Royals Greinke finds comfort zone

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“He’s always had it in him. He’s always had the stuff, and you’d see glimpses of it. But it was a matter of which Zack you were going to get on any given day.”

Maturity played a role, undoubtedly. Greinke was one of the youngest players in franchise history when he reached the big leagues at age 20 in 2004. And it showed.

He was the prodigy who didn’t quite fit in.

“When you’re a rookie in the big leagues,” Buck said, “there are rules and things that, in the fraternity of baseball, you’ve got to deal with. Sometimes, the stuff is kind of petty, and Zack’s not much about that. I think that added a little to his unhappiness.

“He’s cut and dried. He’ll tell you how he feels. As a rookie, that’s not always the type of attitude they want you to have. So that just made stuff worse.”

Greinke’s untreated insecurities served to isolate him further from his teammates until everything came to a head in late February 2006. He fled spring camp and returned home, convinced his career was over.

And not really caring that it was.

Counseling, diagnosis and treatment took several months. When he returned, it was not to the big leagues but Class AA Wichita, where his teammates included Alex Gordon, Billy Butler and Luke Hochevar. Guys his own age.

Greinke found professional baseball, for the first time in his life, didn’t have to be drudgery. More than that, he truly enjoyed himself. It was something of a first-kiss epiphany.

“You sometimes feel like Zack’s been around forever,” Bannister said, “but he’s still young. I still don’t know what my potential is. I’m still going out there every fifth day and learning about myself and learning how I can be better by making adjustments.

“But I feel comfortable. I think that’s where Zack is, too.”

Greinke is still just 24 and the future, once again, seems a starburst of possibilities.

“A lot of it is me doing stuff,” he said, “but that medicine I take has worked wonders. It’s not like I’ve become the friendliest guy in the world or that I joke around all of the time, but I don’t get stressed out hardly at all anymore.

“And I don’t hate being where I’m at. I’m a lot more comfortable now in whatever situation I’m in. That makes it a lot easier.”

And fun. Don’t forget fun.

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