SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Barry Zito turns 34 on May 13.
He has won a Cy Young Award, has been an All-Star three times, and even picked up a world championship ring from the San Francisco Giants in 2010.
By the time his current contract ends in two seasons, he will have made $142.5 million in his 12-year big-league career.
And he's not satisfied.
Far from it.
Zito has had what many would consider a fulfilling career. Not Zito, though.
Zito is too much of a competitor to walk away from the most challenging period of his baseball career. Signed by the Giants to a seven-year, $126 million free-agent contract prior to the 2007 season, Zito's time at AT&T Park has been nowhere as personally satisfying as the previous seven years, spent across the Bay with the Oakland A's.
Think about it. Here he is, in what should be the prime of his career, and as if being left off the postseason roster during the world championship season wasn't bad enough, he found himself bounced from the Giants' rotation a year ago. And this spring, he is trying to claim the fifth spot in the rotation, opened up with the offseason trade of Jonathan Sanchez to Kansas City for outfielder Melky Cabrera.
"And he came here ready to compete," manager Bruce Bochy said. "What you really respect about him is how he has handled his situation. He's been a great teammate. I wouldn't say he has accepted what has happened to him, but he has handled it professionally, and he has been a positive factor on the team."
He can be a lot more positive if he lays claim to the rotation spot, something that has become even more significant in light of Ryan Vogelsong battling a back strain. If everything goes well, Vogelsong could open the season with the Giants, but that's no guarantee, which adds another wrinkle to the Giants' rotation search this spring.
Zito is expecting to provide at least one rotation answer.
"I have to approach my situation with all the integrity I can," he said. "That's my thought process: credibility, accountability."
This isn't about self-pity. When he wasn't on the active roster in the postseason, he kept in shape with regular throwing sessions, making sure he would be ready if a need arose. When he was displaced in the rotation last year by Vogelsong -- then wound up on the disabled list and spent a full month between stops at High-A San Jose and Triple-A Fresno -- he didn't give up.
"It was productive," he said. "I went down and had fun again. Whether it was the Arizona Summer League, or San Jose or Fresno, seeing the kids and seeing them enjoy themselves was good for me. They are barely making enough money to live on, but every day they are laughing and smiling and enjoying the game.
"For a veteran it was good to get a reminder of why we play this game."
And this winter, he undertook an overhaul of his mechanics and physical approach in hopes of finding the right combination this year to regain his role in the Giants' rotation.
He is more hunched over as he prepares to deliver the ball to the plate, and has shortened up his leg kick in his stride toward it.
"Over the years, the delivery changes and I was riding back on my leg too long," he said. "There was not enough momentum going to the plate. I got down a little, got a little quicker, and it translated the momentum to my fingertips.
"I have more movement later on my pitches. I have that tunnel effect back, where it's 85 (miles per hour) or 95, where all the pitches look like they are coming out of the same tunnel."
That, Zito hopes, will provide a different look for hitters. He knows things have to change. While his career 3.91 ERA is 24th among active pitchers and his 145 career wins rank 12th, the numbers that hang over Zito are his record (43-61) and earned-run average (4.55) during his five years in San Francisco.
In his seven years with Oakland, which signed him as the ninth player selected in the 1999 amateur draft, Zito was 102-62, and his ERA (3.55) was a full run lower than it has been with the Giants. It's a disparity only further magnified when you consider that the Giants play in what is arguably a better park for pitchers than any in the NL, other than Petco Park in San Diego.
Yet Zito is always early for workouts. He's always pleasant to be around. He's always working, in search of the answers to the questions that have developed over his career.
"There is a fine line between accepting what happened at the moment and throwing in the towel," Zito said. "I try and deal with the moment, but I'm not going to sit back and let life just happen. I want to go forward, to figure out what I can do to get better and do the job I am here to do."
And the success of the Giants' season could hinge on Zito's ability to handle that challenge.
