Zack Greinke wins AL Cy Young Award
Posted on November 17, 2009
Zack Greinke of the Kansas City Royals pitches during the game against the Oakland Athletics at the McAfee Coliseum in Oakland, California on April 19, 2008. (Photo by Brad Mangin)
When I heard the news late this morning that Kansas City Royals pitcher Zack Greinke had been awarded the American League Cy Young award for his fantastic 2009 season I was very happy. Greinke was a can’t miss prospect coming out of high school, and I was fortunate to be working in Oakland for Sports Illustrated on May 22, 2004 when Greinke made his Major League Debut at age 20 against the Oakland A’s.
It is always exciting to have the chance to shoot a phenom’s big league debut, and I can remember his first start in that awful black top like it was yesterday. I was still shooting with a Canon 1D digital camera back then, but luckily we always shoot in RAW so the files still look pretty good.
Greinke went 8-11 his rookie year with a 3.97 ERA, showing promise for a very bright future. Unfortunately Greinke ran into some tough times over the next several years dealing with personal problems. Since I had shot his debut on Oakland and like watching him throw, I always rooted for Greinke to make a comeback and prove to everyone that he was the pitcher everyone thought he would be when he came up to The Show back in 2004.
Because the Royals hold their spring training in Surprise, Arizona I usually end up shooting Greinke every spring down there. I especially love shooting him at their home ballpark- the wonderful Surprise Stadium that always has great light and great backgrounds, especially from upstairs with the rich infield dirt and the ultra green grass (see above).
Greinke was always one of those guys who we were working on a story about at Sports Illustrated. I shot him for my editor Nate Gordon in Oakland early during the 2008 season for a possible story about everything he had been through to resurrect his career (see above). The story did not run in 2008, but it was fun having the chance to shoot him again in Oakland.
The 2009 season started for me in spring training on a wonderful late February afternoon at Scottsdale Stadium when I was assigned to shoot Randy Johnson’s first game in a Giants uniform. I had my buddy Joe Gosen at the ballpark with me acting as my assistant. My main job was to run all over the park during the first two innings to shoot Johnson from as many angles as possible. The Big Unit’s opponent that glorious day in Scottsdale? None other than Zack Greinke. I managed to get off a few frames of Greinke while he was in there- including the one above.
I did not have a chance to shoot Greinke during the regular season in 2009- but Sports Illustrated finally did that story on him. It was a cover story that was so beautifully photographed by my good friend Robert Beck. Now that he has won the Cy Young award there will be more pressure on him to live up to the high expectations of the fans. I hope he is able to deliver. I look forward to photographing him again during a Cactus League game in 2010.
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