Barry Zito

Zito was taken by the Seattle Mariners in the 59th round (1,586th overall) of the 1996 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft, and in the third round (83rd overall) by the Texas Rangers in 1998, but did not sign with either team.[10] In the 1999 draft, he was selected by the Oakland Athletics with the ninth pick of the first round, and signed for a $1.59 million bonus.[10][11]

In 1999, Zito began his professional career with the Visalia Oaks, Oakland's A team. He went 3–0 with a 2.45 ERA in eight starts. He struck out 62 in 40+1⁄3 innings.[10] Zito was promoted to the Midland RockHounds, and went 2–1 with a 4.91 ERA to finish the AA schedule.[10] He then got one start for the AAA Vancouver Canadians (PCL), allowing a lone run with six strikeouts in six innings.[11]

Zito began the 2000 season in AAA with the Sacramento River Cats (the Canadians franchise had moved to Sacramento). He pitched 101+2⁄3 innings in 18 starts, going 8–5 with a 3.19 ERA, 91 strikeouts, and 41 walks.[11]

Zito made his major league debut on July 22, 2000, against the Anaheim Angels wearing #53. He allowed one run in five innings, and got the win.[12] In his next start, Zito went seven innings while giving up three runs to the Boston Red Sox. Zito continued to have great success early in his rookie season. In his third career start, he went seven innings and gave up one run against the Toronto Blue Jays. On September 10, Zito pitched his first complete game shutout against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He threw 110 pitches, struck out eight, and allowed five hits.[13] During the month of September, he went 5–1 with a 1.73 ERA.[14] Zito finished with a 7–4 record and a 2.72 earned run average in 14 starts.[4] Despite his late start to the season, Zito still finished fifth in American League (AL) Rookie of the Year Award voting.[15]

Zito made his postseason debut in Game 4 of the AL Division Series (ALDS) against the New York Yankees. He went 5.2 innings, struck out 5, walked 2, and allowed an earned run. Zito earned the win, outpitching Roger Clemens.[16] However, the Yankees would win the series, 3–2, and would go on to win their third straight World Series.[17]

In 2001, Zito Switched his uniform number to 75 (which he would wear throughout the rest of his career) finished third in the American League (AL) in strikeouts per nine innings (8.61), fourth in strikeouts (205), sixth in wins (17), eighth in ERA (3.49), and tenth in winning percentage (.680).[15] Zito became the sixth lefty aged 23 or younger since 1902 to strike out at least 200 batters in a season. After a great rookie season, Zito struggled through the early part of the 2001 season, posting a 6–7 record with a 5.01 ERA in his first 22 starts. However, he rebounded nicely and by August, he was putting up good pitching numbers. Zito was named Pitcher of the Month in August, going 5–1 with a 1.02 ERA. Zito won Pitcher of the Month again in September, going 6–0 with a 1.89 ERA. During those last two months of the season, Zito went a combined 11–1 with a 1.32 ERA, best in baseball.[4][18]

The Athletics made the postseason and again played the Yankees in the ALDS. Zito pitched in Game 3 against Mike Mussina. He went eight innings, striking out six, walking one, and allowing an earned run. But Zito took the loss as the Yankees won the game, 1–0.[4] The Yankees would end up taking the series, 3–2.[19]

Zito pitching for the Athletics in 2002

In 2002, Zito became one of the best pitchers in baseball. On June 22, Zito won his 10th game of the season. It was the earliest that an A's pitcher had reached the 10-win mark since Bob Welch got there on June 15, 1990. Zito was named to the All-Star team for the first time in his career. On July 18, he went 7.1 innings while giving up no runs against the Angels. That win gave Zito a team-record 16th straight win at home. Zito again faced the Angels in his next start and produced similar results. He went 6.1 innings and gave up just one run. That win gave Zito the most wins by an AL pitcher (14). Zito would become the AL's first 15-game winner when he beat the Rangers. On August 23, Zito recorded his 18th win of the season, giving him one more than his previous career-high of 17, in a game against the Detroit Tigers.[4]

On August 28, Zito earned his 19th win of the season against the Kansas City Royals. However, he lost his bid for a perfect game in the sixth inning when Neifi Pérez singled with one out. Zito gave credit to Pérez. "I wasn't pitching to maintain a no-hitter or something", Zito said. "I left the ball up over the middle to Pérez, and he hit it up the middle. It was a good piece of hitting."[20]

On September 8, Zito became the first pitcher in the AL to win 20 games when he pitched seven innings and allowed no earned runs against the Minnesota Twins. "I'm not pitching for the Cy Young", Zito said. "I'm pitching to get the Oakland A's into the playoffs and to the World Series."[21] In his next start, against the Seattle Mariners, Zito took a no-hitter into the eighth inning before John Olerud singled to leadoff the inning. Seattle manager Lou Piniella said if he could vote for the Cy Young Award winner, "It would go to that young man who pitched for the Oakland team. There are other deserving pitchers, but [Zito] has won 21 games and he competes well."[22]

In his last start of the season, Zito went six innings and allowed just a run against the Texas Rangers. In his last 10 starts, Zito went 8–0, boosting his chances of winning the AL Cy Young Award. "Barry pitched another gem", said Oakland manager Art Howe. "He's certainly had a Cy Young-type season. He's just been steady all season long."[23]

In Game 3 of the ALDS, Zito went six innings and gave up three earned runs against the Twins, earning the win.[4] However, the Twins defeated the Athletics in five games, making the Athletics the first team to lose the deciding game of a series three years in a row.[24]

Zito would go on to win the AL Cy Young Award with a 23–5 record, narrowly defeating Pedro Martínez in the voting. He led the league with 23 wins, was second in winning percentage (.821), and third in both ERA (2.75) and strikeouts (182). Zito's 23 wins were the most by an AL left-hander since Frank Viola had 24 wins for Minnesota in 1988. Zito also allowed a .185 average to opposing hitters, the lowest in the AL.[15] Martínez, who had led the AL in ERA (2.26), strikeouts (239), and winning percentage (.833), became the first pitcher since the introduction of the award to lead his league in each of the three categories and not win the award.[25] Zito became the first A's pitcher to win the Cy Young Award since Dennis Eckersley did it in 1992. Zito was also named AL TSN Pitcher of the Year.[4]

In 2003, Zito started off with a win against the Mariners. He went 6 innings and allowed an earned run, an RBI single by Olerud in the first inning. In his next start, Zito went 7 innings, struck out 7, walked 4, and allowed one run against Texas. In the process, he became only the fifth A's pitcher to win 10 straight games, the first since Welch in 1990. On April 18, Zito went nine innings, allowing six hits and no runs in a start against the Rangers. Zito improved to 9–0 in his career against Texas. After the game, Texas manager Buck Showalter said, "I got the feeling he made it look pretty easy. When he has that kind of command, you can see what happens."[26] Zito struggled in his second-to-last start before the All-Star Break on July 8. He allowed seven earned runs and 15 hits against the Devil Rays. The 15 hits allowed were a career-high. Devil Rays manager Piniella was stunned by Zito's bad start. He said, "If you'd have told me we'd get 15 hits off Zito in five or six innings, I would have looked at you a little funny."[27] Nevertheless, Zito bounced back in his next start. He went eight innings without surrendering a run against the Baltimore Orioles. Zito was again named to the All Star team, the second time he has been named to the team.[4]

In 2003, Zito was seventh in the AL in ERA (3.30). He had a 14–12 record and 146 strikeouts over a career-high 231+2⁄3 innings pitched.[15]

In Game 2 of the ALDS against the Red Sox, Zito went seven innings, striking out nine, walking two, allowing one earned run, and earning the win in Oakland's 5–1 triumph. In Game 5, Zito went six innings and allowed four earned runs, taking the loss as the Red Sox won the game and the series.[28]

In 2004, Zito struggled and posted the worst numbers of his career at the time. Zito went 2–3 with a 6.83 ERA in the month of April.[29] On May 28, facing Cliff Lee, he threw eight shutout innings but received a no-decision in a 1–0 loss to the Cleveland Indians.[30] He threw eight shutout innings of four-hit ball in a 5–0 victory over the Devil Rays on August 21. Oakland manager Ken Macha would have let him throw a complete game, but Zito said, "I was worrying about being fresh for the next game. I didn't want to end up [throwing] 115–120 [pitches], so I took advantage of the situation and shut it down."[31] On September 12, he threw seven shutout innings and had 10 strikeouts, earning the win in a 1–0 victory over the Indians.[32] For the season, he went 11–11 with a 4.48 ERA. That was his only year with the Athletics that his ERA was more than 4.00. He still finished 10th in the league in strikeouts with 163.[15]

Zito throwing a pitch

Following the departure of Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder, Zito was given his first Opening Day assignment in 2005. He allowed four runs over six innings in a 4–0 loss to the Orioles on April 4.[33] In 2005, Zito again struggled in the month of April, going 0–4 with a 6.60 ERA. In his first 16 starts of the campaign, he was 3–8 with a 4.41 ERA. However, Zito pitched better the rest of the season. He had a streak of 14 consecutive starts from May 17 through July 25 (and 20 out of 21 through August 30) in which he gave up fewer hits than innings pitched. From June 28 through August 4, he earned the win in eight consecutive starts.[34] On June 6, Zito allowed two runs in six innings in a 2–1 loss to the Washington Nationals. During the game, he collected his first major league hit, against Tony Armas Jr.[35] Zito was named Pitcher of the Month in July, going 6–0 with a 2.51 ERA. In 35 starts, Zito went 14–13 with a 3.86 ERA. Zito's 35 starts were the most in Major League Baseball that season, demonstrating his durability as a pitcher. He also had 171 strikeouts, good for fifth in the league.[15]

In 2006, Zito went 1.1 innings and allowed seven earned runs on Opening Day (April 3) against the Yankees. It was the shortest outing of his career.[36] However, Zito quickly rebounded from that bad start. On June 1, he allowed four hits over seven innings in a 4–0 victory over the Twins. During the game, he recorded his 1,000th career strikeout by punching out Lew Ford.[37] On July 2, Zito and Brandon Webb both allowed one run through eight innings before Zito gave up two unearned runs while only getting two outs in the ninth; Webb threw a complete game as the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Athletics 3–1.[38] When the All-Star Break rolled around, Zito was 8–6 with a 3.29 earned run average. He was named to the 2006 All-Star Game.[4] On August 25, Zito earned his 100th career win when he defeated the Rangers 9–3. He had a no-hitter going into the eighth inning, but Mark DeRosa singled to lead it off.[39] In 35 starts (first in the league again), he had a 16–10 record, a 3.83 ERA, and 151 strikeouts. Zito was tied for eighth in the league in wins, he ranked tenth in ERA, and he was third in innings pitched (221). He had the eighth-lowest run support of AL pitchers (4.97) but had a 15–1 record if he received at least two runs of support.[4]

Zito helped the Athletics reach the postseason. In Game 1 of the ALDS, he allowed one run and four hits over eight innings, outdueling Johan Santana and earning the win in a 3–2 victory over the Twins and setting the stage for an Oakland sweep.[40][41] Zito did not fare as well in Game 1 of the AL Championship Series (ALCS) against the Tigers, allowing five runs over 3+2⁄3 innings in a 5–1 defeat.[42] The Tigers went on to sweep the Athletics in four games.[43]

Zito replaced his agent Arn Tellem with Scott Boras in July 2006.[44] Zito was a focal point of the 2006 trade deadline, and was widely rumored to be headed to the Mets in a potential deal for prospect Lastings Milledge. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote that if the Mets were unwilling to trade Milledge, the Athletics might be interested in Aaron Heilman and John Maine.[45] However, Athletics' general manager Billy Beane decided to keep Zito for the rest of the season.[4]

Zito with the Giants

Following his seventh season with the Athletics, Zito signed a seven-year deal with the San Francisco Giants worth $126 million, plus $18 million option for 2014 with a $7 million buyout.[46] Zito's contract on December 29, 2006, became the highest for any pitcher in Major League history at the time.[46]

During spring training in 2007, he and Barry Bonds made shirts that read "Don't ask me, ask Barry" with an arrow pointing to the other Barry. By all accounts, Zito and Bonds got along well during their short time as teammates, and Zito made a point of saying he would stand by Bonds through onslaughts from the media.[47]

In his first start as a member of the Giants, Opening Day (April 3), Zito went five innings and allowed two earned runs against the San Diego Padres. He would take the loss. In his next start, Zito struggled. He went six innings but allowed eight earned runs against the Los Angeles Dodgers.[48] Zito would earn his first win as a member of the Giants in his next start on April 16 when he went six innings, gave up three hits, and allowed no runs to the Colorado Rockies. "I've been trying to have a good game", Zito said. "You can't try to do anything. You either do or you don't. I tried to get too fine with my pitches. I wasn't aggressive."[49]

On May 18, Zito made his return to Oakland as a Giant. He lasted only four innings as he gave up seven runs while walking seven, including two bases-loaded walks. The A's beat the Giants, 15–3.[50] He faced his old team again on June 9, this time in San Francisco. Zito pitched four innings while giving up three earned runs on nine hits in a 6–0 defeat.[51]

Zito made his first Major League relief appearance on August 5 against the Padres due to an early exit by starter Noah Lowry and an overworked bullpen. He pitched a scoreless seventh inning.[52] He recorded his first career run batted in (RBI) two days later against the Nationals' Mike Bacsik, in the same game that Barry Bonds hit his record-breaking 756th career home run.[53]

After Zito's start on August 12, his ERA was 5.13.[48] Over his final nine starts, he posted the fifth-best ERA in the NL, at 3.10.[4] He also had a 3–2 record.[48] He admitted that he had put pressure on himself to perform because of the large contract and was learning that he just needed to be himself. Zito also said that it had been difficult for him to adjust to a new league, team, and ballpark.[54] On the final day of the season, in Los Angeles against the Dodgers, Zito allowed two runs on five hits and had four strikeouts in an 11–2 win.[48] For the first time in his career, Zito had a losing record, as he finished the season at 11–13. He failed to reach 200 innings (196+2⁄3) for the first time since 2000 and posted a career-high 4.53 ERA.[4]

Zito began the 2008 season as the oldest starter and the veteran presence in the Giants' starting rotation.[55] In April, Zito went 0–6 with a 7.53 ERA and 11 strikeouts. He was the third pitcher in the last 52 years to go 0–6 before May 1.[56] On April 28, the Giants moved him to the bullpen.[57] Zito did not make an appearance out of the bullpen and returned to the rotation on May 7 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. In that game, Zito allowed five hits and two earned runs over five innings and took the loss, his seventh of the season.[58] On May 23, Zito collected his first win of the 2008 season against the Florida Marlins.[4] On June 13, Zito became the first pitcher to record 10 losses in the Major Leagues following a 5–1 loss to Oakland. His 5.1 walks per nine innings pitched for the season, 51.5% first-pitch-strike percentage, and 14 sacrifice flies allowed, were all the worst in the majors.[59][60] Beginning June 25, Zito saw some improvement, as he posted an 8–6 record for the rest of the season to go along with a 4.33 ERA.[58] He finished the year 10–17 with a career-high 5.15 ERA and 120 strikeouts. His 17 losses led the National League and were the second-worst total in San Francisco history (Ray Sadecki lost 18 games in 1968).[4]

The 2009 season seemed to mark a rebound in Zito's pitching performance. Though starting the season 0–2 with an ERA of 10, Zito ended the season with an ERA of 4.03. His ERA would have been 3.74 had it not been for his first two starts.[61] Though going only 10–13 in the season, Zito's record was much more the fault of his spotty run support (the second-lowest in the major leagues) than his performance on the mound.[62] On June 21, Zito pitched a no-hitter through six innings against Texas before giving up a home run to Andruw Jones in the seventh inning. He won the game, his fourth win of the season.[63] On July 7, Zito pitched what could be considered his best game of the season. He pitched 82⁄3 innings against the Florida Marlins, allowing one run on four hits, striking out six, and walking one. He won the game, his fifth win of the season.[64]

Zito started the 2010 season by pitching six shutout innings against the Houston Astros to earn a win; it was the first time he had won his season-opening start since 2003. On April 24, Zito stifled the St. Louis Cardinals, throwing eight shutout innings with ten strikeouts for his third victory of the season, en route to starting the season 5–0 for the first time in his career. It was the best start by a Giants' pitcher since 2004, when Lowry started 6–0. On June 12, 2010, Zito earned his first win against his former team, the Athletics, which gave him victories against every MLB team. Zito is one of eighteen pitchers to record a win against all 30 MLB teams, and the first pitcher to accomplish the feat while only with two clubs[4]

Through June 12, Zito was 7–2 with a 3.10 ERA. After a strong start to the season, Zito regressed down the stretch, going 2–12 with a 4.97 ERA the rest of the way.[65] He finished the season 9–14 with a 4.15 ERA, snapping a streak of nine straight seasons in which he had 10 or more wins.[4] In a rotation featuring Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sánchez, and Madison Bumgarner, Zito was the odd man out for the playoffs. In fact, he was left completely off the Giants' 25-man active roster for the postseason. Zito worked out throughout the playoffs so that he would be ready to join the roster in case of an injury, but he was never needed and remained on the secondary squad.[66] The Giants won the 2010 World Series in five games over Texas, and he received his first World Series ring.[67]

Early in the 2011 season Zito experienced his first trip to the disabled list after an injury to his right foot during a fielding play.[4] His replacement, Ryan Vogelsong, excelled, but Zito was able to rejoin the rotation when he returned in June because Sánchez was placed on the disabled list with left biceps tendinitis.[68][69] Zito pitched well in his first few starts back, pitching well against the Tigers, Chicago Cubs, and Padres en route to three Giants wins, but later resumed his struggle, going 0–3 with a 10.91 ERA over his next three starts.[70] He returned to the disabled list after aggravating his right foot injury; ironically, his trip to the DL made room for Sánchez to return to the rotation.[71] On August 13, Zito injured his right ankle on another fielding play in a Triple-A rehab start, sidelining him for another month.[72] Zito returned from the DL on September 11 but was used out of the bullpen for the rest of the year; he posted a 9.00 ERA over his final four games.[70][73] In a career-low 13 games (nine starts), he had a 3–4 record, a career-high 5.87 ERA, 32 strikeouts, and 24 walks in a career-low 53+2⁄3 innings.[4]

After struggling mightily during spring training in which he threw with a new crouched delivery, Zito began the 2012 season with a start against the Rockies on April 9. He threw arguably one of the best games of his career, throwing a complete-game shutout while giving up just 4 hits in the 7–0 Giants victory. It was his first shutout since 2003 when he was a member of the Oakland Athletics.[74] In a June 3 home game matchup with the Cubs, Zito pitched four-hit shutout ball into the ninth inning for a 2–0 Giants win and brought his season ERA below 3.00.[75] In earning the win, Zito earned his 150th career win, becoming the 246th pitcher to hit the mark.[76] Zito had a hand in the Giants' second road shutout win of the season when he pitched seven innings, allowing three hits and recording four strikeouts, in a July 17 game versus the Atlanta Braves. The win pushed his season record to 8–6.[77] Zito would go on to finish the season with a 15–8 record, his most wins in a season with the Giants, while sporting a 4.15 ERA.[4]

Zito faced off against the Reds in Game 4 of the National League Division Series (NLDS) on October 10 and struggled, being pulled in the third inning after allowing two runs. However, the Giants went on to win 8–3.[78] The Giants, after losing the first two games of the series, became the first team to rally from a 2–0 deficit with both losses at home in an NLDS, winning 3 straight road games to win the series in five games.[79] On October 19, 2012, Zito rebounded and pitched arguably the best game of his career, tossing 72⁄3 shutout innings against the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series (NLCS), earning the win.[80] It was his first postseason win since 2006 and according to Zito himself, was the biggest win of his career.[81] That same day, Zito inspired the Twitter hashtag #rallyzito, which, behind the efforts of Giants fans, was trending worldwide on the social networking site.[82] The Giants, after trailing 3–1 in the series, prevailed in seven games.[83]

On October 24, 2012, Zito pitched in the first World Series of his career. As the Game 1 starter, Zito earned the win, outpitching Detroit's Justin Verlander by tossing 5+2⁄3 innings of one-run ball. Zito also added an RBI single en route to an 8–3 Giants win.[84] The Giants went on to sweep the Tigers in the World Series, and Zito went 2–0 with a 1.69 earned run average in the postseason.[85] Zito did not lose a single game after August 2 against the Mets, and San Francisco won his last 14 starts.[86]

On April 5, 2013, during the Giants' home opener, Zito held the Cardinals scoreless over seven shutout innings, earning the 1–0 win.[87] He followed this performance with seven more shutout innings and some personal offensive contribution at the plate against the Rockies in a 10–0 win to complete a 3-game series sweep.[88] It was the Giants' 16th straight victory in a row in games started by Zito (including the 2012 regular season and postseason), the longest such streak by a Giants pitcher since 1936 by Hall of Fame left-handed pitcher Carl Hubbell.[88] However, Zito struggled for the rest of the season, going 2–10 with a 6.24 ERA after April 21 and losing his rotation spot a couple times late in the year.[89][90]

On September 25, manager Bruce Bochy decided to give Zito one final start with the Giants as a tribute to his tenure with the team. Zito responded by allowing two runs (one earned) over five innings and earning the win in a 7–4 victory over the Dodgers.[91] However, because Zito was removed between innings during the Dodger game, Bochy sent him in to pitch in relief in the final game of the year so that Giants' fans could give him a standing ovation. Zito entered with two outs in the eighth inning on September 29 and struck out Mark Kotsay (playing his final game) as the Giants beat the Padres 7–6.[92] He finished the 2013 season at 5–11 with a 5.74 ERA in 30 games, 25 of which were starts.[4] Following the season, Zito took out a full-page ad in the San Francisco Chronicle thanking Giants fans for their support.[93] The Giants declined Zito's 2014 option, buying it out for $7 million.[94]

Zito in his final 2015 appearance with the Triple-A Nashville Sounds on September 6

After taking a year off from baseball, Zito signed a minor league contract to return to the Athletics on February 16, 2015.[95] In spring training, Zito competed for a role on the Athletics' 25-man roster, possibly as a long reliever.[96] On April 4, 2015, Zito accepted an assignment to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds.[97][98] Zito's Nashville teammates lauded him for embracing the Triple-A lifestyle and for his commitment to the team: charting pitches between starts, coaching first base, and even buying dinner for the entire team on his birthday.[99] Zito spent the entire season with Nashville, including about a month on the disabled list with left shoulder tendinitis. He was activated on the next-to-last day of the season on which he pitched one scoreless inning of relief. In a total of 24 appearances (22 starts), he accrued an 8–7 record with a 3.46 ERA and 91 strikeouts.

Zito revealed in an interview that he had learned the Athletics would not be bringing him up to the major league club in September.[100] However, following a season-ending injury to Jesse Chavez, Oakland purchased Zito's contract from Triple-A on September 16, placing him on the major league roster.[101] Zito made his first major league appearance of the season on September 20, pitching an inning in relief.[102] On September 26, 2015, Zito started for the Athletics against Hudson and the Giants in a matchup that was arranged as a tribute to the A's "Big Three" of the early 2000s. Both pitchers received lengthy standing ovations from the sold-out Coliseum crowd (which included the third Big Three member, Mulder) upon leaving the game.[103]

On October 19, 2015, Zito announced his retirement from baseball in an article for The Players' Tribune.[104]