Left-handed, wearing high socks with a devastating 12-6 curve…I instantly fell in love with Barry Zito. The fact that he’s gorgeous didn’t hurt either.
When I was younger I lived in Castro Valley CA, and my mom took me to tons of Oakland A’s games. Mark McGuire, Ricky Henderson and Dennis Eckersley were my heroes. We moved to Massachusetts when I was 7, but the A’s remained one of my favorite teams (second only to my beloved Red Sox).
When Barry Zito emerged as part of “The Big Three” I knew then that he was the guy for me. He wasn’t the flashiest of the Three…Hudson and Muldergot more attention that Zito. But Zito let his pitching do the talking in 2002 when he nailed down 23 victories and took home the Cy Young Award.
After several unsuccessful attempts at reaching the World Series, Mulder and Hudson were both traded away (Billy Beane style) after the 2004 season. Barry was the only of the Big Three left and was now regarded as the ace and veteran of the staff, even though he was only 26 years old.
Zito has never had another Cy Young caliber year again, and struggled through his role as the ace of the A’s pitching staff. Soon he was surrounded with talent again, Rich Harden and Danny Haren helped the A’s reach the postseason once more but to no avail.
Zito had a quality contract year, going 16-10. As expected he did not resign with the A’s, who did not make an offer anywhere near what Zito was expected to get. It looked as if he was headed to the Mets, but then at the last minute San Francisco offered him a monstrous $126 million dollar contract to come play with them for the next 7 years.
I have never been a Giants fan so it was hard for me to see him cross the Bay. Zito quickly proved that he was not worth the money he was given. Struggling through his first year with the Giants, coming away with his first losing season out with a 11-13 record.
This season has been the epitome of humiliation, after 
opening the season with 7 straight losses, he was demoted to the bullpen (perhaps just to clear his head) becoming the highest paid reliever in history. But he never made an appearance out of the bullpen and was quickly inserted back into the rotation.
Through it all, I have not lost respect for Barry. He has never tried to place blame on anyone but himself, acknowledging that he has let Giants fans down in a big way. He has recently started to turn his season around, and some of the focus has been taken off of him by the 24 year-old phenom Tim Linsecom.
But now Barry has stepped into the spotlight again, but not on the baseball field this time. He has been featured in an ad modeling for True Religion jeans. Probably not the wisest move on his part, because many fans already think he doesn’t have his head in the game enough. Zito enjoys non-baseball activities, like most baseball players do, but his seem to generate more attention than others. He plays the guitar, sometimes solo and sometimes with his sisters band, The Sally Zito Project. He enjoys surfing and yoga. And his dating life has not gone without some attention, having been linked to Alyssa Milano and Hilary Duff.
Barry Zito is more than just a fashion model though. He is a true role model. He has been extremely active in community endeavors throughout his career, in fact, his humanitarian efforts are at core of who he is. In 2006 he was tabbed Baseball’s #1 “Good Guy” by The Sporting News. He founded “Strikeouts For Troops” in 2005 to help provide support and “comforts of home” to wounded United States soldiers and their families while they recover in hospitals nationwide. He has also participated in numerous charitable programs and events, including work with American Liver Foundation, research for biliary atresia, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Muscular 
Dystrophy Association, Special Olympics and Make-a-Wish. He also contributes funds annually to help build and refurbish youth baseball fields throughout the Bay Area.
