Zack Greinke lost interesting bet with Royals teammate
Oct 11, 2019; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher Zack Greinke (21) speaks to the media before the Houston Astros and New York Yankees work out at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports
Zack Greinke continues to be one of the zaniest dudes in baseball.
Kansas City Royals rookie Drew Waters went yard for the very first time in his MLB career on Monday against the Cleveland Guardians. Waters hit a two-run homer off Triston McKenzie that tied the game at 2-2 in the fifth.
First Major League HR for Drew Waters!
Touch em all! pic.twitter.com/LSrveqVPLi
— Starting 9 (@Starting9) September 6, 2022
After the game, Waters revealed that the homer won him a bet he previously made with his veteran teammate Greinke, who had wagered that Waters would not hit a home run this season.
“[It was] probably [prompted by] a lot of [my] rollovers,” said Waters, per Anne Rogers of MLB.com. “I was like, ‘All right, I hope he’s not putting the bad juju on me.’ But as soon as I went deep, he was the one guy that I was looking for in the dugout.
“He was like, ‘That’s awesome. Nice swing. I owe you,'” Waters added about Greinke. “So that was good.”
Waters also revealed that it was $100 that he won from Greinke in the bet.
For the former Cy Young winner Greinke, 38, that is a pretty unusual bet to make with your own teammate. Maybe he was trying to give the 23-year-old Waters some extra motivation to perform well. Or maybe Greinke simply did not believe in the pop of Waters (who hit just 44 home runs over five total seasons in the minors prior to being called up in August).
By now though, we know to expect the unexpected with Greinke. That holds true with both Greinke’s betting habits as well as with his pitching habits.
