A colorful lefty who wore his green stirrups high, slept on pink satin pillows made by his mother and disarmed batters with a show-stopping curve, Zito's pregame routine centered around 30 minutes of yoga. Whatever the cause, his fine debut with the A's in 2000 (7-4, 2.72 ERA in 92 2/3 innings) and a strong start against the Yankees in the ALDS convinced Oakland that Zito was ready to handle the second slot in the rotation behind Tim Hudson in 2001. He responded with a breakthrough sophomore season.
Zito's father, Joe, was a talented musician who had composed for Duke Ellington and once conducted the London Symphony Orchestra. (JGR)
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FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»June 2, 1999:
The Devil Rays make Josh Hamilton the 1st HS player in six years to be selected No. one in major league baseball's amateur draft. He'll sign for $3.96 million. The Marlins take another Josh -- Josh Beckett -- with the 2nd pick and sign him for $3.625 million, while C Eric Munson, a Braves 2nd round pick in '96, goes to Detroit at number three and signs for $3.65 million. In a spending glut that will have scouts brushing up on their Latin American geography, 34 players, including all but one first rounder, will sign for $1 million or more; 76 players in the 1st ten rounds get $500,000 or more; 127 players sign for $200,000+. The Pirates ink 39th round pick Patrick O'Brien for $500,000. The Baltimore Orioles are the first team in the 35-year history of Baseball's amateur draft to have four first round picks. Only two pitchers will make it as far as AAA this year -- the A's Barry Zito and the Diamondbacks' Jeremy Ward, a 2nd round pick.
»October 7, 2000:
The A's defeat the Yankees, 11-1, behind Barry Zito to tie their division series at two games apiece. Olmedo Saenz hits a 3-run homer off Roger Clemens for Oakland.
»June 16, 2002: Barry Zito wins his 8th straight game as Oakland beats their rivals, the SF Giants, 2–1. The win gives the A's a 58-37 record against the National League, the best inter-league record of any team. The A's will finish the season 16–2 against the National League.
»October 4, 2002:
The A's hit four home runs and Barry Zito hurls the club to a 6–3 win over the Twins to give Oakland a two games to one lead in their division series. Ray Durham hits an inside–the–park homer to open the game and Scott Hatteberg follows with another round–tripper. Jermaine Dye and Terrence Long also homer for Oakland.
»November 6, 2002: Oakland's 24-year–old Barry Zito wins the American League Cy Young Award.
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