(November 17, 2009) -- When the phone rang, Zack Greinke let it go -- he didn't recognize the number. Only after listening to the voice mail did he call back and find out he'd won the  American League Cy Young Award.

The Kansas City Royals ace easily beat out Felix Hernandez for the honor after a spectacular season short on wins but long on domination. Winning left the extremely shy Greinke with mixed emotions.

"Back in Orlando, I haven't really got a whole lot of attention from people, which has been nice," he said. "So I hope it doesn't get that way, where everyone is like, 'Oh, hey, Zack, hi.'"

He'd prefer to remain anonymous when he's not on the mound. He's not looking forward to being introduced at banquets as  "Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke" for the rest of his life. Greinke was one of the top prospects in the nation when he was drafted out of an Orlando-area high school. He was in the     majors at the age of 20, going  8-11 with a 3.97 ERA for a bad Royals team.

That was in 2004. The following year, everything fell apart. He lost 17 games against just five wins and gave up nearly six runs a game. He left for the games as late as he possibly could and didn’t mix with his teammates; didn’t mix with anyone.

By the spring of 2006, he couldn’t deal with baseball at all. He told reporters he had come to hate the game. That’s when he took four months off to find out what was wrong with him.  Doctors diagnosed social anxiety disorder and depression. He was put on medication and received counseling and therapy. By the time he resumed baseball in mid-season in the Royals’ farm system; he had a new outlook on life and the game.

Although Greinke does not talk publicly about having social anxiety disorder, others have made comments about what he has been through.

From Dayton Moore, the Kansas City Royals General Manager: “I can’t speak to this because I’ve never  experienced it, but I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for him to   recognize his condition and evaluate it honestly and do something about it,” Moore said. “He’s been able to take all of those experiences and combine them and that’s why he is where he is today.”

He started coming to games early, eager to get to the park. The man who found it impossible to mix with  people joined clubhouse card games. He learned to talk to the media.

Greinke rejoined the big-league club in 2007 and went 7-7 in 14 starts. Last year, he was 13-10 with a 3.47 ERA. This year, at the age of 25, he has been, for one month at least, the best pitcher in baseball.

Before the season began, the Royals decided that Greinke had too much talent to let get away. They offered him a four-year deal worth $38 million — less than a quarter of the package the Yankees gave CC Sabathia. It was something of a risk given Greinke’s history, but it was also the team’s way of saying it believed in him.

Greinke signed it, and now he’s delivering like few pitchers have ever done. What’s more, from everything he’s said and done, he could win the next three Cy Youngs and still not show up at management’s door demanding more money or a trade to one of the game’s glamour teams.

After he won his first five starts this season, Sports Illustrated wanted to put him on its cover. He didn’t object to the honor, but he declined to pose for a cover photo. It’s not the sort of thing that interests him.

This sort of behavior really isn’t normal. The truth is most of us are far more likely to lap up the attention than to shun it. Humility isn’t in our bones.

So, when we find both uncommon humility and uncommon talent wrapped in one package, we treasure it. The fact that Greinke came so close to being chased out of the game he loves by his illness makes it that much more  precious. In a different era, without the knowledge we now have about the organic nature of mental illness, a man like Greinke would have faded away. He’s lucky that he’s living today, when there is help.