Kansas City Royals

One question, hundreds of answers: Which Royal had the greatest offensive season at his position?

Major League baseball has been asking fans this same question in an effort to choose each team's best-ever collection of stars.

They are calling it MLB 9s.

If you knew nothing about the path 23-year-old Aaron Crow took after entering the 2008 draft, you would probably just assume that he’d already be making an impact in the Major Leagues. 

Armed with a fastball that can touch the mid-90s, as well as a slider (which mlb.com called his best pitch) and changeup, that would’ve been a fair assessment after he was selected ninth overall by the Washington Nationals.

The results are in and, as many predicted, Zack Greinke has won the 2009 American League Cy Young Award .

He has also claimed:

Sporting News AL Pitcher of the Year

Bullet Logan Award—Negro Leagues

AL's Outstanding Pitcher—Player's Choice Award

KC Royals Pitcher of the Year

Cool.

What does all of this mean for me?

Starting pitcher Zack Greinke of the Kansas City Royals has won the American League Cy Young Award, defeating Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners and Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers.

Greinke pitched for the Spokane Indians in 2002 for his first season.

Greinke compiled a record of 16-8, an ERA of 2.16 and a WHIP of 1.073, as opposed the record of Hernandez at 19-5, an ERA of 2.49 and a WHIP of 1.135.

Zack Greinke's win of the 2009 Cy Young Award should be considered one of the best accomplishments in recent baseball history.

The Kansas City Royals weren't a bad team in 2009, they were awful. Greinke's dominance on a 97-loss team speaks to his greatness.

The Royals are in the very competitive but winnable AL Central. Any great team needs an "ace" of the pitching staff to always depend on, but the Royals have almost an entire roster full of holes to fill in order to compete with Minnesota, Detroit, and Chicago.

Kansas City Royals' ace pitcher Zack Greinke was deservedly awarded the 2009 American League Cy Young Award Tuesday afternoon.

Greinke, 26, who received 25 first-place votes and three seconds for 134 points, went 16-8 and he posted a 2.16 ERA for the putrid Royals (65-97).

I contemplated preparing something in advance for the occasion of Zack Greinke winning the Cy Young, but I was not entirely convinced that the BBWAA would make the right decision.  After the debacle that was the Bartolo Colon 2005 Cy Young Award and the late season statements of Patrick Reusse, a CY voter, I made sure to temper my expectations. 

Consider my faith in the BBWAA as capable award voters restored. 

This caps a season that we Royals fans are not entirely used to.  In fact, most fans have not been privy to a season like Greinke's 2009 campaign. 

The final votes are tallied, and Zack Greinke is your overwhelming winner for the American League Cy Young award. 

The baby-faced right-hander from powerhouse Apopka High School in Orlando received 25 first place votes and finished well ahead of runner up Felix Hernandez. 

Overcoming his off the field personal issues, the 26-year old sprinted out of the gates to a herculean April start and never looked back.He notched a victory in all of his first six decisions while allowing just two earned runs over a 45-inning span.

The. Final. Piece. Of. The. Puzzle.

Simon says Championship.

It's hard to even feign emotion one way or the other about this signing. It's a minor-league deal, and he did man each of the four infield positions for the Yankees in 2008, so there is certainly an element of roster flexibility that he would fill in Mark Teahen's absence. He is pretty much a replacement player with a little postseason experience who isn't going to cost the Royals much of anything.