HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Barry William Zito (born May 13, 1978) is an American former professional
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...
. He played 15 seasons in
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
(MLB) for the
Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...
and
San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...
. His pitching repertoire consisted of a
curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curv ...
(his strikeout pitch), a
four-seam fastball A four-seam fastball, also called a rising fastball, a four-seamer, or a cross-seam fastball, is a pitch in baseball. It is a member of the fastball family of pitches and is usually the hardest (i.e., fastest) ball thrown by a pitcher. It is c ...
, a two-seam fastball, a
circle changeup In baseball, a circle changeup (also called the "okay changeup", related to the thumb and index finger touching) is a pitch thrown with a grip that includes a circle formation, hence the name circle changeup. The circle is formed by making a ...
, and a cutterslider. Zito attended the
University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...
, Los Angeles Pierce College, and the
University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...
. Drafted three times while in college, Zito signed with the Athletics when they chose him in the first round of the
1999 MLB draft The 1999 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, was held on June 2 and 3, 1999. A total of 1474 players were drafted over the course of 50 rounds. First round selections ...
. A year later, he was in the major leagues, finishing fifth in
American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league b ...
(AL)
Rookie of the Year Award A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...
. He struggled to begin the 2001 season but improved greatly down the stretch, finishing the year with an 11–1
win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...
over his final two months. He won 23 games (while only losing five) in 2002 and won the
Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Ha ...
. His record was only 14–12 in 2003, but he still made the All-Star team for the second year in a row. In 2004, he had his worst season at the time, going 11–11 with a career-high 4.48
earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the numb ...
. He became Oakland's Opening Day starter in 2005 and finished fifth in the AL with 171
strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is den ...
s. In 2006, he made the All-Star team and posted a 15–1 record when receiving two or more runs of support. Following his seventh season with the Athletics, Zito signed a seven-year deal with the Giants in December 2006. At the time, it was the largest contract ever given to a pitcher. He posted double-digit wins in his first three seasons, and in 2010 he helped San Francisco win their first
championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...
since 1954. However, he struggled the last month of the season and he was left off the postseason roster. After sitting out much of the 2011 season with a foot and ankle injury, he came back in 2012 and flourished, finishing with a 15–8 record, his best season in a Giants uniform. The same October, Zito helped lead the Giants to their second
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...
title in San Francisco history over the
Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...
by going 2–0 with a 1.69 ERA in three postseason starts. In his first career World Series start, he outdueled Tigers' ace
Justin Verlander Justin Brooks Verlander ( ; born February 20, 1983) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros. From Manakin-Sabot, ...
in Game 1, setting the stage for San Francisco's sweep to their seventh World Series title in franchise history. Zito struggled in 2013 but received a standing ovation from the fans in his final appearance as a Giant. Following the year, he became a
free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who i ...
. Zito, a philanthropist, founded '' Strikeouts For Troops'', a national non-profit that provides comforts of home and lifts the spirits and morale of injured troops as well as offering support to military families. In 2020, he was a contestant on the 3rd season of '' The Masked Singer''.


Early life

Zito was born May 13, 1978, in Las Vegas, Nevada, to Roberta (née Rosser; 1943-2008) and Joe Zito (1928-2013). He is of Italian descent. His parents were a show-business couple working for singer and pianist
Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...
and he had two sisters who were 9 and 13 years older than Barry. His family moved to
San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...
, to help him concentrate on his baseball career, after he showed signs of promise from a very young age. His father, not knowing much about baseball, began reading books about pitching strategy and even stopped working to help coach his son. At the age of 12, Randy Jones, a former Cy Young Award winner, was hired by his father to give him lessons at $50 an hour. He transferred from
El Cajon El Cajon ( , ; Spanish: El Cajón, meaning "the box") is a city in San Diego County, California, United States, east of downtown San Diego. The city takes its name from Rancho El Cajón, which was in turn named for the box-like shape of the va ...
's
Grossmont High School Grossmont High School is the oldest high school in San Diego's east county, California. Its mascot is the Foothiller, so chosen because, at the time of the school's construction, east county was much more isolated from the rest of San Diego than ...
, where he was the star pitcher, to University of San Diego High School, a
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
private school for his senior year. Zito received many league honors there, posting an 8-4 record with a 2.92 ERA, while racking up 105 strikeouts in just 85 innings. Zito then attended
UC Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...
where he earned Freshman
All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...
Honors with 125 strikeouts in innings. In his sophomore season, Zito transferred to Los Angeles Pierce College so that he could be eligible for the
Major League Baseball draft The first-year player draft is the primary mechanism of Major League Baseball (MLB) for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. The draft order is determined based on a lo ...
. At Pierce, he posted a 2.62
earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the numb ...
(ERA), went 9–2 with 135 strikeouts in 103 innings, and was named to the all-state and all-conference teams. He then transferred to the
University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...
(USC), where he was a first-team
All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...
selected by ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
Baseball Weekly'', ''Collegiate Baseball'', and ''
Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...
''. With a 12–3 record, a 3.28 ERA, and 154 strikeouts in innings, Zito was named
Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Divisio ...
Pitcher of the Year. Zito also played in the
Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...
, a summer wooden bat league which showcases the nation's top amateur prospects. He led the
Wareham Gatemen The Wareham Gatemen are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Wareham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Gatemen play their home games at Clem Spillane Fie ...
to the league championship in 1997, and was named a league all-star and led the team to a runner-up finish in 1998.


Baseball career


Major League Baseball Draft

Zito was taken by the
Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion ...
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 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
, but did not sign with either team. In the 1999 draft, he was selected by the
Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...
with the ninth pick of the first round, and signed for a $1.59 million bonus.


Minor leagues

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 innings. Zito was promoted to the
Midland RockHounds The Midland RockHounds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Midland, Texas. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics major league club. The RockHounds play in Momentum Bank Ballpark, w ...
, and went 2–1 with a 4.91 ERA to finish the AA schedule. He then got one start for the AAA
Vancouver Canadians (PCL) The Vancouver Canadians were a Minor League Baseball team of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League from 1978 to 1999. They were located in Vancouver, British Columbia and played their home games at Nat Bailey Stadium. History Vancouver, a city w ...
, allowing a lone run with six strikeouts in six innings. Zito began the 2000 season in AAA with the
Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics for 15 ye ...
(the Canadians franchise had moved to Sacramento). He pitched innings in 18 starts, going 8–5 with a 3.19 ERA, 91 strikeouts, and 41 walks.


Major leagues


Oakland Athletics (2000–06)


=2000

= Zito made his major league debut on July 22, 2000, against the
Anaheim Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...
wearing #53. He allowed one
run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...
in five innings, and got the win. In his next start, Zito went seven innings while giving up three runs to the
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
. 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 The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
. On September 10, Zito pitched his first complete game shutout against the
Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home ve ...
. He threw 110 pitches, struck out eight, and allowed five hits. During the month of September, he went 5–1 with a 1.73 ERA. Zito finished with a 7–4 record and a 2.72 earned run average in 14 starts. Despite his late start to the season, Zito still finished fifth in
American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league b ...
(AL)
Rookie of the Year Award A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...
voting. Zito made his postseason debut in Game 4 of the AL Division Series (ALDS) against the
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...
. He went 5.2 innings, struck out 5, walked 2, and allowed an earned run. Zito earned the win, outpitching
Roger Clemens William Roger Clemens (born August 4, 1962), nicknamed "Rocket", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Boston Red Sox. Clemens was one of the most dominant pi ...
. However, the Yankees would win the series, 3–2, and would go on to win their third straight
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...
.


=2001

= 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 The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league b ...
(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 In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...
(.680). 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. The Athletics made the postseason and again played the Yankees in the
ALDS In Major League Baseball, the American League Division Series (ALDS) determines which two teams from the American League will advance to the American League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring e ...
. Zito pitched in Game 3 against
Mike Mussina Michael Cole Mussina (born December 8, 1968), nicknamed "Moose", is an American former baseball starting pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1991–2000) and the New York Yankees (2001–2008). ...
. 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. The Yankees would end up taking the series, 3–2.


=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 Bob Welch may refer to: *Bob Welch (baseball) (1956–2014), American baseball pitcher *Bob Welch (author) (born c. 1955), American author and newspaper columnist *Bob Welch (musician) (1945–2012), American musician and member of Fleetwood Mac ** ...
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 The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...
. On August 28, Zito earned his 19th win of the season against the
Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...
. However, he lost his bid for a perfect game in the sixth inning when
Neifi Pérez Neifi Neftali Pérez (; ; born June 2, 1973) is a former Major League baseball player. He was a switch hitter who threw right-handed. During his career, he played with the Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, ...
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." 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 The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...
. "I'm not pitching for the
Cy Young Denton True "Cy" Young (March 29, 1867 – November 4, 1955) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. Born in Gilmore, Ohio, he worked on his family's farm as a youth before starting his professional baseball career. Young entered th ...
", Zito said. "I'm pitching to get the Oakland A's into the playoffs and to the World Series." In his next start, against the
Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion ...
, Zito took a no-hitter into the eighth inning before
John Olerud John Garrett Olerud, Jr. (; born August 5, 1968), nicknamed "Johnny O", is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from through , most notably as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays te ...
singled to leadoff the inning. Seattle manager
Lou Piniella Louis Victor Piniella ( usually ; born August 28, 1943) is a former professional baseball player and manager. An outfielder, he played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals and ...
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 itohas won 21 games and he competes well." 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 Arthur Henry Howe Jr. (born December 15, 1946) is an American former professional baseball infielder, coach, scout, and manager, who appeared as a player in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates (–), Houston Astros (–), and ...
. "He's certainly had a Cy Young-type season. He's just been steady all season long." In Game 3 of the
ALDS In Major League Baseball, the American League Division Series (ALDS) determines which two teams from the American League will advance to the American League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring e ...
, Zito went six innings and gave up three earned runs against the Twins, earning the win. 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. Zito would go on to win the AL Cy Young Award with a 23–5 record, narrowly defeating
Pedro Martínez Pedro Jaime Martínez (born October 25, 1971) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to , for five teams—most notably the Boston Red Sox from to . At the time o ...
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 Frank John Viola Jr. (born April 19, 1960) is an American former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Minnesota Twins (1982–1989), New York Mets (1989–1991), Boston Red Sox (1992–1994), Cincinnati Reds (1995), and To ...
had 24 wins for Minnesota in 1988. Zito also allowed a .185 average to opposing hitters, the lowest in the AL. 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. Zito became the first A's pitcher to win the Cy Young Award since
Dennis Eckersley Dennis Lee Eckersley (born October 3, 1954), nicknamed "Eck", is an American professional baseball pitcher and former color commentator. Between 1975 and 1998, he pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, ...
did it in 1992. Zito was also named AL TSN Pitcher of the Year.


=2003

= 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 William Nathaniel "Buck" Showalter III (born May 23, 1956) is an American professional baseball manager for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). Previously, he served as manager of the New York Yankees (1992–1995), Arizona Diam ...
said, "I got the feeling he made it look pretty easy. When he has that kind of command, you can see what happens." 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." Nevertheless, Zito bounced back in his next start. He went eight innings without surrendering a run against the
Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...
. Zito was again named to the All Star team, the second time he has been named to the team. 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 innings pitched. In Game 2 of the
ALDS In Major League Baseball, the American League Division Series (ALDS) determines which two teams from the American League will advance to the American League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring e ...
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.


=2004

= 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. On May 28, facing
Cliff Lee Clifton Phifer Lee (born August 30, 1978) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher who played for 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Between 2002 and 2014 he played for four teams, most notably the Philadelphia Philli ...
, he threw eight shutout innings but received a no-decision in a 1–0 loss to the
Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...
. 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 Kenneth Edward Macha (; born September 29, 1950) is a former Major League Baseball third baseman and manager. He managed the Oakland Athletics from 2003–2006, including American League Western Division championships in both his first and final ...
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 hrowing115–120 itches so I took advantage of the situation and shut it down." On September 12, he threw seven shutout innings and had 10 strikeouts, earning the win in a 1–0 victory over the Indians. 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.


=2005

= Following the departure of
Tim Hudson Timothy Adam Hudson (born July 14, 1975), nicknamed "Huddy" is an American former professional baseball pitcher of Major League Baseball (MLB). After spending his college years at Chattahoochee Valley Community College and Auburn University, Hu ...
and
Mark Mulder Mark Alan Mulder (born August 5, 1977) is an American former professional baseball player. A left-handed starting pitcher, Mulder pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals. He is a two-time All ...
, Zito was given his first
Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years ...
assignment in 2005. He allowed four runs over six innings in a 4–0 loss to the Orioles on April 4. 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. On June 6, Zito allowed two runs in six innings in a 2–1 loss to the
Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...
. During the game, he collected his first major league hit, against
Tony Armas Jr. Antonio José Armas (born April 29, 1978), better known as Tony Armas Jr., is a Venezuelan former professional baseball right-handed pitcher. He spent most of his active career with the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals of Major League Basebal ...
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.


=2006

= 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. 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. On July 2, Zito and
Brandon Webb Brandon Tyler Webb (born May 9, 1979) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Webb pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2003 through 2009, and, after multiple shoulder surgeries, signed with but ...
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 The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...
beat the Athletics 3–1. 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. 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 Mark Thomas DeRosa (born February 26, 1975) is an American former professional baseball player who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1998 to 2013. He played for the Atlanta Braves (1998–2004), Texas Rangers (2005–2006), Chicago Cu ...
singled to lead it off. 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. Zito helped the Athletics reach the postseason. In Game 1 of the
ALDS In Major League Baseball, the American League Division Series (ALDS) determines which two teams from the American League will advance to the American League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring e ...
, he allowed one run and four hits over eight innings, outdueling
Johan Santana Johan Alexander Santana Araque (; born March 13, 1979) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball starting pitcher. Santana pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins from 2000 to 2007 and for the New York Mets from 2008 ...
and earning the win in a 3–2 victory over the Twins and setting the stage for an Oakland sweep. Zito did not fare as well in Game 1 of the AL Championship Series (ALCS) against the Tigers, allowing five runs over innings in a 5–1 defeat. The Tigers went on to sweep the Athletics in four games. Zito replaced his agent
Arn Tellem Arn Herschel Tellem
with
Scott Boras Scott may refer to: Places Canada * Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec * Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380 * Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Saskat ...
in July 2006. 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 Lastings Darnell Milledge (born April 5, 1985) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Washington Nationals, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Chicago White Sox and then in Nipp ...
.
Susan Slusser Susan Slusser is an American sportswriter who works for the ''San Francisco Chronicle'', covering the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. She was the first woman to serve as president of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. ...
of the ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The pa ...
'' wrote that if the Mets were unwilling to trade Milledge, the Athletics might be interested in
Aaron Heilman Aaron Michael Heilman (born November 12, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Heilman was drafted by the New York Mets out of Notre Dame in 2001. He came up through the Mets system as a starting pitcher, but was converted to ...
and
John Maine John Kevin Maine (born May 8, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He has played for the Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets and Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He batted and threw right-handed. Early life and co ...
. However, Athletics' general manager
Billy Beane William Lamar Beane III (born March 29, 1962) is an American former professional baseball player and current front office executive. He is the executive vice president of baseball operations and minority owner of the Oakland Athletics of M ...
decided to keep Zito for the rest of the season.


San Francisco Giants (2007–2013)


=2007

= Following his seventh season with the Athletics, Zito signed a seven-year deal with the
San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...
worth $126 million, plus $18 million option for 2014 with a $7 million buyout. Zito's contract on December 29, 2006, became the highest for any pitcher in Major League history at the time. During spring training in 2007, he and
Barry Bonds Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24, 1964) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Bonds was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986 to 1992 and the San Francisco Gian ...
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. 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 The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...
. 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 The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...
. 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 The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fi ...
. "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." 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. 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. Zito made his first Major League relief appearance on August 5 against the Padres due to an early exit by starter
Noah Lowry Noah Ryan Lowry (born October 10, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants from 2003 to 2007. College and the MLB Draft Lowry was first drafted out of Nordhof ...
and an overworked bullpen. He pitched a scoreless seventh inning. He recorded his first career
run batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...
(RBI) two days later against the Nationals' Mike Bacsik, in the same game that
Barry Bonds Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24, 1964) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Bonds was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986 to 1992 and the San Francisco Gian ...
hit his record-breaking 756th career home run. After Zito's start on August 12, his ERA was 5.13. Over his final nine starts, he posted the fifth-best ERA in the NL, at 3.10. He also had a 3–2 record. 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. 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. 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 () for the first time since 2000 and posted a career-high 4.53 ERA.


=2008

= Zito began the 2008 season as the oldest starter and the veteran presence in the Giants' starting rotation. 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. On April 28, the Giants moved him to the
bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...
. Zito did not make an appearance out of the bullpen and returned to the rotation on May 7 against the
Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
. In that game, Zito allowed five hits and two earned runs over five innings and took the loss, his seventh of the season. On May 23, Zito collected his first win of the 2008 season against the
Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fran ...
. 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. 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. 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 Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gr ...
lost 18 games in 1968).


=2009

= 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. 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. On June 21, Zito pitched a no-hitter through six innings against Texas before giving up a home run to
Andruw Jones Andruw Rudolf Jones (; born April 23, 1977) is a Curaçaoan former baseball outfielder and designated hitter who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most notably for the Atlanta Braves. Jones also played for the Los Angeles Dodg ...
in the seventh inning. He won the game, his fourth win of the season. On July 7, Zito pitched what could be considered his best game of the season. He pitched 8 innings against the
Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fran ...
, allowing one run on four hits, striking out six, and walking one. He won the game, his fifth win of the season.


=2010

= Zito started the 2010 season by pitching six shutout innings against the
Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...
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 The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
, 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 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. 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. In a rotation featuring
Tim Lincecum Timothy Leroy Lincecum ( ; born June 15, 1984), nicknamed "The Freak", "The Franchise", "The Freaky Franchise" and "Big Time Timmy Jim", is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San ...
,
Matt Cain Matthew Thomas Cain (born October 1, 1984), nicknamed "The Horse", "Big Daddy", "Big Sugar" and "Cainer", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career for the San Francisco Giants ...
, Jonathan Sánchez, and
Madison Bumgarner Madison Kyle Bumgarner (born August 1, 1989), commonly known by his nickname, "MadBum", is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). Previously, he pitched for the San Francisco Giants ...
, 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. The Giants won the
2010 World Series The 2010 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2010 season. The 106th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Texas Rangers and the Nat ...
in five games over Texas, and he received his first
World Series ring A World Series ring is an award given to Major League Baseball players who win the World Series. Since only one Commissioner's Trophy is awarded to the team, a World Series ring is an individual award that players and staff of each World Series ...
.


=2011

= Early in the 2011 season Zito experienced his first trip to the
disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...
after an injury to his right foot during a fielding play. His replacement,
Ryan Vogelsong Ryan Andrew Vogelsong (born July 22, 1977), nicknamed "Vogey", is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates and in Nippon Professional Baseball (N ...
, 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. Zito pitched well in his first few starts back, pitching well against the Tigers,
Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...
, 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. 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. On August 13, Zito injured his right ankle on another fielding play in a Triple-A rehab start, sidelining him for another month. 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. 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 innings.


=2012

= 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. 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. In earning the win, Zito earned his 150th career win, becoming the 246th pitcher to hit the mark. 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 Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in ...
. The win pushed his season record to 8–6. 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. Zito faced off against the Reds in Game 4 of the
National League Division Series In Major League Baseball, the National League Division Series (NLDS) determines which two teams from the National League will advance to the National League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring ...
(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. 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. On October 19, 2012, Zito rebounded and pitched arguably the best game of his career, tossing 7 shutout innings against the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 5 of the
National League Championship Series The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the winners of the two Nation ...
(NLCS), earning the win. It was his first postseason win since 2006 and according to Zito himself, was the biggest win of his career. That same day, Zito inspired the
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
hashtag A hashtag is a metadata tag that is prefaced by the hash (also known as pound or octothorpe) sign, ''#''. On social media, hashtags are used on microblogging and photo-sharing services such as Twitter or Instagram as a form of user-generated ...
''#rallyzito'', which, behind the efforts of Giants fans, was trending worldwide on the social networking site. The Giants, after trailing 3–1 in the series, prevailed in seven games. 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 Justin Brooks Verlander ( ; born February 20, 1983) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros. From Manakin-Sabot, ...
by tossing innings of one-run ball. Zito also added an RBI single en route to an 8–3 Giants win. 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. Zito did not lose a single game after August 2 against the Mets, and San Francisco won his last 14 starts.


=2013

= On April 5, 2013, during the Giants' home opener, Zito held the Cardinals scoreless over seven shutout innings, earning the 1–0 win. 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. 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 Carl Owen Hubbell (June 22, 1903 – November 21, 1988), nicknamed "the Meal Ticket" and "King Carl", was an American Major League Baseball player. He was a pitcher for the New York Giants of the National League from 1928 to 1943, and remained o ...
. 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. 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. 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 Mark Steven Kotsay (born December 2, 1975) is an American professional baseball manager and former outfielder. He is the manager for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). As a player, Kotsay appeared in 1,914 MLB games for the Sa ...
(playing his final game) as the Giants beat the Padres 7–6. He finished the 2013 season at 5–11 with a 5.74 ERA in 30 games, 25 of which were starts. Following the season, Zito took out a full-page ad in the ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The pa ...
'' thanking Giants fans for their support. The Giants declined Zito's 2014 option, buying it out for $7 million.


Second stint with the Athletics (2015)

After taking a year off from baseball, Zito signed a minor league contract to return to the Athletics on February 16, 2015. In spring training, Zito competed for a role on the Athletics' 25-man roster, possibly as a
long reliever A long reliever or long-relief pitcher is a relief pitcher in baseball who enters the game if the starting pitcher leaves the game early. Long relievers often enter in the first three innings of a game when the starting pitcher cannot continue, w ...
. On April 4, 2015, Zito accepted an assignment to the Triple-A
Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the city's association with the music indus ...
. 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. 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. However, following a season-ending injury to
Jesse Chavez Jesse David Chavez (born August 21, 1983) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Atlanta Braves organization. He played college baseball at Riverside Community College, and was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 42nd round of the ...
, Oakland purchased Zito's contract from Triple-A on September 16, placing him on the major league roster. Zito made his first major league appearance of the season on September 20, pitching an inning in relief. 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. On October 19, 2015, Zito announced his retirement from baseball in an article for '' The Players' Tribune''.


Pitching style

Zito's
fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...
hovered between and . He augmented it with a
circle changeup In baseball, a circle changeup (also called the "okay changeup", related to the thumb and index finger touching) is a pitch thrown with a grip that includes a circle formation, hence the name circle changeup. The circle is formed by making a ...
and a
curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curv ...
that he used as a strikeout pitch. His curveball was voted the best in the Major Leagues in a player poll conducted by ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence tw ...
'' in 2005.
Alex Rodriguez Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman, businessman and philanthropist. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the ...
once stated that he had never seen anything like Zito's curveball, commenting: "It's such a high one, and it drops three to four feet. You might as well not even look for it because you're not going to hit it." In mid-2004, Zito added a two-seam fastball and a cutterslider hybrid to his arsenal. In the 2009 season, this cutter-slider became a prominent part of his repertoire, being used more frequently than his changeup. Zito's diminished velocity at the start of the 2007 season (his fastball velocity slowed to ) and loss of command were the key mechanical reasons for his struggles that year, as he more often got behind in the count and had to rely more on his
fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...
. During the 2009 season, Zito made changes to his delivery, lowering his arm slot from an over the top angle to a three-quarters delivery. This change helped his fastball velocity go back up to the range as well as sharpening the break of his curveball. However, in 2011, he was once again in the range with his fastball. In 2012, Zito relied mostly on his two-seam fastball and cutter, and reduced his reliance on the four-seamer, which was the slowest four-seamer in MLB among starting pitchers that year, at . Addressing his
finesse In contract bridge and similar games, a finesse is a type of card play technique which will enable a player to win an additional trick or tricks should there be a favorable position of one or more cards in the hands of the opponents. The player a ...
pitching style, Zito said, "My fastball is set up by my offspeed, that's no secret. So if I can command my fastball to both sides of the plate and throw most of my offspeed for strikes, I'll get them to miss the barrel. That's what I'm going for."


Legacy

From 2000 through 2004 with the Athletics, Zito, Hudson, and Mulder were known as the "Big Three." Of the three, Zito had the highest single-season win total and was the only one to win the Cy Young Award. Zito's .618
winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...
is 10th all-time in Athletics history. His 6.896
strikeouts per 9 innings pitched In baseball statistics, strikeouts per nine innings pitched (K/9, SO/9, or SO/9IP) is the mean of strikeouts (or Ks) by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by multiplying the number of strikeouts by nine, and dividing by the nu ...
ranks seventh, his 1,096 strikeouts rank eighth, and his 222 games started rank 10th. Zito also holds a couple more dubious positions on Oakland's list: his 148 home runs allowed rank fifth, and his 65
hit by pitch In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is an event in which a batter or his clothing or equipment (other than his bat) is struck directly by a pitch from the pitcher; the batter is called a hit batsman (HB). A hit batsman is awarded first base, provided ...
es rank fourth (although he trails
Eddie Plank Edward Stewart Plank (August 31, 1875 – February 24, 1926), nicknamed "Gettysburg Eddie", was an American professional baseball player. A pitcher, Plank played in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Athletics from 1901 through 1914, ...
,
Chief Bender Charles Albert "Chief" Bender (May 5, 1884There is uncertainty about Bender's birth-date. He was voted the SABR "Centennial Celebrity" of 1983, as the best baseball player or figure born in 1883. However, the SABR ''Baseball Research Journal'' fo ...
, and
Rube Waddell George Edward Waddell (October 13, 1876 – April 1, 1914) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). A left-hander, he played for 13 years, with the Louisville Colonels, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Chicago Orphans in the National ...
in that category). Zito's .821 winning percentage in 2002 is tied with Bender's in 1910 for 10th among Athletics' single-season totals. His 8.608 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched in 2001 rank seventh, and his 205 strikeouts in 2001 are tied for 10th (with Dave Stewart's 1987 total and
Todd Stottlemyre Todd Vernon Stottlemyre (born May 20, 1965) is an American former professional baseball player. He played for 15 seasons in Major League Baseball as a starting pitcher from to , most notably as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays with whom he won t ...
's 1995 total). Zito's regular-season performance with the Giants was less successful; he went 63–80 with a 4.62 ERA. However, he had significantly more playoff success with them. Aided by his contributions in 2010, the team won its first World Series since 1954. Zito did not pitch in the playoffs that year, but did pitch in the 2012 postseason, saving the Giants' season by pitching them to a Game 5 victory in the NLCS against the Cardinals, and then outdueling Tigers' ace Justin Verlander in Game 1 of the 2012 World Series. The Giants went on to win their second World Series in three years. As a hitter, Zito batted .102 with 11 RBI. His 35 career hits were all singles, putting him 2nd on the all-time list of most
plate appearance In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runn ...
s (418) without an
extra-base hit In baseball, an extra-base hit (EB, EBH or XBH), also known as a long hit, is any base hit on which the batter is able to advance past first base without the benefit of a fielder either committing an error or opting to make a throw to retire anot ...
.


Awards

*1999 –
Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Divisio ...
Pitcher of the Year *1999 – First-Team College All-American *1999 – Pac-10 Conference All-Star *2000 – Triple-A All-Star *2002 – ''
Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...
'' First-Team Major League All-Star *2002 –
Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Ha ...
( AL) *2002 – Sporting News AL Pitcher of the Year *2002 – All-Star (AL) *2003 – All-Star (AL) *2006 – All-Star (AL) *2012 – ML
Hutch Award The Hutch Award is given annually to an active Major League Baseball (MLB) player who "best exemplifies the fighting spirit and competitive desire" of Fred Hutchinson, by persevering through adversity. The award was created in 1965 in honor of Hu ...
*2012 – ML Lou Gehrig Memorial Award


Music career

Zito started playing guitar in 1999 as a way to pass time on road trips. He had not considered music as a profession until his sister, Sally Zito, asked him to play guitar in her band with which he played during the offseason from 2000 to 2007. It was then that he began writing songs in preparation for a career after baseball. His 2015 comeback bid found him playing the majority of the season in
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...
, the home of country music. He used his time off to learn from the city's music industry professionals and to pursue songwriting. Zito released his first EP, titled '' No Secrets'', on January 27, 2017. The collection contains six songs either written or co-written by Zito. He later co-wrote and sang vocals for a theme song for the
Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the city's association with the music indus ...
, titled "That Sound". Zito was revealed to have competed as "Rhino" in
season 3 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In tempera ...
of '' The Masked Singer''.


Personal life

Zito became engaged to former Miss Missouri
Amber Seyer The Miss Missouri USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state Missouri in the Miss USA pageant. It is directed by Vanbros and Associates, based in Lenexa, Kansas. In 1993, Missouri joined the Vanbros group of st ...
in April 2011, and they were married on December 3, 2011. His father, Joe Zito, who died June 19, 2013, at the age of 84, composed and arranged music for
Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...
in the early 1960s (ca.1961–64) and arranged for the
Buffalo Symphony Orchestra The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra located in Buffalo, New York led by Music Director JoAnn Faletta. Its primary performing venue is Kleinhans Music Hall, which is a National Historic Landmark. Each season it p ...
. Zito's mother Roberta was a musician who sang in a choral group known as The Merry Young Souls and with Nat King Cole and his band. Zito is also a musician. He plays guitar, and he co-wrote the song "Butterflies" that was used in the
Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer. He rose to fame on the sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', for which he was a regular cast member from 1980 to 1984. Murphy has als ...
film '' A Thousand Words''. Zito's maternal aunt was married to television actor
Patrick Duffy Patrick Duffy (born March 17, 1949) is an American actor and director widely known for his role on the CBS primetime soap opera ''Dallas'', where he played Bobby Ewing, the youngest son of Miss Ellie, and the nicest brother of J.R. Ewing (pla ...
. Zito and wife Amber gave birth to their first child, a son named Mars, in July 2014. They adopted their second child, a son named Mercer Joseph Zito, in May 2017. A third child, a son named Rome, was born February 2020 Zito is known for his idiosyncrasies and his offbeat personality. Early in his career, Zito dyed his hair blue. He earned the nicknames "Planet Zito" and "Captain Quirk" when with Oakland. Zito says he likes the way his uniform number 75 looks because the 7 and the 5 are like a "shelf" to hold the name "Zito" up. He surfs and practices
yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...
. He has done yoga poses in the outfield, and
meditate Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...
d before games. Zito practices
Transcendental Meditation Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a form of silent mantra meditation advocated by the Transcendental Meditation movement. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi created the technique in India in the mid-1950s. Advocates of TM claim that the technique promotes ...
and supports the
David Lynch Foundation The David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace (or simply DLF) is a global charitable foundation with offices in New York City, Los Angeles, and Fairfield, Iowa. It was founded by film director and Transcendental Me ...
. Zito has said, however, that he believes terms such as "flaky" or "hippie" have been applied to him by people who do not know him well enough to know better. Zito was raised in a "spiritual, metaphysical type church" that was founded by his grandmother and that his mother, Roberta, who died in 2008, formerly preached at. In 2001, Zito espoused a universal life force that he credited with his midseason turnaround. He said that he discovered this force by reading ''Creative Mind'' by
Ernest Holmes Ernest Shurtleff Holmes (January 21, 1887 – April 7, 1960) was an American New Thought writer, teacher, and leader. He was the founder of a spiritual movement known as Religious Science, part of the greater New Thought movement, whose spiri ...
. However, in August 2011, Zito became a Christian, saying he "committed to
Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...
as his Lord and Savior." Zito explained that
God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
got his attention through his being left off the 2010 Giants postseason roster and a car accident and freak foot injury in early 2011. He got a tattoo (his only one) of a golden calf on the inside of his right bicep as a reminder for him to "not worship false idols" and to remember that God comes first. Zito said that his wife is a Christian as well. In 2019, Zito wrote ''Curveball: How I Discovered True Fulfillment After Chasing Fortune and Fame'', a memoir book about his life and his conversion to Christianity. Zito has said, “Having placed my full identity into my baseball career for most of my life, only to have it stripped away during the 2010 World Series run is what led me to discover my true identity. Not in a game, but in Jesus Christ.” Zito founded the charity ''Strikeouts For Troops''. The charity provides comforts of home and works to lift the spirits and morale of injured US troops and offers support to military families. In 2010, Zito announced that he would donate $1,500 for every strikeout in the Giants–Padres game on September 11. There were a total of 14 strikeouts in the game. In 2003, Zito portrayed a United States Navy petty officer in an episode of '' JAG'' on
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
. Zito's character, a pitcher, faced assault charges after hitting a Marine with a ball during the annual Navy-Marine all-star baseball game.


Publications

*


See also

*
List of Major League Baseball annual wins leaders Major League Baseball recognizes the player or players in each league with the most wins each season. In baseball, wins are a statistic used to evaluate pitchers. Credit for a win is given by the official scorer to the pitcher whose team takes a ...
*
List of Major League Baseball career strikeout leaders :''This list is for pitchers. For career strikeouts by batters, see List of Major League Baseball career strikeouts by batters leaders The following list is of the top 100 pitchers in career strikeouts in Major League Baseball. In baseball, a stri ...
*
2021 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting Elections to the National Baseball Hall of Fame for 2021 proceeded according to rules most recently amended in 2016. As in the past, the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) voted by mail to select from a ballot of recently retired pl ...


References


External links


Strikeouts for Troops
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zito, Barry 1978 births American country singer-songwriters American expatriate baseball players in Canada American male singer-songwriters American sportspeople of Italian descent American League All-Stars American League wins champions Baseball players from Nevada Baseball players from San Diego Cy Young Award winners Fresno Grizzlies players LAPC Brahma Bulls baseball players Living people Major League Baseball pitchers Midland RockHounds players Nashville Sounds players Oakland Athletics players Sacramento River Cats players San Francisco Giants players San Jose Giants players Sportspeople from El Cajon, California Sportspeople from the Las Vegas Valley UC Santa Barbara Gauchos baseball players USC Trojans baseball players Vancouver Canadians players Visalia Oaks players Baseball coaches from Nevada All-American college baseball players 21st-century American singers 21st-century American male singers Wareham Gatemen players Singer-songwriters from Nevada Singer-songwriters from California University of San Diego High School alumni