Oakland Athletics turn once more to Barry Zito
The Oakland Athletics won’t be nailing any pennants to the rafters and beams of O.co Coliseum in 2015. The club sits at a 62-83 record in the AL West. With that, it’s time to experiment some. After a long, laborious season in Triple-A, former 2002 AL Cy Young winner Barry Zito will once more suit up for the Athletics.
Zito was everything the A’s needed him to be in that magical 2002 season. Before it became well renowned to a general audience by author Micahel Lewis’ book Moneyball and later the assistance of actor Brad Pitt, it was also a season where Zito was a massive contributor to his teams consecutive win streak that lasted 20 games from August 13 to September 4.
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The Athletics indeed won an AL West pennant that season, with shortstop Miguel Tejada taking home AL MVP hardware to match Zito’s Cy. The now 37-year-old southpaw won a career high 23 games in 2002, posting a 2.75 ERA to go along with 182 punch outs. He was the best pitcher on a very special staff.
Days turned to years after that, and Zito chased the money once he hit free agency in 2006. Signing a lucrative deal with the Giants across the Bay, that at the time made him the highest paid arm in MLB, he moved to more pitcher friendly National League, but the results were not favorable.
The Athletics continued to get younger in 2006 without Zito. The Giants thought they had purchased themselves an ace, but all Zito ever really was good for in San Francisco was eating up a bunch of rather un-inspiring innings. He left the Giants with a .441 win percentage, a 4.62 ERA and a poor K:BB ratio of 1.58 over seven seasons.
Oakland Athletics
Barry Zito didn’t play baseball in 2014. In February of this year, the Oakland Athletics signed him to a minor league deal. Not impressive enough in Spring Training to earn a 25-man roster spot, Zito was sent to Triple-A Nashville. He dwelled there for 24 games (22 starts) and 138 logged innings. While with the Sounds, he got off to an ugly start. His ERA was well north of 5.00 deep into May through nine outings. Zito did find a groove and eventually finished his campaign with Nashville boasting a 3.46 ERA — but for a one-time Cy winner — is that really something to hold in high esteem?
It’s certainly something to be proud of for Zito. While his skill level may no longer translate to success at the MLB level — and that could very well be proven false — it’s clear he still has a passion for the game. The sun is setting on Barry Zito’s career. If not with baseball, then for the meantime, with the Oakland Athletics. There is no option on his contract for a return to baseball in 2016. The final weeks of the 2015 MLB season can now be viewed as an audition for his relevance in the future.
It remains to be seen if Zito will work as a starter or out of the bullpen. The move was made possible after the Athletics placed pitcher Jesse Chavez on the 60-day disabled list with a rib fracture.