Adam Daniel Greenberg (born February 21, 1981) is an American former professional baseball outfielder for the Chicago Cubs and Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball. He was hit in the head in his major league debut on the first pitch of his first plate appearance. He suffered a compound skull fracture from the pitch.
Greenberg was one of two players in league history to be hit by a pitch in their only plate appearance without ever taking the field. However, a successful online petition drive in 2012 led to him getting signed by the Miami Marlins to a one-day contract. He had one at bat for the Marlins and struck out on three pitches. He agreed to a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles for 2013, but the option wasn't pursued.
He also played parts of five seasons with the Bridgeport Bluefish of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball near his hometown.
Early life and high school
Greenberg is the son of Wendy and Mark Greenberg. He is Jewish. He attended Guilford High School in Guilford, Connecticut and was a four-year letterman on Guilford's baseball, basketball, and soccer teams.
Greenberg 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.
Greenberg also served as 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. Greenberg was also the team and area most valuable player in 1998, and helped lead Guilford to the state soccer title in 1996. Greenberg holds the school record for career assists, with 33.
College and draft
Greenberg went to college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. There, he played college baseball for the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). After the 2001 season, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Chatham A's of the Cape Cod Baseball League.
As a junior in 2002, he hit .337, stole 35 bases, scored 80 runs, homered 17 times, and again led the ACC with seven triples. He was named to the All-Conference Team. In 2002, he was named a Jewish Sports Review College Baseball First Team All-American.
He was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the ninth round of the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft.
Minor leagues (2002–2005) 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 tries.
Greenberg spent the 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."
In 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 he put up a .274 batting average in 33 games. His season ended with the Iowa Cubs. Overall, his 14 triples tied him for third in the minor leagues. Greenberg began 2005 with West Tennessee, hitting .269 with a .386 on-base percentage with nine triples and 15 steals. He spent three months of the winter playing baseball in Venezuela, playing center field and leading off.
Chicago Cubs (2005)
On July 7, 2005, Greenberg was called up to the Cubs' major league team from their West Tennessee Double-A affiliate. Pinch hitting in the ninth inning against the Florida Marlins, in a game on July 9, Greenberg was hit directly in the back of his head by a 92 mph fastball on the very first pitch from Valerio de los Santos. Greenberg suffered a concussion as a result of the beaning, and was immediately removed from the game and taken to a hospital. Carlos Zambrano was sent in to pinch-run for Greenberg, and eventually came around to score the Cubs' fifth run in an 8–2 victory.
De los Santos called to check on him and apologize. As a result of the injury, Greenberg couldn’t sleep upright, or even bend down to tie his shoes without losing his balance. He spent the rest of the 2005 season on the 15-day disabled list, and continued to suffer from positional vertigo, terrible headaches, nausea, double vision and dizziness.