K C Diary

The Kansas City Royals and Zack Greinke should be synonymous in 2009, as the only newsworthy item to speak of when it comes to the Kansas City Royals is Zack Greinke. Therefore, most of this article will focus on the Royals' ace, as the season he's had is simply incredible.

Before putting the focus back onto Greinke, let's quickly give a plug to Billy Butler, whose .299 average, 18 home runs, and 99 runs batted in aren't so bad at all for someone who's just 23 years old. Billy Butler has a bright future at the 1st base position.

Butler aside, there's really not much to talk about but the exceptional pitching of Zack Greinke. Greinke is responsible for 14 of the Royals' 61 wins thus far, so you can imagine just how bad the team would be without him this year.

Greinke, always a pitcher known to have solid potential, has exceeded any and all expectations placed upon him in 2009. I can't remember the last time a pitcher has put up such incredible numbers, at least not involving steroid use (i.e. Roger Clemens). It's easily been several years.

Greinke's 2.14 ERA is simply exceptional. His nearest competitor in the category is King Felix Hernandez with the Mariners (another incredibly talented young pitcher), and Hernandez sits at 2.45. Greinke has hands down dominated his opponents this season. Perhaps the showcase of this all is his August 25th win over Cleveland that saw the ace throw 15 strikeouts in one game. Wow!

If Greinke doesn't win the Cy Young this season, my faith in baseball will be lost some more.

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Royals - Badge (1976)