Early Life and High School
Greinke was born in Orlando, Florida, the son of Marsha Ann (née Wilkin) and Donald Ray Greinke. He has a younger brother, Luke. Don was a history teacher who stressed the importance of education for the Greinke kids. Zack experienced social anxiety at school, finding it hard to "fit in" with his peers.
When Greinke started playing baseball at Apopka High School, he was an infielder with a powerful bat and did not pitch at all. He looked up to slugger Mark McGwire. By the end of his high school career, he had batted over .400 and hit 31 home runs.
Greinke became a pitcher by accident, as an experiment to see if his strong throwing arm would result in him being a good pitcher. As a senior in 2002, Greinke compiled a 9–2 record, a 0.55 ERA, and 118 strikeouts in 63 innings. After being named the Gatorade National Player of the Year, he was selected in the first round of the 2002 draft.
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