Somehow, I never caught a whiff of this nugget when it first dropped, but there was a great story in Molly Knight’s recent book about the Los Angeles Dodgers, as noted by Hardball Talk.
In late 2013, manager Don Mattingly wanted his players to loosen up, and held a team meeting to tell them as much. Zack Greinke, not known for being a particularly vocal team member at the time, according to HBT, wanted to air something out with his teammates in this moment:
Some of you guys have been doing the number two and not washing your hands. It’s not good. I noticed it even happening earlier today. So if you guys could just be better about it, that would be great.
Anyone who has worked in close quarters with other human beings for any length of time knows that Greinke wasn’t just blowing gas here. It happens. And, as Greinke said, it’s not good.
Greinke got paid like a number one this offseason, but you could forgive anyone who called him Number Two after that story. Which is not to say I’m, um, calling Zack Greinke poop. It’s just … well, it’s an extremely funny story.