Background and career
Barry William Zito (born May 13, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. A left-hander, Zito pitched for the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants during a 15-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career. Zito led the American League in wins and won the AL Cy Young Award in 2002. A three-time All-Star known for his curveball, Zito won a World Series ring with the Giants in 2012. Zito attended the University of California, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles Pierce College, and the University of Southern California. Drafted three times while in college, Zito signed with the Athletics when they chose him in the first round of the 1999 MLB draft. A year later, he was in the major leagues, finishing sixth in American League (AL) Rookie of the Year Award voting. He struggled to begin the 2001 season but improved greatly down the stretch, finishing the year with a 17-8 win–loss record. He went 23-5 with a 2.75 ERA in 2002, leading the AL in wins and winning the AL Cy Young Award. In the early 2000s, Zito and fellow Athletics starting pitchers Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder were known as the Big Three. Zito posted a 102-63 record and a 3.58 ERA during his tenure with the Athletics, and he made the AL All-Star team in 2002, 2003, and 2006. Following his seventh season with the Athletics, Zito became a free agent. He signed a seven-year, $126 million contract with the Giants in December 2006. At that time, the contract was the largest contract ever signed by an MLB pitcher. Zito is known for having underperformed his contract; in seven seasons with the Giants, he accumulated a 63-80 record with an ERA of 4.62. He led the National League with 17 losses in 2008. In 2010, San Francisco won the World Series; however, Zito struggled during the last month of the season and was left off the postseason roster. Zito sat out much of the 2011 season with a foot and ankle injury. He finished the 2012 season with a 15–8 record, his best in a Giants uniform. That October, Zito helped lead the Giants to the 2012 World Series title. He won Game Five of the NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals and defeated Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander in Game One of the World Series, setting the stage for San Francisco's Series sweep. Zito struggled in 2013 and became a free agent following the season. After sitting out the 2014 season, he returned to the Athletics for three games in 2015 before retiring. A philanthropist, Zito founded Strikeouts for Troops, a national non-profit that provides the comforts of home and lifts the spirits and morale of injured troops as well as offering support to military families.
Barry William 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. He has two sisters who are nine and 13 years older than he is, respectively. His family moved to San Diego, California to help him concentrate on his baseball career after he showed signs of promise from a very young age. Not knowing much about baseball, his father 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's Grossmont High School, where he was the star pitcher, to University of San Diego High School, a Roman Catholic 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 where he earned Freshman All-America Honors with 125 strikeouts in 85+1⁄3 innings. In his sophomore season, Zito transferred to Los Angeles Pierce College so that he could be eligible for the Major League Baseball draft. At Pierce, he posted a 2.62 earned run average (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 (USC), where he was a first-team All-America selected by USA Today Baseball Weekly, Collegiate Baseball, and Baseball America. With a 12–3 record, a 3.28 ERA, and 154 strikeouts in 113+2⁄3 innings, Zito was named Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year. Zito also played in the Cape Cod Baseball League, a summer wooden bat league that showcases the nation's top amateur prospects. He led the Wareham Gatemen to the league championship in 1997 and was named a league all-star and led the team to a runner-up finish in 1998.
Zito was taken by the Seattle Mariners in the 59th round (1,586th overall) of the 1996 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft, and in the third round (83rd overall) by the Texas Rangers in 1998, but did not sign with either team. In the 1999 draft, he was selected by the Oakland Athletics with the ninth pick of the first round, and signed for a $1.59 million bonus. In 1999, Zito began his professional career with the Visalia Oaks, Oakland's A team. He went 3–0 with a 2.45 ERA in eight starts. He struck out 62 in 40+1⁄3 innings. Zito was promoted to the Midland RockHounds 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), allowing a lone run with six strikeouts in six innings. Zito began the 2000 season in AAA with the Sacramento River Cats (the Canadians franchise had moved to Sacramento). He pitched 101+2⁄3 innings in 18 starts, going 8–5 with a 3.19 ERA, 91 strikeouts, and 41 walks.
Zito made his major league debut on July 22, 2000, against the Anaheim Angels wearing #53. He allowed one run in five innings, and got the win. In his next start, Zito went seven innings while giving up three runs to the Boston Red Sox. Zito continued to have great success early in his rookie season. In his third career start, he went seven innings and gave up one run against the Toronto Blue Jays. On September 10, Zito pitched his first complete game shutout against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He threw 110 pitches, struck out eight, and allowed five hits. During 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 received a vote for the American League (AL) Rookie of the Year Award voting, finishing in a 4-way tie for sixth place with Steve Cox, Adam Kennedy and Mark Redman. Zito made his postseason debut in Game 4 of the AL Division Series (ALDS) against the New York Yankees. He went 5+2⁄3 innings, struck out 5, walked 2, and allowed an earned run. Zito earned the win, outpitching Roger Clemens. However, the Yankees would win the series, 3–2, and would go on to win their third straight World Series.
In 2001, Zito switched his uniform number to 75 (which he would wear throughout the rest of his career) and finished third in the American League (AL) in strikeouts per nine innings (8.61), fourth in strikeouts (205), sixth in wins (17), eighth in ERA (3.49), and tenth in winning percentage (.680). 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. He finished the season with a 17-8 record and a 3.49 ERA. The Athletics made the postseason and again played the Yankees in the ALDS. Zito pitched in Game 3 against Mike Mussina. He went eight innings, striking out six, walking one, and allowing an earned run. But Zito took the loss as the Yankees won the game, 1–0. The Yankees would end up taking the series, 3–2.
