Usually when players speak up at team meetings, it’s to rally the troops with an inspirational speech. That’s not the case for Zack Greinke.
In Molly Knight’s new book about the Dodgers “The Best Team Money Can Buy,” she includes an awesome anecdote about Greinke speaking up at a team meeting. Greinke elected to address the issue of players not washing their hands after pooping. Seriously.
Craig Calcaterra posted about the story on Hardball Talk:
It has to do with a team meeting held as the Dodgers stumbled just prior to clinching the NL West in 2013. Don Mattingly called the meeting and told his charges to loosen up. Then, in an unprecedented move, because he never speaks out like this, Zack Greinke stood up. “I’ve got something to say,” he said. The room was quiet.
“Some of you guys have been doing the number two and not washing your hands. It’s not good. I noticed it even happening earlier today. So if you guys could just be better about it, that would be great.”
Greinke sat down. The team wasn’t sure if he was serious. When they realized he was, they laughed. Then they took the field, far looser than they had been, and went out and beat the Dbacks. Two days later they clinched the division and jumped in the Dbacks pool.
How do you like that? Zack Greinke unintentionally becoming a hero in the Dodgers’ 2013 season.
Greinke is a shy guy who has anxiety issues and therefore does not talk a great deal in public. But when he does, we’ve learned that he does not at all hold back. He almost plays that Kramer role in “Seinfeld”; have an uncomfortable issue that needs to be addressed? Just let Greinke bring it up. And don’t get mad at him for addressing it; he probably felt comfortable knowing he was in the tree of trust.
