Víctor Manuel Zambrano (born August 6, 1975) is a Venezuelan former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. He played all or parts of seven seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) from 2001 to 2007.

Professional career

Zambrano had a good repertoire and an aggressive pitching approach, using his 92–95 mph sinking

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...

, a

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball, but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced spee ...

, and occasionally a quality slider. He was a converted

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

who fielded his position well and did a decent job holding on runners. However, his effectiveness was hampered by a lack of control.

Minor leagues

Zambrano was originally signed as a free agent by the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

in 1993. He started his professional career in 1994 with the

GCL Yankees The Florida Complex League Yankees are a Rookie-level affiliate of the New York Yankees, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team is composed mainly of players who are in their first year of professional baseball ...

, but was released by the team prior to the 1996 season. He was signed by the

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. They are one of two major league clubs based i ...

, then spent the next several seasons working his way up through their

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

organization before making his major league debut in 2001.

Major league career (2001–2007)

In 2003, he led the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

in walks,

wild pitch In baseball, a wild pitch (WP) is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, or the batter (on an uncaught third st ...

es, and

hit batsmen In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is an event in which a batter (baseball), 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 f ...

, and in walks again in 2004, despite being traded to the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

at midseason. The

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

acquired him, along with reliever

Bartolomé Fortunato Bartolomé Araujo Fortunato (born August 24, 1974) is a Dominican former baseball pitcher. Fortunato was originally an outfielder, but was converted to pitching when signed as a free agent by the Tampa Bay Rays, Tampa Bay Devil Rays in . He made ...

, in a highly criticized deal for top-ranked pitching prospect Scott Kazmir and minor league pitcher Joselo Diaz. On May 6, 2006, Zambrano suffered a torn flexor

tendon A tendon or sinew is a tough band of fibrous connective tissue, dense fibrous connective tissue that connects skeletal muscle, muscle to bone. It sends the mechanical forces of muscle contraction to the skeletal system, while withstanding tensi ...

in his pitching elbow, disabling him for the rest of the 2006 season. Doctors unexpectedly found a torn elbow

ligament A ligament is a type of fibrous connective tissue in the body that connects bones to other bones. It also connects flight feathers to bones, in dinosaurs and birds. All 30,000 species of amniotes (land animals with internal bones) have liga ...

during surgery on May 15, resulting in the second

Tommy John Thomas Edward John Jr. (born May 22, 1943), nicknamed "the Bionic Man," is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 26 seasons between 1963 and 1989. He played for the Cleveland Indians, Ch ...

elbow surgery of his career. Zambrano was expected to be sidelined well into the 2007 season, and he was non-tendered by the Mets, and became a free agent in December 2006. On January 30, 2007, Zambrano signed a minor league contract, with an invitation to Major League

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

with 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) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

. He appeared in only eight games (two of them starts), before he was released on July 9. After signing a minor league contract with 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

, his contract was purchased by the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) 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 America ...

on September 9, 2007. For the rest of the 2007 season, he appeared in 5 games for the Orioles, made 2 starts, and was 0–1 with a 9.49 ERA. Following the 2007 season, he was released by the Orioles on October 1.

Back to the minor leagues

On February 5, 2008, he signed a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training with the Colorado Rockies. On June 7, 2008, the Rockies released him. He signed with the

on July 31, 2008 and became a free agent at the end of the season.

Taiwan

Zambrano began the 2009 season in the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

with the

Sultanes de Monterrey The Sultanes de Monterrey (English: Monterrey Sultans) are a professional baseball club in the Mexican League (LMB) based in Monterrey, Mexico. Established in 1939 as Carta Blanca, the Sultanes have won ten LMB titles, most recently in 2018. Fro ...

. After appearing in 16 games with the Sultanes, he signed La New Bears of Taiwan's

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

in August. He made his debut on September 1, pitching six innings with two earned runs. He lost to the Uni Lions' Nerio Rodríguez 9 to 5.

Mexican League

After the 2009 season ended and no team had picked Zambrano up, he decided to retire from baseball. He briefly attempted a comeback in the

in 2010 with the Dorados de Chihuahua, but was let go after appearing in eight games with an ERA of 7.02. He has not pitched professionally since.

Personal life

Victor has often mistakenly been thought to be related to former

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

and

Miami 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

pitcher Carlos Zambrano. Both Carlos and Víctor Zambrano are Venezuelan. Although they lived just an hour away from each other as children, they never knew each other. In October 2009, his mother was kidnapped. She was rescued three days later by members of the Venezuelan national police. Three suspects were arrested. A fourth is still at large.

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zambrano, Victor 1975 births Living people Baltimore Orioles players Charleston RiverDogs players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Dorados de Chihuahua players Dunedin Blue Jays players Durham Bulls players Gulf Coast Devil Rays players Gulf Coast Yankees players Indianapolis Indians players Indios de Mayagüez players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Puerto Rico La New Bears players Leones del Caracas players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Mexican League baseball pitchers Navegantes del Magallanes players New Hampshire Fisher Cats players New York Mets players Orlando Rays players People from Los Teques Baseball players from Miranda (state) Princeton Devil Rays players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players St. Petersburg Devil Rays players Sultanes de Monterrey players Syracuse Chiefs players Tampa Bay Devil Rays players Tiburones de La Guaira players Tigres de Aragua players Toronto Blue Jays players Trenton Thunder players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Canada Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Mexico Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Taiwan Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States World Baseball Classic players of Venezuela 2006 World Baseball Classic players 2009 World Baseball Classic players