Barry Zito

Lore & Background

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 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 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.

Reader's Guide

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 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 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 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.

Did You Know?

• He was a three-time All-Star (2002, 2003, 2006) with the Athletics.
• Zito signed a seven-year, $126 million contract with the Giants in December 2006, then the largest contract ever signed by an MLB pitcher.
• Zito founded Strikeouts for Troops, a national non-profit supporting injured troops and military families.