I listen to almost every Kansas City Royals game on 610 KCSP-AM. Insert joke here about how they are so bad, you wouldn’t be able to watch them on TV without spewing your lunch all over your shoes.
While that may be partly true, as seven consecutive losing seasons would indicate, the real reason is because of the ridiculous local black out policy of Bally Sports. Which is a completely different article entirely.
One absolute bright spot of listening via radio is the broadcast team. Denny Matthews has been calling games since 1969, the first season in franchise history. Grizzled vet with the experience and vernacular of a true old-schooler. I love him and the entire crew; Ryan Lefebvre, Steve Physioc, Jake Eisenberg, and Steve Stewart.
During games that Zack Greinke starts, or is even mentioned as an upcoming starter, the broadcast team and certain Royals marketing promotions refer to Zack Greinke as a “future Hall of Famer.”
I get it – they need to sell tickets to an otherwise uninspiring collection of players.
And with owner John Sherman‘s perceived belligerence and ensuing insistence that Kauffman Stadium needs to be torn down because of “concrete cancer” that does/doesn’t exist depending on who you ask, there are not many positives to sell or focus on.
Salvador Perez being the lone holdover from the 2015 World Series champion being the only other marketable player and angle. If it weren’t for Shohei Otani (more on him later), Salvy would’ve won the 2021 American League MVP Award.
Is Zack Greinke a Hall of Famer? Does he deserve to make the MLB Hall of Fame?
Not if you look at this season.
In 2023, Greinke is in the middle of what projects to be the worst season of his pro baseball pitching career.
Through 18 starts, he is 1-9 with a robust 5.44 ERA. The only comparably bad season is 2005. Greinke was 5-17 with a 5.80 ERA.
That was for a horrible 56-win team. In 2023 the Royals are even worse, with just 26 wins a week before the All-Star Game.
If Zack Attack is able to equal the 5 win total of ’05 with the ’23 version of the Royals, it would take a Herculean effort.
So what makes a Hall of Famer? What’s the criteria?
Here is the fine print from Baseball Hall of Fame website:
Voting: Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.
It is definitely a nebulous definition. So let’s break each one down in the case of Greinke as best we can.
Player’s Record: As of this writing (7/4/23), Zack Greinke’s record during his 20-year career is 224-150 with a 3.48 ERA and 2,946 strikeouts.
Playing Ability:
6× All-Star (2009, 2014, 2015, 2017–2019)
All-MLB Second Team (2019)
AL Cy Young Award (2009)
6× Gold Glove Award (2014–2019)
2× Silver Slugger Award (2013, 2019)
2× MLB ERA leader (2009, 2015)
The Silver Slugger award denotes the best hitter in the game by position. (Mark) Prior to writing this piece, I didn’t realize how good of a hitter he has been.
In 521 at bats, he sports a .225 average with 9 homeruns and 34 RBI. The 2023 Royals are batting .233 as a team in 2023.
He also has hit for the “cycle” of sorts with 29 doubles and 1 triple. He’s also stolen 9 bases on 10 attempts.
Integrity, Sportsmanship, Character: I’m lumping all of these together because it is a bunch of word-salad/synonyms your third grade English teacher would be proud that you knew were synonyms.
Zack Greinke has long been known as one of the MLBs greatest weirdos. Which is why people love him. And why some people do not love him.
Here’s a link to a video “How Zack Greinke Became The Weirdest Player In Sports” that is very good.
He also allegedly pretended to sign a kid’s ball and instead threw it into the stratosphere. Which I find hilarious. He has a great, very DRY sense of humor. How else could he tolerate pitching for the Royals for so long?
Contributions to the Team: Greinke has been in eight different MLB playoffs pitching in 17 different series. He has started 21 games. His record is 4-6 with a 4.14 ERA. He has appeared in two separate World Series.
He entered Game 5 of the 2021 World Series as a pinch-hitter and recorded a hit, being the first pitcher to have a pinch hit in a World Series game since Jack Bentley of the New York Giants in 1923.
How much should longevity be weighted in considering HOF status?
Hall of Fame Player Comparisons
In order to round out my understanding of his place in history, I looked to the recent past. Who were the most recent starting pitchers to be inducted in the HOF?
In 2022 Jim Kaat was inducted. Check out how compares to Greinke:
| Rk | Name | From | To | Age | W | L | W-L% | ERA | G | GS | GF | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | IBB | SO | HBP | BK | WP | BF | ERA+ | FIP | WHIP | H9 | HR9 | BB9 | SO9 | SO/W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jim Kaat | 1959 | 1983 | 20-44 | 283 | 237 | .544 | 3.45 | 898 | 625 | 102 | 180 | 31 | 17 | 4530.1 | 4620 | 2038 | 1738 | 395 | 1083 | 116 | 2461 | 122 | 6 | 128 | 19023 | 108 | 3.41 | 1.259 | 9.2 | 0.8 | 2.2 | 4.9 | 2.27 |
| 2 | Zack Greinke | 2004 | 2023 | 20-39 | 224 | 149 | .601 | 3.47 | 573 | 531 | 8 | 17 | 5 | 1 | 3334.1 | 3149 | 1380 | 1285 | 357 | 752 | 25 | 2943 | 77 | 6 | 101 | 13650 | 121 | 3.50 | 1.170 | 8.5 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 7.9 | 3.91 |
In 2019, Roy Halladay was inducted. Here is the comparison for each:
| Rk | Name | From | To | Age | W | L | W-L% | ERA | G | GS | GF | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | IBB | SO | HBP | BK | WP | BF | ERA+ | FIP | WHIP | H9 | HR9 | BB9 | SO9 | SO/W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roy Halladay | 1998 | 2013 | 21-36 | 203 | 105 | .659 | 3.38 | 416 | 390 | 6 | 67 | 20 | 1 | 2749.1 | 2646 | 1135 | 1034 | 236 | 592 | 28 | 2117 | 81 | 9 | 56 | 11287 | 131 | 3.39 | 1.178 | 8.7 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 6.9 | 3.58 |
| 2 | Zack Greinke | 2004 | 2023 | 20-39 | 224 | 149 | .601 | 3.47 | 573 | 531 | 8 | 17 | 5 | 1 | 3334.1 | 3149 | 1380 | 1285 | 357 | 752 | 25 | 2943 | 77 | 6 | 101 | 13650 | 121 | 3.50 | 1.170 | 8.5 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 7.9 | 3.91 |
In the case of Kaat, it is difficulty to compare apples to apples. Kaat dominates in wins, complete games, shutouts., innings.
But it was a different era where workhorse pitchers were the norm. Greinke smokes him in strikeouts and walks. Kaat’s 25-year career is insane. Greinke’s 20-year career and counting is equally impressive.
Versus Halladay, I can’t tell if Greinke’s Hall of Fame campaign gets stronger or weaker.
Halladay wins in ERA, complete games, shutouts. And he won nearly as many games in 25% less the time. He also pitched on bigger stages and was as clutch as they come, as his playoff perfect game indicates.
Will Zack Greinke Make The Hall of Fame?
I wrote this piece as a way to consolidate my thoughts on if he is HOF worthy. He definitely is, there is no question about that.
I was stoked to see Greinke’s start against the California Angels on 6/18/23. He faced off against Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. As a Royals fan, you go to the games to watch the other teams.
Ohtani and Trout hit back to back homeruns in this game off Zack. I even caught the Shohei bomb in this video:
I left the game and listened to the Royals postgame on the radio as I left Kauffman Stadium.
Josh Vernier summed up the day by saying, “we lost a close one today, but you got to see three sure-fire Hall of Famers – Trout, Ohtani, and Greinke.”
Did we really though? Or, did I just see this generation’s Bert Blyleven? If we did, than Greinke will get into the HOF.
Since it is universally accepted that no pitcher will ever eclipse 300 wins again, you take the next best thing.
And Zack Greinke is probably that.
