Royals fans salute Zack Greinke in what could be one of his final starts in Kansas City

Pete Grathoff
Jay Biggerstaff/USA TODAY Sports

Zack Greinke handed the ball to manager Matt Quatraro, stepped off the mound and strolled toward the Royals dugout on Wednesday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium.

The cheers started immediately and many of the 12,162 fans stood in a show of their appreciation during the Royals’ 6-2 win over Cleveland. Greinke waved in acknowledgment of the support.

“That was nice,” Greinke said. “Getting close to the end of the season so it was cool.”

Greinke, who turns 40 next month, didn’t offer much when asked about his future. This is his 20th season in Major League Baseball, and it could be his last.

For many fans at The K on Wednesday, it could have been their last chance to see him pitch. However, shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. thinks Greinke is scheduled to pitch the Royals’ season finale against the Yankees on Oct. 1 at Kauffman Stadium.

There is one potential hiccup. Greinke said Wednesday his elbow didn’t feel normal at the start of the second inning, although he stayed in the game.

“I think it’s good, but it was kind of weird,” Greinke said. “So (hopefully) that starts feeling good, which I think it will.”

A sterling career

There’s not much Greinke hasn’t accomplished in his career. After being selected sixth overall in the 2002 draft by the Royals, Greinke made his big-league debut two years later.

Greinke has won a Cy Young Award, two ERA titles and six Gold Glove awards. With 2,972 career strikeouts, he’s tantalizingly close to a major milestone. Greinke had five strikeouts Wednesday and moved into fourth place on the Royals’ all-time strikeout list.

  1. Kevin Appier 1,458

  2. Mark Gubicza 1,366

  3. Dennis Leonard 1,323

  4. Zack Greinke 1,094

  5. Bret Saberhagen 1,093

Greinke was sent to the Brewers following the 2010 season in a trade that brought two future ALCS MVPs to the Royals: Lorenzo Cain and Alcides Escobar (among others).

After nearly two seasons in Milwaukee, Greinke went on to pitch for the Angels, Dodgers, Diamondbacks and Astros. He returned to the Royals ahead of the 2022 season in part because of the fans.

“They’ve always been great,” he said. “That was a big reason why I wanted to come back to hopefully start winning the next couple years, because the city seemed different when I came back, when the team was doing good, how much energy was in the city just walking around. So hopefully we start playing good again.”

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