Since Barry Zito has put on a Giants' uniform, he hasn't lived up to his infamous 7 year $126 million contract. That was until this season. Barry Zito has completely transformed himself in 2010.
By picking up a win today against the Astros, Zito has improved his record to 6-1. He now leads the San Francisco Giants in victories.
How many people thought that would happen?
Last season it took Barry Zito until July 23rd to reach 6 victories. Victories are not the only statistic that Zito has impressively improved on. He ranks 3rd in NL in W (6), ranks 7th in NL in ERA (2.15), and ranks 9th in NL in IP (54.1). To top it off, Barry Zito has only allowed one homerun this year.
The biggest improvement that seems to have taken place within Barry is that his curveball is back. The life and movement of the ball have returned. He is also pitching to his strengths as a contact-pitcher not trying to strike everyone out. In his last start, 30 pitches (30.9 percent) from Barry Zito were curveballs. That is a season-high amount of curveballs for Barry. However, all four of Zito's strikeouts came off of his fastball. This means he used his beautiful curveball to set-up his fastball.
In his first season as a Giant, Zito's fastball was between the low to mid-80s in miles per hour and averaged 84.5 mph. This season, his fastball is averaging over 86 miles per hour. A 1.5 Mile per hour increase may not seem like a lot, but it's definitely an improvement.
Also, this season Zito isn't as heavily relied on. Even though he has stated that he wants to be a top of the order guy, he doesn't have to be. Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain begin the year as legit Cy Young candidates, while Jonathon Sanchez is now known throughout the league as one of the best pitchers. He is able to pitch without much pressure (which he did in Oakland because he pitched along with Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder), which despite what he says, caters to his laid-back attitude and approach.
The strides Barry Zito has made this year, compared to his previous years in a Giants' uniform will not go unnoticed.
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