Adam Greenberg (baseball)

Infobox MLB player


width=150
name=Adam Greenberg
position=Outfielder
team=Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
number=--
bats=Left
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1981|2|21
birthplace=city-state|New Haven|Connecticut
debutdate=July 9
debutyear=2005
debutteam=Chicago Cubs
statyear=2008 season
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.000
stat2label=Home runs
stat2value=0
stat3label=Runs batted in
stat3value=0
teams=
*Chicago Cubs (by|2005)

Adam Daniel Greenberg (born February 21, 1981, in New Haven, Connecticut) is a 5' 9", 180 pound left-handed center fielder with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim organization. Greenberg is Jewish.

High school

Greenberg attended Guilford High School in Guilford, Connecticut. He was a four-year letterman on Guilford's baseball, basketball, and soccer teams.

He was baseball team captain as a junior and senior, four-time All-conference and all-area, and was the first player in Connecticut history to be named to four all-state teams. [ [http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/greenberg_adam00.html Player Bio: Adam Greenberg :: Baseball ] ]

He was also soccer team captain for 1998 and 1999, and was a striker and four-year starter. Greenberg was a three-time all-conference, all-area, and all-state selection. He was named all-New England and All-America in 1998, during which season he set the school season record with 17 assists. He was also the team and area MVP in 1998, and helped lead Guilford to the state soccer title in 1996. He holds the school record for career assists, with 33. [ [http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:G7IJWAgDHLwJ:www.guilford.k12.ct.us/~maherj/pages/soccerrecords.htm+%22adam+greenberg%22+guilford&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=6 403 Forbidden ] ]

In basketball, Greenberg was point guard and team captain in 1998-99, and was named 2nd-team all-conference.

He was named Connecticut's male athlete of the year for 1998-99.

He graduated with honors, and played summer baseball with the Madison, Connecticut American Legion Post 79 team.

College & draft

Greenberg went to college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

As a freshman center fielder and leadoff batter in by|2000, he was named ACC Rookie of the Year, was 2nd-team All-ACC, was a Freshman All-America pick by Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America magazines, and was named to the All-Tournament team at the NCAA Regional. He led all Tar Heel regulars in batting average (.386), hits (98), runs (69), triples (7; leading the ACC), stolen bases (28), and slugging percentage (.594), had a team-high 34 multi-hit games, a 21-game hitting streak, and 3 leadoff home runs. In the summer of 2000, he participated in the U.S. National Team Trials, and played with the Wilson Tobs of the Coastal Plain League, stealing a team-high 15 bases.

As a sophomore in by|2001, he batted .310 and led the team in runs (52), walks (43), and stolen bases (29; leading the ACC), and on-base percentage (.444). In the summer of 2001, he played for the Chatham A's of the Cape Cod League.

As a junior in by|2002, he hit .337, stole 35 bases, scored 80 runs, homered 17 times, and again led the ACC with 7 triples. He was named to the All-Conference Team.

He was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 9th round of the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft.

Minor leagues

In 2002, Greenberg hit .224 for the Lansing Lugnuts, and .384/.500/.575 in 21 games for the Daytona Cubs, swiping 15 bases in 17 games.

Greenberg spent the by|2003 season with Daytona and put up a .299/.387/.410 line, stealing 26 bases in 35 attempts. In 2003, when Executive Editor of Baseball America Jim Callis was asked whether he thought Greenberg had a chance to be a starter, or was destined to be a backup, he responded: "Very good character guy, often compared to John Cangelosi, more of a fourth or fifth outfielder." [ [http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:Ru7ZvSJaChgJ:www.baseballamerica.com/today/chat/112603cubschat.html+%22adam+greenberg%22+royals+omaha&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=40&gl=us 403 Forbidden ] ]

In by|2004, Greenberg hit .291 with a .381 OBP for Daytona, with 12 triples in 91 games (tying for the Florida State League lead), and moved up to the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx, where the he put up a .274 batting average in 33 games. His season ended with the Iowa Cubs. Overall, his 14 triples tied him for 3rd-best in the minor leagues.

Greenberg began by|2005 with West Tennessee, hitting .269 with a .386 on-base percentage with 9 triples and 15 steals.

He spent three months of the winter playing baseball in Venezuela, playing center field and leading off. [ [http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:dlF65OG51qIJ:planeta-beisbol.com/podcasts/major-league-baseball/around-the-minors/+%22adam+greenberg%22+royals&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=95 403 Forbidden ] ]

In by|2006, Greenberg hit .179 for the Diamond Jaxx and .118 for Iowa, and was released by the Chicago Cubs organization on June 2, 2006. Signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers, he was assigned to the Jacksonville Suns, hitting .228, but had an excellent .387 on-base percentage (his minor league average), as he had more walks than hits. He also dominated lefties, with a .455 batting average, and hit .313 with runners on base. Following this stint in the Dodgers' farm system, Greenberg played for the Kansas City Royals organization. The Kansas City Royals agreed to terms with Greenberg on a minor-league contract on December 5, 2006.

Greenberg played the by|2007 season with the Royals' Double-A Wichita Wranglers in the Texas League. He batted .266 with a .373 on-base percentage (10th in the league), a league-leading 11 triples, [ [http://texas-league.com/stats/index.php?autoload=leaders_indbatting&sort=h3b&page=1&team_id= Texas League ] ] 13 sacrifice hits (2nd in the league), 74 walks (tied for 4th in the league), and 23 stolen bases (5th in the league) in 467 at-bats, while leading the team with 73 runs scored. [ [http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/stats/player.php?id=435279 BaseballAmerica.com: 2007 Player Statistics: Adam Greenberg ] ]

In December, the Royals signed Greenberg to a minor-league contract for by|2008. [http://www.kansascity.com/sports/baseball/story/409720.html] Unable to gain a spot in the Triple-A Omaha Royals outfield, Greenberg was granted free agency by Kansas City. After a brief stint with the Independent Bridgeport Bluefish near his hometown of Guilford, Greenberg signed a contract with the Los Angeles Angels and was assigned to the Double-A Arkansas Travelers. [ [http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080428&content_id=2604269&vkey=news_kc&fext=.jsp&c_id=kc The Official Site of The Kansas City Royals: News: Mailbag: Where is reliever Braun? ] ]

Major leagues

quote box2 |width=22em | bgcolor= |align=right |halign=left | quote= "The first thing going through your mind is, 'This guy's dead,'" [http://www.royalboard.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=5421&sid=90a51b10e7d65d930e5aef6ad20e6a12] |source= — Valerio de los Santos, after hitting Greenberg in the head with a fastball On July 7, mlby|2005, Greenberg, was called up to the Cubs' major league team from their West Tennessee Double-A affiliate. To date, his Major League career consists of a single plate appearance for the Cubs. Pinch hitting in the 9th inning against the Florida Marlins on July 9, 2005, Greenberg was hit directly in the back of his head by a 91 mile per hour fastball on the very first pitch from Valerio de los Santos. Greenberg, suffered a mild concussion as a result of the beaning, and still suffers from positional vertigo.

After a few weeks of rehab he returned to West Tennessee with the intention of rejoining the big-league organization shortly. A couple of games at the Double-A level made Greenberg realize that the effects of the pitch had not yet faded.

"Just bending over to tie my shoe left me with headaches for hours," he said. For weeks, Greenberg slept upright, the only way to tolerate the excruciating headaches. [http://www.royalboard.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=5421&sid=90a51b10e7d65d930e5aef6ad20e6a12]

He spent the rest of the 2005 season on the 15-day disabled list.

His career on-base percentage is 1.000 and, having zero at-bats and no chances on defense, he has no batting average or fielding percentage. While many players have had careers consisting of a single at-bat, Fred Van Dusen is the only other player to be hit with a pitch in his first at-bat without taking the field. That was on September 11, mlby|1955, while Van Dusen was playing for the Philadelphia Phillies.

References

External links

*
* [http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=435279 Kansas City Royals bio]
* [http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?n=Adam%20Greenberg&pos=OF&sid=t541&t=p_pbp&pid=435279 Omaha Royals bio]
* [http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:dlF65OG51qIJ:planeta-beisbol.com/podcasts/major-league-baseball/around-the-minors/+%22adam+greenberg%22+royals+omaha&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=14&gl=us Greenberg talks about his winter ball experience in Venezuela on "Around the Minors," 1/6/06]
* [http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060224&content_id=1321708&vkey=spt2006news&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb "Greenberg ready for bigger things; Hopes to make it back to Majors, leave last at-bat a footnote," 2/24/06]
* [http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/gen/articles/printer_friendly/milb/y2006/m05/d10/c69468.jsp "Minor League's Top Jewish Prospects," 5/10/06]
* [http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/baseball/mlb/kansas_city_royals/16926886.htm "Greenberg overcoming a nightmare; After a horrific beaning in his first at-bat, Royals minor-leaguer is fighting to get back the dream that was so close," 3/18/07]
* [http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1630&dept_id=188010&newsid=20112908&PAG=461&rfi=9 "No quit in him," 9/9/08]