|
It's official. Zack Greinke is your 2009 American League Cy Young Award winner.
Here's how the voting went:
So he wasn't a unanimous number one. Big freaking deal. He got the most points and that's all that counts. I'll leave someone else to do put the pitchfork to the three who didn't give him their first place vote.
In many ways, Greinke’s award is not only a validation of his excellent season, it’s a validation of what we went through as fans in 2009. Or at least, that’s what it feels like to me. As a group, all of us have been so excited by theprospect of Greinke winning the Cy Young. We wished each other Happy Greinke Day on his starts and hung letters for ZacKKKKKK to celebrate his punch-outs. How many of you, once the season was over for the Royals (according to the calendar, not the standings) immediately went to the calendar and circled this date?
I did.
That’s because in 2009, Zack Greinke meant everything to the fan base of the Royals. His starts were special. Part of the reason is because he was so damn great. Obviously. However, another part I think has to do with his journey. The guy went to hell and back. He quit baseball and wanted to do nothing more than eat Chipotle and mow lawns. Then he came back. He wobbled at times and even when he returned, we weren’t really sure if he would ever be able to put everything together and realize his awesome potential.
Damn, how many times have we seen the spectacular flameouts over the last 20 years? Guys like Joe Vitiello, Jeff Austin, Michael Tucker and Kyle Snyder. All were high draft picks and all bombed out in one way or another. We knew from the start that Greinke was different, but despite the gap in talent, we weren’t sure how this story would play out. Greinke had all the tools to be a stud pitcher in the major leagues. That was obvious from the moment he arrived. What wasn’t so obvious was if he had the mentality to focus and harness those talents to become a quality pitcher.
So maybe that’s why we’re so heavily invested in the success of Zack Greinke. His story isn’t so different from so many of ours: He didn’t like his job, left, came back, was still unsure about his place and then, at some point, gained a clarity and focus. And found success.
That’s what makes his story so great. He walked away from the game. Walked away. And thanks to the efforts of Buddy Bell and Allard Baird, Greinke was slowly brought back into the fold - on his terms and his timetable. I’m not a fan of either Bell or Baird, but I sure as hell respect the way they handled the kid during his darkest times. I hope they are having a little celebration of their own today, because I will always be convinced that without their patience and understanding from a few years ago, Grienke wouldn’t be at the top of his profession today.
I’m not gonna lie… The 2009 season was my most difficult as a fan. The bone-headed trades, the condescending attitude from the front office, the manager who is unbelievably dense, watching Yuniesky Betancourt play defense, and loss after loss… This was simply a horrible season. From the moment Kyle Farnsworth grooved a fastball to Jim Thome in April to watching Mark Teahen misplay a fly ball in the Metrodome in October, this season was a comedy of errors. It was the worst fundamental baseball I’ve ever seen.
Yet, I couldn’t wait for every fifth day to roll around because it was Greinke Day.
Answer this question: What would you have done if Greinke wasn’t on the Royals this year? Wow. That’s just a scary thought. A similar question would be something like, “What would things be like without the sun?” Or, “Imagine you’ve never eaten pizza.”
Some things you just don’t want to contemplate. Greinke not pitching is one of them.
He salvaged a portion of this unsalvagable season. He was the only reason to watch this otherwise wretched team. He mattered. By extension, he made us care. Even if it was only six times a month, we cared. I watched game 161 as if it were a freaking playoff game. I wanted to smash my TV when Willie Bloomquist hobbled after that ball down the left field line and when Teahen took that bizarre route in right field that cost Greinke the win and the shot at posting the sub 2.00 ERA. My team is 20 games out of first and I’m hanging on every pitch on the second to last game of the season. Why? Because Greinke matters.
I bounce back and forth between the relevance of the BBWAA awards. Sometimes, the writers get these awards horribly, horribly wrong. Other times, they show some surprising insight and savvy and make a quality selection. The fear - and it was real - was Greinke could be denied this award because of his paucity of wins. Just insane really, unless these writers are voting for best pitcher for fantasy baseball, wins are a an irrelevant stat for pitchers. Today, most of those writers - enough to give Greinke the most points - made the correct selection. I applaud them. Today.
Greinke has been justly rewarded for his outstanding season, but it’s as if we’ve all been rewarded. As fans, we always feel a connection to those who wear the blue, but I think our connection to Grienke runs deeper than usual. We know where he’s come from. And now we know where he’s going. Happy Greinke Day.
Thanks, Zack.
|
Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics. 
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site.. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account! 
Comments
Glory, Glory, Hallelujah!!!!
Way to go Zack!!!!
Kudos indeed go to Allard Baird and Buddy Bell. They could have dumped all their troubles on this kid but instead took the high road to help a scared and confused kid get his bearings in a tough business.