‘It’s his time’: Hunter Greene joins special group as Black starting pitcher on MLB Opening Day

What started as a beautiful summer day in Los Angeles for Little League Baseball changed immediately when an older fan uttered a racial slur about an 8-year-old shortstop playing a position the fan assumed was reserved for his grandson. 

“He says, ‘Who’s the [N-word] at shortstop,’” recalled Russell Greene, whose son, Hunter, was the shortstop. “It was loud enough that everyone heard it, and no one said anything. I couldn’t say anything because my buddy who ran the team was a deputy sheriff, and I didn’t want to act out. And I didn’t want to do anything to lose my job.”

It wasn’t the first time his family had experienced racial strife in this predominantly white youth baseball league. Fans or parents often hurled prejudiced comments, and the head coach limited Hunter’s opportunities because he was Black.

So, Greene did take action about 18 years ago, removing his son from that league and signing him up instead for Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Urban Youth Academy. The decision was life-changing; a benchmark in Hunter Greene’s development on the baseball field — and personally.

Hunter Greene became the second pick overall in the MLB amateur draft in 2017, a National League All-Star, and is today’s Opening Day starting pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds. Even more importantly, he’s giving back to the community in ways that both can and can’t be measured.

The Reds open the season at 4:10 p.m. ET today at Great American Ball Park against the San Francisco Giants. At 25 years old, it’s Greene’s second career Opening Day start. He’s the youngest Reds player to make multiple Opening Day starts, the only Black Opening Day starting pitcher this season in MLB, and only the 40th Black pitcher to start on Opening Day in the history of the league.

“To be able to represent the African American community within our sport, which obviously is the lowest percentage that we’ve had, it means a lot,” Greene said. “For kids to be able to turn the game on and be able to see themselves in me, I don’t take that lightly, so it’s awesome.”

Entering his fourth MLB season, Greene is coming off his best year yet. Last year, he threw a career-high 150 1/3 innings, had a career-best 2.75 ERA and he made the NL All-Star Team. Greene had a solid spring training which contributed to being named the Reds’ Opening Day starter.

Reds pitching coach Derek Johnson said the appointment is well-deserved.

“There’s a lot of responsibility on his shoulders, and he’s absolutely craving the opportunity to show that,” Johnson said. “He deserves it because he’s put himself into those situations, made himself a better pitcher and he’s worked at his craft. And when you see that sort of maturity from a young player, I’ve got to reward that. It’s his time.”

All of these accolades are for a guy who rose over bigotry and made a soft landing in baseball higher learning. The MLB Youth Academy in Compton, California, an hour’s drive from the Greenes’ home in Santa Clarita, was the first of 10 academies MLB built across the country to inspire Black kids to play and learn the game from current or former MLB players and coaches. At 8, Greene worked with Johnny Washington, now hitting coach with the Los Angeles Angels, and former MLB outfielder Ken Landreaux.

Greene said the exposure to learning the mental side of the game at such a young age was invaluable.

“Having access to that consistently at the age of 8, all the way up to 12, with the academy contributed to my development and understanding for the game,” Greene said. “It took it to another level because of that exposure and who I was being coached and mentored by.”

Greene’s development at the academy transitioned to Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, where he developed into the best player in California and among the best players in the country at 6-foot-4, 210 pounds. He was named California Player of the Year as a sophomore in the baseball-rich state. On the mound, he was clocked at 102 miles per hour, and had a 1.62 ERA through his four-year high school career. As a senior, he hit .325 with a .598 slugging percentage. He became the 13th high school athlete to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Greene was the second pick in the MLB draft by the Reds and the highest selected amateur player chosen from an MLB academy. It was an especially satisfying moment for his dad, who remembered the early challenges.

“Hunter Greene got taken away [from one league to the academy] at 8 [expletive] years old because a white coach was playing favoritism,” said Russell, a private investigator who worked for famed lawyer Johnnie Cochran. “He wouldn’t allow Hunter to pitch or play shortstop and he ultimately ended up being a top draft pick.” 

The biggest question before the draft was which position would Greene play as a professional. A two-way role like Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani wasn’t considered. With a 100-mile-per-hour fastball, the Reds wanted Greene to focus on pitching. Plus, at least for the Reds, pitching was a quicker track to the big leagues. 

Like most, Greene’s minor league stint was inconsistent. He suffered a setback when he needed Tommy John surgery to repair a ligament in his pitching arm in 2019. Minor League Baseball was shut down during COVID in 2020. After stints in Single-A and Triple-A, Greene made his MLB debut in 2022 and earned a win in his first outing. He was 5-13 with a 4.44 ERA that season and 4-7 with a 4.82 ERA in 2023 before his All-Star year last season.

Johnson said Greene made his biggest step last season because he believed in himself and turned up his intensity. Besides a blazing four-seam fastball, Greene has a slider and changeup in his toolbox.

“He turned up what he was doing by getting out of innings,” Johnson said. “I can remember times where he’d be in those same situations and things didn’t turn out well for him. It wasn’t because he didn’t want to, or he wasn’t trying, or he wasn’t capable. It was because he hadn’t been in those spots before. But last year in those same situations, he made the pitches that he needed. He’s making those steps you want to see as a coach.”

As for being among the few Black starting pitchers to pitch on Opening Day, Greene said he looks forward to more Black starters getting into the game.

“I wish I wasn’t the only one out there going [on Opening Day],” said Greene, a sketch artist and painter in his spare time. “But that’ll take time. Hopefully, we’ll continue to grow the game and keep kids in the game so it won’t just be myself moving forward.”

Off the field, Greene has made positive steps in various community endeavors since his youth to lift others up. He volunteered in a book drive, drives for eyeglasses, food gift cards and, in high school, launched a sock drive for the homeless in Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles. He’s organized baseball-cleat giveaways in Nigeria, Dubai and communities around the United States.

“My parents never had to force me to understand or grasp the concepts of being able to help others,” Greene said. “It’s always been instilled in me. But as my resources have grown, and my connections have grown, the giveaways and the camps have just continued to get better and better.” 

Following Opening Day, from noon to 3 p.m. ET on Friday at the Madison Recreation Center in Cincinnati, Greene will help give thousands of Nike baseball cleats, bats, gloves and batting gloves and free ice cream to children aged 8-17. It’s his way to help encourage more Black kids to play the game, especially since the percentage of Black players in MLB continues to dip.

Brittany Evans, a local disc jockey who’s volunteering during the giveaway event, said nearly 2,000 children are expected to attend the event.

“There are limited resources in some of our communities, so to see Hunter do this is huge,” said Evans, known professionally as DJ Essential. “This gives kids opportunities to [play baseball], which they probably wouldn’t have been able to do because equipment is so expensive. And for the kids to see Hunter, it may encourage some of them to work hard enough to be like him.”