Zack Greinke admits he forced the Royals to trade him:

“I was pretty rude on the way out,” he said. “I felt like I had to in order to get out. I didn’t want to have to be the bad guy, but I felt like I had to be. I liked it here. The fans were great. I don’t know how so many of them come to the games when they’ve been bad for so long, but it’s pretty impressive.”

The whole thing was so positively Greinke. His admission that he was the bad guy, threatening not to play for the franchise that drafted him, nurtured him through a social-anxiety disorder that led to almost a year away from the game and watched him blossom into a Cy Young winner. His praising the fans, many of whom booed him on Tuesday. And his inclusion of a little shot to go, the nod-and-wink sort in which Greinke specializes because his droll delivery masks a wicked sense of humor.

In the second year of Baseball Tonight, Billy Sample sat in as one of the analysts. I remember his talking about how players who wanted out of a team (and Sample did this himself) would start acting like a jerk. Management would get the message and find a way to trade the disgruntled employee. There’s nothing new here, but usually it’s due to someone riding the bench or a lack of success by the player. The Royals treated Greinke well, he just didn’t want to wait for them to build a winner. He’d still be waiting.

Hat tip, Baseball Think Factory.