I remember when he was with the Kansas City Royals and placed on the d.l. in 2006. There was a lot of rumbles about how he was a "soft" player. Another rumor was that he was "afraid to pitch" because he was coming off a bad year in 2005. I guess you're not allowed to have any personal issues as a professional ball player or at least that's how some people perceive it.
Greinke stepped away from baseball for seven months in 2006 to receive treatment for his disorders. He came back as the pitcher everyone thought he was going to be. He won the highest award for a pitcher, the Cy Young award, in 2009. It appears he is doing really well and I hope he remains on the top of his game.
I commend Greinke for coming forward and shedding a spotlight on this. Since you can't physically see what is going on with someone who has depression or anxiety in an X-ray or MRI, people with it get labeled as soft, lazy, or "faking" it. It must have been tough on him, especially since he gets paid a lot of money to play a kids game and isn't "supposed" to be unhappy (another false notion about someone with depression/social anxiety.) I wish him nothing but the best and hope he continues to succeed except on those days he plays the Red Sox. I won't have to worry much as long as he stays in the National League.
Here's a link to the podcast. It's show #2 and we talk about Greinke towards the end...
The Bicoastal Sports Show
Here's a link to an article on what Greinke went through...
Greinke and social anxiety disorder
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