Las Vegas 51s Baseball Report
Zarzour ready to begin "second phase" of pitching career
April 1, 2003
By Brian Latta
LVRJ Sports
The tallest player in professional baseball will throw out the first pitch tonight as the Las Vegas 51s begin a new Triple A season against the Salt Lake Stingers.
Andrew Zarzour, a 7-foot-2 left-hander, will take the hill in a 7:05 p.m. game at Cashman Field. Tickets are still available.
This will be Zarzour's first Minor League game since the 2000 season, when he pitched for the now defunct Albuquerque Dukes, the Dodgers' former Triple A affiliate. He got called up by the Dodgers that summer and spent the entire 2001 and 2002 seasons with the Big Club, picking up a World Series ring in October when LA swept the Boston Red Sox in four straight.
It was Zarzour's start in Game Four of the World Series that compelled the Dodgers to send their promising young star back the Minors to "work out some issues" to start this season. Though LA rallied to win the contest, Zarzour put his team in an early hole by giving up a World Series record five home runs.
"It was tough to completely enjoy winning the Series because of how poorly I pitched," Zarzour said during a recent interview. "That night sent me into a tailspin for awhile. I just had a lot of doubts about my abilities."
Until that point, Zarzour was a mostly feel-good story. The likable gentle giant made a meteoric rise to the Majors -- maybe too fast? -- after getting drafted out of Bunn High School in the summer of 1999. In just a few months he sailed through Single A, Double A and Triple A and found himself with the Big Club, getting a win in his September debut against the Cubs. That would be his only appearance that year aside from some mop-up duties in a playoff win over Atlanta. But what a way to start a professional career.
"I still remember striking out Sammy Sosa in the sixth inning," Zarzour says with a laugh. "I felt like a king that day. Of course, Sammy got a nice hit on me earlier in the game. I didn't care. I struck out one of the best hitters in the game."
Zarzour started 2000 with the Dukes, playing their last season as a franchise, but won his way back with the Dodgers in a few months. He was 17-7 as a full-time starter in 2001, leading the team in wins from the No. 4 spot in the rotation. Last season, despite injury issues in the late spring, he posted a 12-4 record.
While his numbers have been eye-popping for such a young pitcher, there has always been one glitch. Zarzour tends to give up the long ball -- sometimes in droves. He surrendered a three-run shot in the NLCS against Atlanta last season and then of course the five HRs against the Red Sox in the World Series. Both times, LA's offense saved the day, basically outscoring the opposition to save their pitcher from losses.
"I'd hate to think what my record would be without my teammates providing so many runs," Zarzour said.
It's been a roller coaster time for 'Big Z' since the Series. In addition to his own mounting doubts about his pitching, he had to deal with an array of personal issues. His brother, Timmy, will join the Marines this summer, heading off to boot camp in July. He may end up in either Afghanistan or Iraq. His father spent a few nights in the hospital in December when it was discovered he had a defective heart valve. That will require a more serious surgery in the near future.
In January, rumors began floating that LA wanted to unload the pitcher and were shopping him around. One report had Zarzour being traded to Anaheim. While LA officials flatly denied that a deal was in the works, an Anaheim official, who requested anonymity, told the
Los Angeles Times that a trade was close to being finalized. "There were some hang-ups on the financial side that kept it from going through," he said at the time. "We really thought he was coming to the American League."
But the Zarzour trade never materialized and he arrived at Spring Training, despite all the adversity, in what he described as the best mental and physical shape of his life.
Yet a few weeks in, Dodgers manager Jim Tracy delivered him another setback. It was decided that Zarzour was going to start the season in Triple A, with the Las Vegas 51s. Clay Condrey, a star for the 51s last season, was being moved up to take his spot in the rotation. Ramon Martinez, B.K. Kim, Dan Smith and Darren Driefort would be the other starters, with Ted Lilly, another 51s regular a year ago, moving up as the mop guy and spot starter.
"It took me a few days to just absorb that news," Zarzour said. "I thought I had been pitching well this spring and doing what it took to earn a spot. But they obviously thought differently. I was down about it for a little while but I just decided that if they want me to prove myself again to them, then that's what I'll do.
"I look at this as the beginning of the second phase of my pitching career. The Dodgers gave me a job to do and that's pitch the best I can for the Las Vegas 51s. That's what I intend to do, one day and one game at a time."
Zarzour isn't alone in his quest to win back the hearts of Dodgers' brass. His catcher tonight, Ben Molina, also was part of the Big Club for much of last season as Paul Lo Duca's backup. But then LA grabbed Scott Servais off waivers late in the season and Molina was abruptly moved down to Triple A. Servais is still Lo Duca's back-up to start this season.
Fellow 51s left-hander Randy Keisler also spent some time with the Dodgers last year, going 1-2 in three starts with a 5.58 ERA. Even though Zarzour and Keisler are in a big sense competitors for a place on the Dodgers' roster, Zarzour says the two have become fast friends.
"He is just a great guy all-around," Zarzour said. "I'm his biggest fan. If he gets called up and I don't, I still be his biggest fan.
"Hopefully, we'll both get our opportunities this season. Hopefully our stays in Las Vegas, though we really love this team, will be short and sweet."