Geoffery Clayton Zahn (born December 19, 1945) is a former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

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 draw ...

. He pitched thirteen 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 (AL), ...

from 1973 to 1985. In his career, he had a

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 ...

of 111–109, an

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 number ...

of 3.74, and 705

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 deno ...

Playing career

Amateur and minors

Zahn played for Toledo DeVilbiss High School and the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. He was selected by 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) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

in the fifth round of the January

1968 Major League Baseball draft The 1968 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft took place prior to the 1968 MLB season. The draft saw the New York Mets take shortstop Tim Foli first overall. First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1968 Major Leagu ...

. After signing with the Dodgers, he played in the minor leagues for six years before making his major league debut on September 2, 1973.

Major leagues

During his major league career, Zahn pitched with the

and

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 located ...

of the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

and 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 ...

and

California 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 ha ...

of 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 ...

. Geoff won ten or more games for six consecutive seasons (1977–82) with the Twins and Angels, totaling 81 wins over that span. Zahn's best season came in 1982 when he compiled an 18–8 record, helping the Angels win the

American League Western Division The American League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The division has five teams as of the 2013 season, but had four teams from 1994 to 2012, and had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams curr ...

crown. Zahn was selected as the left-handed pitcher on the ''

Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'' AL All-Star Team after the 1982 season. Zahn was primarily a starter during his career, although on May 10, 1975, he earned his only major league save. He pitched the final four innings of a 5-1 Cubs victory over the Padres, allowing a hit and no runs, and preserved the win for starting pitcher

Rick Reuschel Rick may refer to: People *Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name *Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality *Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...

Coaching career

Zahn was the head of

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

baseball from 1996 to 2001. He compiled a record 163–169–2 over six seasons, leading the Wolverines to a championship in the 1999 Big Ten Tournament. During the 1995 season, Zahn had served as an assistant coach at

Pepperdine Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and ...

.Zahn Resigns as Michigan Baseball Head Coach
''mgoblue.com''

References

External links

Baseball GaugeVenezuelan Professional Baseball League
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zahn, Geoff 1945 births Living people Albuquerque Dodgers players Albuquerque Dukes players Arizona Instructional League Dodgers players Baseball players from Baltimore California Angels players Chicago Cubs players Daytona Beach Dodgers players El Paso Dodgers players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball pitchers Michigan Wolverines baseball coaches Michigan Wolverines baseball players Minnesota Twins players Spokane Indians players Wichita Aeros players