Age: 24 (May 13)
3rd season
with A’s
Bats – Left,
Throws – Left
Height: 6’2” Weight: 205
Prior to 2002:
Born in Las
Vegas to two music professionals, Zito moved to San Diego with his family where
he began his development as a pitcher and received private instruction from
former Padres star Randy Jones. Following high school he enrolled at the Univ.
of California, Santa Barbara. After transferring to Pierce College in Los
Angeles, he received a baseball scholarship to USC. From there he was drafted
by the A’s in 1999. Zito signed and advanced from Class A to AAA during 1999,
producing a combined 6-1 record with a 3.16 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 68.1
innings pitched. He started the 2000 season with Sacramento of the Class AAA
Pacific Coast League and was 8-5 with a 3.19 ERA when he was called up to
Oakland in June. Zito went 7-4 with a 2.72 ERA for the A’s the rest of the way.
He also picked up a win against the Yankees in the ALDS. In 2001, his first
full major league season, his excellent fastball, curve, and changeup propelled
him to 17-8 with a 3.49 ERA, while teaming with LHP Mark Mulder and RHP Tim
Hudson to create a highly effective trio of young starters.
2002 Season Summary
Appeared in 35 games
[Bracketed numbers
indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Pitching
Games – 35
Games Started –
35 [1]
Complete Games
– 1
Wins – 23 [1]
Losses – 5
PCT - .821 [2]
Saves – 0
Shutouts – 0
Innings Pitched
– 229.1 [5]
Hits – 182
Runs – 79
Earned Runs –
70
Home Runs – 24 [18,
tied with Eric Milton & Joel Pineiro]
Bases on Balls
– 78 [5, tied with Chan Ho Park]
Strikeouts –
182 [3, tied with Mike Mussina]
ERA – 2.75 [3]
Hit Batters – 9
[11, tied with nine others]
Balks – 1 [14,
tied with many others]
Wild Pitches –
2
League-leading
games started were +1 ahead of five runners-up
League-leading wins
were +2 ahead of runner-up Derek Lowe
Midseason
Snapshot: 11-3, ERA - 3.49, SO - 108 in 121.1 IP
---
Most
strikeouts, game – 11 (in 8 IP) at Tampa Bay 6/1
10+ strikeout
games – 2
Fewest hits allowed,
game (min. 7 IP) – 2 (in 8 IP) vs. Milwaukee 6/11, (in 8 IP) vs. Seattle 9/13,
(in 7 IP) vs. Tampa Bay 5/26
Batting
PA – 6, AB – 4,
R – 0, H – 0, RBI – 0, BB – 0, SO – 3, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .000, GDP – 0, HBP
– 0, SH – 2, SF – 0
Fielding
Chances – 45
Put Outs – 11
Assists – 31
Errors – 3
DP – 3
Pct. - .933
Postseason
Pitching: G – 1 (ALDS vs. Minnesota)
GS – 1, CG – 0,
Record – 1-0, PCT – 1.000, ShO – 0, SV – 0, SH – 0, IP – 6, H – 5, R – 3, ER –
3, HR – 0, BB – 4, SO – 8, ERA – 4.50, HB – 0, BLK – 0, WP – 1
Awards & Honors:
AL Cy Young
Award: BBWAA
AL Pitcher of
the Year: Sporting News
All-Star
13th
in AL MVP voting (22 points, 6% share)
AL Cy Young
voting:
Barry Zito,
Oak: 114 points – 17 of 28 first place votes, 81% share
Pedro Martinez,
Bos.: 96 points – 11 first place votes, 69% share
Derek Lowe, Bos:
41 points – 29% share
Jarrod
Washburn, Ana.: 1 point – 1% share
---
Athletics went 103-59 to finish first in the AL Western Division by 4 games over the Anaheim Angels. The pitching staff led the league in ERA (3.68) and shutouts (19). In making it to the postseason for the third straight year, the A’s were in fourth place on May 23, 10 games behind the division-leading Seattle Mariners, before going 83-33 the rest of the way to take over first place on August 22 and held off the Angels down the stretch. Lost ALDS to the Minnesota Twins, 3 games to 2.
Aftermath of 2002:
Zito’s record dipped to 14-12 in 2003, but his ERA was still a respectable 3.30 and he again was an All-Star selection. A fanatic for mental preparation, Zito would meditate and do yoga in the outfield before games. He struggled somewhat during 2004 and finished at 11-11 with a 4.48 ERA. With Hudson and Mulder gone in 2005, Zito produced a 14-13 tally with a 3.86 ERA and 171 strikeouts. In the final year of his contract in 2006, he raised his record to 16-10 with a 3.83 ERA and 151 strikeouts. In the offseason Zito signed with the San Francisco Giants as a free agent for seven years and $126 million. He tinkered with his delivery in 2007 and slumped to 11-13 with a 4.53 ERA. 2008 was even worse as his ERA rose to 5.15 and his 10-17 record gave him the league lead in losses. There was slight improvement in 2009 as Zito posted a 10-13 tally with a 4.03 ERA. Off to a good start in 2010, he faded down the stretch, ended up at 9-14 with a 4.15 ERA, and was left off the postseason roster as the Giants went on to win the World Series. Having taken much criticism for failing to meet expectations in San Francisco, Zito was also recognized for his charitable giving off the field. After suffering through a poor season in 2011, he went 15-8 with a 4.15 ERA in 2012, another championship year for the Giants. His fine performance in Game 5 of the NLCS at St. Louis was a turning point on the way to winning the series and the pennant. Zito played one more season for the Giants in 2013 and was 5-11 with a 5.74 ERA. Released following the season, he took a year off before signing a minor league deal with the A’s. Pitching for Nashville of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League, he produced an 8-7 record with a 3.46 ERA before being called up to Oakland in September. He had no decisions in three appearances before retiring. For his major league career, Zito compiled a 165-143 record with a 4.04 ERA and 1885 strikeouts in 2576.2 innings pitched. He had 12 complete games and 5 shutouts. With Oakland he was 102-63 with a 3.58 ERA and 1098 strikeouts in 1437.1 innings. He pitched in 10 postseason games and went 6-3 with a 2.83 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 60.1 innings. Zito was a three-time All-Star, all with the A’s. Following a baseball career that started with such great promise, Zito became a professional musician in retirement.
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Cy Young Profiles feature pitchers who were recipients of
the Cy Young Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1956 to
present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception
through 1966 and from 1967 on to one recipient from each major league.
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