine more shutout innings later that night, I think it’s even more appropriate to draw some attention to it. I’ve followed Greinke’s career the past couple seasons after his hiatus for much of 2006 (and touched briefly on it in this, which I wrote a few weeks ago about Dontrelle Willis), and it’s great to see what he’s doing. If you don’t have time to read the Greinke article, here’s the Coles Notes version: First round pick in 2002, showed promise his rookie season (2004) before bombing his second year, then walked away the next spring for personal reasons. Turned out he suffers from social anxiety disorder and was battling depression. After taking most of 2006 off, he returned and was solid the past two seasons, finishing 2008 with a 13-10 mark and a 3.47 ERA. This year, however, he’s been lights out: In four starts, Greinke is 4-0 and yet to give up an earned run in 29 innings. Quite remarkable, I’d say.
The article compares Greinke’s comeback to that of Josh Hamilton, though somewhat unfairly, since they’re different circumstances. Both comebacks are inspiring in their own right. With that said, I’ll leave Hamilton out of the rest of this and say something about Greinke and what he’s done: He’s overcome a disease he did nothing to bring upon himself, one that a lot of people and even fellow-sufferers are in the dark about, and turned himself into one of the game’s best pitchers. Here’s hoping the young man keeps it up…
