ABINGDON, Va. – The guy many consider to be one of the best pitchers in baseball teed off at Glenrochie Country Club on Thursday afternoon.
Kansas City Royals ace and potential American League Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke was the headliner of the fifth annual Andrew Mullins Memorial Golf Tournament.
It was the fourth time Greinke had played in the charity event, hosted by Bristol native Jimmy Gobble, his former teammate with the Royals.
But Greinke had never been in town with this much fanfare.
He was 16-8 with a 2.16 ERA in 33 starts and struck out 242 batters this season for the Royals. He won his first six decisions, pitched a scoreless inning in the All-Star Game and was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
The shy, resonant 25-year-old isn’t crazy about giving interviews, but he became the center of attention during the season and emerged as one of Major League Baseball’s most popular young stars.
“I don’t like it, but you kind of get used to it after a little bit,” Greinke said of the media attention. “I get a lot from the news people and stuff, but not much from the fans in the real world. Back home in Orlando, nobody even says anything to me, so that makes it a lot better.”
Gobble, who was Greinke’s teammate in Kansas City from 2004-08, was not surprised by Greinke’s level of success.
“Greinke’s always had it in him to have an absolutely phenomenal season,” Gobble said. “What he did this year with his command and his slider, I mean, he’s pretty deadly.”
After being released by Kansas City in spring training, Gobble hooked on with the Chicago White Sox and appeared in 12 big league games.
He also got a new perspective on Greinke’s achievements.
“It was actually, sitting on the other side, fun to watch him pitch and hearing the guys talk about, literally, how hard he is to hit,” Gobble said. “It pays dividends to work as hard as he has and done as well as he’s done. It showed this year and hopefully, he can continue that success and help the Royals get on the right track.”
While many are predicting Greinke to take home the AL Cy Young Award next month, he has a bigger date in mind. He and longtime girlfriend Emily Kuchar are getting married next month. That’s been the focus of his offseason thus far.
“[The last six months] have been pretty good,” Greinke said. “I’m mainly just enjoying my time with Emily and my family and getting ready for the wedding. I’m getting married next month, so that will be nice when that day finally comes.”
Thirty-three teams participated in Thursday's event and all proceeds were given to the Johnston Memorial Hospital Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Everyone knows about Greinke’s dominance on the mound. As for his golf game …
“It was actually a little rocky today,” Gobble said. “Zack’s a pretty good golfer and I don’t think he played up to his capabilites and I’m sure he would tell you the same thing. But he played all right.”
thayes@bristolnews.com|(276) 645-2570
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