Where Are They Now? Todd Greene

By Ashley Brown

By the time Tod Grene reached grade school, two things were very clear. He was ultracompetitive and he absolutely loved the game of baseball. He had an incredible desire to win, no matter what the game or sport. It became clear rather quickly that, in addition to loving baseball, he had some talent, too. He spent his youth winning little league championships and being named to all-star teams. By the time he reached Evans High School, he had left many of his childhood friends behind in terms of his baseball ability. In 1987, he was the only 10th grader to make the varsity team for Coach Terry Holder’s Knights. The following year Greene was the Knight’s starting third baseman and hit third in the batting order on arguably the best baseball team to ever suit up in tradition-rich Columbia County. That season, Greene helped lead Evans to a 29-1 record, and the school’s first baseball state championship. That team ended the season ranked Number 5 nationally, winning its last 23 games en route to the AAAA crown. At the plate, Greene tied for the team lead with seven home runs, a school record at the time. It was then that Greene, himself, realized two things… he wanted to play baseball in college and he had the talent to do it.

That summer Greene played with more confidence than ever before. He was named the top prospect with honors at Clemson University’s Baseball Camp, which featured many of the best players in the southeast. He also started to get some attention from college recruiters. The following spring – his senior season - Greene was a different player. He was no longer just one of Evans’ best players. He was the team’s unquestioned leader and it was as if he would not let the team lose. The team’s top pitcher from the previous season’s title team was ineligible… no problem. In stepped Todd Greene “The Pitcher”. And just like when he stood at the plate, he was simply not going to let you beat him. He was 10-0 as a pitcher and averaged nearly two strikeouts per inning. Not bad for a guy who had not stepped foot on the mound since middle school. He was not too shabby at the plate either. In 29 games, Greene blasted a whopping 17 homers, which still stands as a school record. He also helped lead the Knights to a perfect 29-0 record and their 2nd consecutive AAAA state title. Once again, the Knights earned a Top 5 National Ranking from USA Today, finishing third in the country. Greene was named the state player of the year and, despite standing just 5-8 and weighing only 165 pounds, Greene was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 26th round of the June Amateur Baseball Draft. While his dream was to play in the major leagues, he instead chose to go to college, accepting a scholarship offer from Georgia Southern College (now University.)

From the moment he arrived in Statesboro, he began to work. “All of a sudden you had a responsibility to work,” Greene recalled recently. “This school was paying for me to go to school and play ball.” “Also, in college you couldn’t fake it; you had to put in the work in the weight room” he added. Greene thrived in his new setting. He put on 25 pounds of muscle before he had ever had a college at-bat. Now all that natural talent and a muscular 190 lb. frame spelled bad news for opposing pitchers. Greene tore the cover off the ball as a freshman, launching 26 homers and leading GSC to the College World Series. He was named an All-American and earned National Freshman of the Year honors by one publication. By the time his career in Statesboro was over, he had re-written the school’s record book. He shattered the school’s homerun mark by 29, finishing with 88 homers. That mark still ranks third all-time in college baseball history. He also bested the RBI mark by 49 and the total bases record by an amazing 114, finishing with 257 runs batted in and 840 total bases. In June of 1993 Greene was drafted for a third time – having also been drafted after his junior season by the St. Louis Cardinals - as the California Angels selected the slugging outfielder in the 14th round. Now, professional baseball would be Greene’s next test. And, just as he had done in high school and college, he passed with flying colors. After finishing his senior season at GSU, Greene opened his pro career with the Angel’s Class A affiliate in Boise, Idaho. He played the final 76 games of the season, hitting .269 with 15 home runs and 71 RBI in just 305 at bats and, despite playing only half the season, was named the Midwest League’s Most Valuable Player. Suddenly this undersized mid-range draft pick was being named one of the Angels top prospects. Things could not be any better for Greene. He had married his high school sweetheart, Vanessa, and he was coming off a huge rookie campaign in pro ball. That is when Angels’ management threw Greene a curveball. They had decided to move Greene to catcher. He had done just about everything during his baseball career, but he had never played that position. The Angels thought his stature, coupled with his powerful arm, made him an excellent prospect behind the plate. Greene was not very happy with the decision, but they were signing the checks, and if this gave him a better chance to reach the big leagues... then catching it would be.

He worked hard to make the difficult adjustment to his new position, but the first year was a struggle. Greene allowed 33 passed balls and people wondered if the Angels ruined one of their best hitting prospects by taking him out of his comfort zone. Well, two things kept the naysayers at bay. First, Greene struggled behind the plate, yet did anything but, at the plate. In 133 games with Class High-A Lake Elsinore, Greene batted .302 with 35 long balls and 124 RBI. He led Lake Elsinore to the California League Championship and, for a second straight year, he was named his league’s MVP. He was also honored as the Minor League Player of the Year for all of professional baseball. And perhaps, more importantly, he made great strides behind the plate. He cut his passed ball total from 33 to 8 in just one season. He was now on the fast track to the big leagues. In 1995, he became the first minor league player in more than a decade to hit 40 home runs in a single season.

Finally, in 1996, he achieved his dream of playing in the big leagues when he got a September call-up by the Angels. In 1997 Greene appeared to be well on his way to becoming a major league star. He opened the season with AAA Vancouver and was off to a sizzling start. He averaged better than a run batted in per game with 25 home runs and 75 RBI in just 64 games. The Angels had seen enough and Greene was called up to be the team’s everyday catcher. In his first 34 games (124 at bats), he thrilled Columbia County fans by hitting .290 with 9 homers and 24 runs batted in. At that pace, over a full season, he would eclipse 40 homers and 100 RBI. However, that’s when his season ended. Greene was struck by a foul tip and suffered a broken bone in his right wrist. Since the season was over for him anyway, Greene informed team doctors that his shoulder was also bothering him. He had been hurting all year, but did not want to miss his opportunity in the majors. Upon inspection, doctors found that Greene had suffered a torn labrum. For baseball players this is a devastating injury. Even today, leading experts don’t agree on how to detect the injury; much less actually fix it properly. For pitchers, a torn labrum usually spells the end of a career, and for a catcher it was not much better. Greene was shifted over to first base the following season and spent the next 3 years bouncing back and forth between the minors and big leagues, playing first base, outfield and designated hitter. The last was a no-brainer because no matter what hurdle was thrown his way, Greene could always rely on his bat. In 1999, he finished the season in the Angels’ starting lineup and belted a career-high 14 homers in 321 at bats. The following off-season, he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays.

Over the next seven seasons, Greene played for five different big league clubs and spent some time in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ farm system. In 2001, the New York Yankees gave Greene a chance to get back behind the plate. Late in the season, the now 30-year-old Greene was called up by the Yankees to serve as the back-up catcher for Jorge Posada. During Greene’s stay in New York, the country was rocked by the devastating terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center. Greene’s parents were visiting him on September 11, 2001 and walking in a park across the river in New Jersey, where many Yankees, including their son, lived. Greene spent the morning sleeping late. He even went back to sleep after the first call from his wife telling him that there had been a plane crash in New York. He had no idea how dire the situation was. When the second plane hit the towers he got another call; this time he got up to see the tragedy unfold on television. The next day there was debris on his doorstep, seven miles from the World Trade Center. Those horrific events led to one of the most important and memorable moments of Greene’s major league career. At the time, he had no idea that he would forever be an indelible part of baseball and American history.

In October of 2001, the Yankees advanced to the World Series, and just a few short weeks after 9/11 they hosted Game 3. Word came down that President George W. Bush would throw out the first pitch that night at Yankee Stadium. It was the first time since 1956 that a sitting President had thrown out the first pitch in a World Series Game. Greene assumed starting catcher Jorge Posada would handle the duty of catching the President’s toss. However, Roger Clemens, who was notorious for having long pre-game sessions in the bullpen, was on the mound that night for New York. Posada was with him, so when it came time for President Bush to take the field, someone yelled “Greene get your glove.” It happened so fast, Greene didn’t have a chance to be nervous. The President calmly threw a strike, but in all the excitement, as Greene congratulated the President on the throw, he forgot to follow the tradition of giving him the ball. Sometime during the game Greene realized the ball was still in his mitt. After having a Yankee employee wade through the Secret Service, Greene had the heirloom returned to its rightful owner. President Bush was grateful and sent Greene an autographed ball in return. “Looking back at my career there’s no doubt that is one of the most special moments,” said Greene. “I was a part of history. That was such a special night for so many fans in New York,” added the Columbia County native.

While several injuries hampered his big league career, there were many other impressive highlights during Greene’s playing days. Those special memories started during his days as an Evans Knight. “One of the things I’m most proud of is finishing my high school career winning 52 straight games and winning back-to-back State Championships,” recalled Greene. In addition to his statistical accomplishments and awards, he also made an incredible transformation. The outfielder-turned-catcher who initially struggled behind the plate eventually gained a reputation as a terrific defensive catcher and garnered widespread acclaim for his knowledge of the game and handling of pitchers. It was that reputation that would open doors for Greene after his playing days.

Unfortunately the end came sooner than Greene wanted. His shoulder was injured when he was bowled over by Brewers ’1st baseman Prince Fielder in May, 2006. The 5-11, 270 lb. Fielder had a full head of steam when he crashed into the 5- 10, 208 lb. Greene as the catcher attempted to protect the plate. The following spring, Greene was in camp with the San Diego Padres when an early-morning warmup session changed the course of his career. His shoulder was not structurally sound after the collision with Fielder and while making a throw to 2nd base, Greene ruptured two rotator cuff muscles. “It was the worst pain I had ever felt. I knew I was done,” said Greene.

He had impressed the Padres so much, however, that they immediately offered him a job in the organization. He spent the 2008 season as a Professional Scout for the club and evaluated talent for 5 different minor leagues around the southeast. His longest trip was only a seven hour drive from his Alpharetta home. This allowed him to spend more time with his wife, Vanessa, and the couple’s three children. Prior to the start of the 2009, season an old friend called with a job offer. Joe Madden, the manager of the 2008 AL Champion Tampa Bay Rays, offered Greene a position on his staff. Madden was with the Angels’ farm system when Greene was their rising star. Madden was also the man responsible for moving Greene to catcher back in 1993. He accepted Madden’s offer to serve as the Devil Rays’ Quality Assurance Coach. He was basically the team’s “7th coach,” running Spring Training and handling pre-game warm-ups before games. Once the games began he went back to the familiar role of scout. He watched Tampa Bay’s players, looking for mechanical flaws, or anything else that might help Tampa Bay win games.

Greene parted ways with Tampa Bay after the 2009 season. The team dissolved the position of Quality Assurance Coach and Greene turned down an offer to work in their scouting department. Once word got out that Greene was basically a “free agent,” his phone began ringing. He had a handful of offers to get back into scouting full time. This would allow him to stay involved in the game he loved, but also made it possible for him to spend more time with his family, which had now grown by one. The couple welcomed the birth of their fourth child, Gavin, in early 2009. Greene chose to take an offer from the Seattle Mariners to work in their scouting department during the 2010 season. The position is very similar to the one he had with the Padres in 2008 in that he will work primarily in the southeast, meaning he’ll be able to be based out of his home in Alpharetta. While sticking close to home, Greene will be able to watch the other athletes in his young family. His oldest daughter Aryn, 13, is ranked among the nation’s top tennis players in her age group. She even cracked the Top 10 nationally as a 12-yearold. Additionally, 11-yearold Jacob appears to have inherited some of his dad’s baseball talent. And while Karly is only 5 years old, it is a pretty safe bet that she will excel in whatever activity she chooses. Right now Greene is enjoying watching his kids grow up. He drives them to school daily during the off-season and, between tennis matches and baseball games, his plate is full. He also realizes his wife has been the backbone of the family. “Vanessa is a great mom. She made it easy for me to focus on baseball.”

On a personal note, I have known Todd Greene for nearly 30 years. I remember those summer days we spent playing Wiffle Ball in the pool. I remember all those summer league trips we took and I remember how he used to dream of playing in the big leagues. Many of us shared those dreams. The rest of us did not make it. For some, we just did not have the talent. Others didn’t put in the hard work necessary to achieve such lofty goals. Well, Todd had some talent, but he also worked his tail off to make it in pro baseball. And I can honestly say it has been pretty cool watching my friend live out his childhood dreams. Well done, Todd; we couldn’t be more proud.