A Quick Word: Athletes should be held to a higher standard than teenagers

Talking to you, Zack Greinke.

Sunday evening in Kansas City, Royals pitcher Zack Greinke took a fan’s baseball and threw it as far as he could back into the stands. A rude gesture from a high-paid athlete who is on that field to entertain the fans, the ones who help pay his salary.

But, like any story and confrontation in life, there’s more to the tale. Apparently the 16-year-old teenager, Lucas Waterworth, was pushing younger kids out of the way to get to the front for Zack to sign.

Did you just hear what I said?! A teenager shoved and pushed kids out of the way to get an autograph--something that happens every game in every ballpark around the league. Having worked eight years in a stadium, I can confirm that this happened every day.

Does this abolish what Greinke did? NOPE. He’s a representative of the Royals organization, which means he needs to hold himself to a higher standard than Lucas, Timothy, little Joey, anxious Lucy, and the rambunctious Tommy crying for his autograph in the stands. Maybe next time, use your words and tell Lucas to be better and patient. A learning, bonding, and memorabilia moment all in one.

Everybody wins. The Greinke supporters, the Waterworth loyals, and the rest of the discussion partakers.

By signing that contract and putting on that uniform, Greinke needs to be better and sharper, especially on the field in front of the people who take time out of their day to go watch you work for three hours, most likely right after they get off work. It’s not too much to ask.

Yes, young Lucas needs to learn that waiting is better for a happy ending. He and Greinke did say, according to the Kansas City Star article published THIS morning, that the pitcher continued to sign autographs after playing long toss with Waterworth’s baseball. Each of them takes something away here, but it’s Greinke who is still more at fault.

Pull five random people. Baseball fans or not. Describe the situation and see what they say. Every one of them, if they have a working brain, should note that this isn’t a good look for Greinke. There were better options, ideas, ways to get his point across.

Also, to say to the kid, “for my amusement” after doing it, is callous. But poor Zack, he wasn’t completely at fault. The poor guy was depositing his weekly paycheck from his $14 million one year deal, so maybe his mind was foggy. I get it.

Let’s just remember how professional athletes need to hold themselves to a certain standard, and not have their behavior compared to a person less than half their age.

Thanks for reading.