The Kansas City Royals visited Yankee Stadium this week, and that can mean only one thing: New York reporters were all over sensational right-hander Zack Greinke.

Since the presumption up there is that the universe revolves around midtown Manhattan, they probably figured he’d tell them he couldn’t wait to become a free agent so he can sign with the Bronx Bombers.

“I don’t want to pitch for New York in the playoffs,” he said instead. “I want to pitch for Kansas City in the playoffs.”

Setting aside for a moment that this seems to be a distant dream for the Royals at the moment, the quip inspired Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star to compile a top-10 list of Greinke’s best quotes. A sampling:

• “I’d say the average person couldn’t eat a Chipotle burrito and still do his running, full speed, like me. That’s why they call me special.”

• “Nice effort by the defense today. They didn’t get tired running after balls. I was pretty impressed by that.”

• On making the cover of Sports Illustrated: “It’s a mistake. They’ll probably sell the least amount of magazines in a long time — except when NASCAR was on the cover.”

• On meeting President Obama, an avid White Sox fan, at the All-Star Game: “None of the White Sox guys like me. So I was hoping he’d recognize me and be like, ‘You punk, I hate you.’ But he didn’t do that.”

The only thing better than Greinke’s wit is how well he has pitched this year. Going into his final start of the season today against the Twins, he’s 16-8 with a 2.06 earned-run average for a last-place team.

And when you consider that he’s contractually prohibited from pitching against the Royals and that this team has the worst defense (as measured by advanced metrics) and the worst bullpen (as measured by earned-run average) in the league, it’s pretty clear that his teammates couldn’t have been less helpful if they tied his shoelaces together.

That should be enough to make him an overwhelming choice for the American League Cy Young Award. Even though the guys from New York will probably vote for CC Sabathia.