Barry Zito

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...