Wednesday, June 23, 1999
Big Z electric in professional debut
Great Falls' new 7-footer tosses three-hit complete game
GREAT FALLS -- If you're planning to come out to Legion Field this summer to catch a glimpse of the tallest player ever to suit up for the Great Falls Dodgers, you might want to hurry.
Andrew Zarzour may not be with us very long.
The 18-year-old recent draft pick, who stands a menacing 7-2, gave a Major League worthy performance in his professional debut. He threw a complete-game three-hitter, helping the Dodgers to a 4-0 win over the awestruck Missoula Osprey.
Zarzour fanned 16, including the last seven batters he faced. He threw his very first professional pitch to the backstop and then walked the leadoff batter. But from there, he was as a machine -- mowing down Osprey batters one after the other. The game only took 2:04 to complete.
"The dude's a freak," said Missoula catcher A.J. Pierzynski, who did not get one of the Osprey's three hits. "He's huge and then he comes hurtling at you. I felt like David with no slingshot going against Goliath."
While his size is Goliath-like, Zarzour is anything but a menacing presence off the field. He's a gentle giant, who hugs him mom when he sees her after the game and is shy about giving autographs to kids. He talks about fishing and is wide-eyed whenever he's asked about his impressions of Big Sky Country. He ate Fruit Loops for breakfast and watched cartoons before the game. His mom had to tell him to tie his shoes before warm-ups.
Zarzour took his first plane trip just a few short weeks ago when he first met his new Dodger teammates in Florida at the club's spring training complex.
"I had only set foot in six different states before this month," he said. "We go to Virginia and West Virginia a few times a year to visit family. We always take a week's vacation at Myrtle Beach (in South Carolina), and then I went to Florida and Georgia for a couple of summer baseball tournaments after my junior year of high school. That's it for traveling, until now."
If Zarzour's career continues on the path he's started out on, Big Z could be a world traveler over the coming years. His next start will be in five days against the Helena Brewers. There, he'll get first taste of an opposing ballpark...