Ben Verlander's 'Flippin' Bats' welcomes Braves pitcher Shane Greene
The Atlanta Braves were one win away from the 2020 World Series after an amazing run that took them to the NLCS.
A big reason for that run was the pitching of reliever Shane Greene, whom the Braves acquired in a trade with the Detroit Tigers in 2019.
Greene joined Ben Verlander this week on the "Flippin' Bats" podcast to talk about his unconventional path to the majors and his journey to becoming an All-Star.
Greene posted a 2.60 ERA in the regular season and a 1.50 ERA in the postseason last year, proving to be one of the Braves' most reliable bullpen arms. That came after Greene was named an All-Star with the Tigers in 2019, when he became the first pitcher to record seven saves in his team's first 10 games of a season.
"That was, like, the most nervous I have ever been for a national anthem," he said of the All-Star Game. "Seeing all of my best friends there and my family there, that moment for me was like an ‘I made it’ moment, I guess."
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Atlanta Braves reliever Shane Greene looks back on his first All-Star Game appearance in 2019 and remembers the National Anthem and seeing his family up in the stands as an ‘I made it moment’ in his baseball career.
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While making the All-Star Game can be a surreal moment for a player, playing alongside an iconic figure can be even more eye-opening.
That's what Greene was able to experience as a rookie with the New York Yankees, as he played with Derek Jeter during the legend's final MLB season in 2014.
"I want to win a World Series. I want to win one really bad," Greene said on the podcast. "But that moment, being a rookie and the guy that I grew up watching, the captain, having his last day at Yankee Stadium and then hitting that walk-off … I'm getting goosebumps right now just thinking about it."
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Atlanta Braves reliever Shane Greene recalls the first moments of his career when he got to be teammates with New York Yankees legend and Hall of Fame Derek Jeter during his final season and farewell tour.
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So far in his career, Greene has been fortunate enough to play with legends and make amazing postseason runs, but he was far from a sure thing as a prospect.
In fact, after needing Tommy John surgery in college, he was not selected until the 15th round of the 2009 MLB Draft.
And when the moment came, and his name was called, he was completely oblivious.
"I'm at my buddy Gary's house, we're playing "Call of Duty," and we just had, like, the draft going on on the computer with the volume on," Greene recalled. "We were so locked into "Call of Duty" at the time that we didn't realize the computer had died and the draft was still going on. Next thing you know, my dad and his dad come storming into the house, and they're telling me that I got drafted."
To hear more from Greene, check out the full episode of "Flippin' Bats" below.
Ben Verlander is an MLB Analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the "Flippin' Bats" podcast. Born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, Verlander was an All-American at Old Dominion University before he joined his brother, Justin, in Detroit as a 14th-round pick of the Tigers in 2013. He spent five years in the Tigers organization. Follow him on Twitter @Verly32.