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Full Name: Barry William Zito Primary Position: P
Height/Weight: 6' 4"/205 First Game: July 22, 2000
Birthdate: May 13, 1978 MLB Experience: 7 years
Birthplace: Las Vegas, Nevada
Bat/Throw: Left/Left

Biography[]

Barry William Zito was born on May 13, 1978 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Barry attended the University of San Diego High School in San Diego, a Catholic school, where he began surfing. He attend both the University of California, Santa Barbara and, subsequently, the USC, where he was a member of the 1998 NCAA baseball championship team.

In 2002, Zito won the Cy Young Award for outstanding pitcher in the American League, narrowly defeating Pedro Martinez in the voting. He was named to the American League All-Star team in 2002 and 2003. He is a durable pitcher, starting 34 or more games in each of his five full major league seasons, leading the league in games started three times.

Most people believe that Barry Zito's best season was 2002, when he posted a 2.75 ERA, won 23 games and struck out 182 batters.

Zito is entering the last year of his contract in 2006 and is widely regarded as one of the more sought-after free agents in that class.

Pitching style[]

A left hander, Zito throws an 89-90 mph four-seam fastball, a changeup and an excellent curveball (whose nicknames include "Captain Hook", "Rip-Curl", and "Bert") that has drawn comparisons to those of Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax. In mid-2004, Zito started throwing a two-seam fastball, and in 2005, he added a strong slider, or "slurve," to his pitch arsenal.

Personal life[]

Zito — whose hobbies include yoga, rock guitar and surfing. His personality has made him a media favorite. He once made it a practice to buy his own autographed baseball cards on eBay; when asked why he bought them at auction for high prices rather than acquiring unsigned cards and signing them himself, Zito replied, "Because they're authenticated." In addition, Zito carries satin pillows on the road, collects stuffed animals, and burns incense to relax. Many Oakland fans first became aware of Zito when, early in his career, he dyed his hair blue. He has since earned the nickname "Planet Zito."

In 2005, Zito had a streak of 14 consecutive starts and 20 out of 21 in which he gave up fewer hits than innings pitched.

Zito created the charity Strikeouts For Troops, to which he donates $100 for every strikeout he throws. The charity benefits hospitals for soldiers wounded in military operations.

Zito is the nephew of actor Patrick Duffy. In 2004, he dated actress Alyssa Milano.


Scouting Report[]

Statistics[]

Pitching Stats[]

Year Team G GS W L ERA K R ER CG SHO SV IP H HR BB IB WP HBP
2000 OAK A 14 14 7 4 2.72 78 30 28 1 1 0 92.2 64 6 45 2 2 2
2001 OAK A 35 35 17 8 3.49 205 92 83 3 2 0 214.1 184 18 80 0 6 13
2002 OAK A 35 35 23 5 2.75 182 79 70 1 0 0 229.1 182 24 78 2 2 9
2003 OAK A 35 35 14 12 3.30 146 98 85 4 1 0 231.2 186 19 88 3 4 6
2004 OAK A 34 34 11 11 4.48 163 116 106 0 0 0 213 216 28 81 2 4 9
2005 OAK A 35 35 14 13 3.86 171 106 98 0 0 0 228.1 185 26 89 0 4 13
2006 OAK A 34 34 16 10 3.83 151 99 94 0 0 0 221 211 27 99 5 4 13
2007 SF N 34 33 11 13 4.53 131 105 99 0 0 0 196.2 182 24 83 4 5 4
Total NL 34 33 11 13 4.53 131 105 99 0 0 0 196.2 182 24 83 4 5 4
Total AL 222 222 102 63 3.55 1096 620 564 9 4 0 1430.1 1228 148 560 14 26 65
Total 256 255 113 76 3.67 1227 725 663 9 4 0 1627 1410 172 643 18 31 69

Fielding Stats[]

Year Team POS G GS INN PO A ERR DP TP PB SB CS PkO AVG
2000 OAK A P 14 14 92.2 4 9 0 0 0 1 3 4 2 1.000
2001 OAK A P 35 35 214.1 9 25 2 3 0 0 23 11 2 .944
2002 OAK A P 35 35 229.1 11 31 3 3 0 2 10 9 4 .933
2003 OAK A P 35 35 231.2 12 28 1 1 0 0 13 7 1 .976
2004 OAK A P 34 34 213 5 31 2 1 0 2 15 8 4 .947
2005 OAK A P 35 35 228.1 12 34 0 1 0 0 22 4 2 1.000
2006 OAK A P 34 34 221 7 18 1 3 0 1 8 12 2 .962
2007 SF N P 34 33 196.2 3 21 0 1 0 0 5 1 1 1.000
Total P 256 255 1627 63 197 9 13 0 6 99 56 18 .967

Batting Stats[]

Year Team G AB R H HR RBI AVG OBP SLG 2B 3B BB SO HBP SH SB IBB GDP
2000 OAK A 14 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2001 OAK A 35 5 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0
2002 OAK A 35 4 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 3 0 2 0 0 0
2003 OAK A 35 6 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
2004 OAK A 34 4 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0
2005 OAK A 35 7 0 1 0 0 .143 .143 .143 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0
2006 OAK A 34 3 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0
2007 SF N 34 62 2 7 0 3 .113 .141 .113 0 0 2 16 0 4 0 0 0
Total NL 34 62 2 7 0 3 .113 .141 .113 0 0 2 16 0 4 0 0 0
Total AL 222 29 0 1 0 0 .034 .034 .034 0 0 0 15 0 3 0 0 0
Total 256 91 2 8 0 0 .088 .108 .088 0 0 2 31 0 7 0 0 0

Transactions[]

  • Selected by Seattle Mariners in the 59th round of the free-agent draft - did not sign (June 4, 1996).
  • Selected by Texas Rangers in the 3rd round of the free-agent draft - did not sign (June 2, 1998).
  • Selected by Oakland Athletics in the 1st round (9th pick overall) of the free-agent draft (June 2, 1999 - signed June 12, 1999).
  • Granted free agency (November 1, 2006).
  • Signed by San Francisco Giants (December 29, 2006).

Trivia[]

See also[]

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