Joel Zumaya
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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|---|---|
| Detroit Tigers — No. 54 | |
| Relief pitcher | |
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
| April 3, 2006 for the Detroit Tigers | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through 2006) |
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| Win-loss | 6-3 |
| Strikeouts | 97 |
| Earned run average | 1.94 |
Joel Martin Zumaya (born November 9, 1984, in Chula Vista, California) is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the Detroit Tigers. Selected in the 11th round, 320th overall, in the 2002 MLB amateur draft out of Bonita Vista High School, Zumaya was previously a starting pitcher in the Tigers minor league system.
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[edit] Baseball career
Zumaya had been drafted for his power arm, but it wasn't clear whether he would be able to develop adequate control or an off-speed pitch.
[edit] Minor league career
As a young pitcher straight from high school, he would generally be pitching against players older than he. In 2003, the 18-year-old Zumaya made great strides pitching for the low-A affiliate West Michigan Whitecaps. 2004 saw Zumaya begin the year pitching for the high-A affiliate Lakeland Tigers, before a late season promotion to the AA Erie SeaWolves. The results were inconclusive, as he finished with only a .500 win-loss record and struggled with walks. Zumaya began the 2005 season back in Erie; however, his results were much improved from 2004, and he was soon promoted to the AAA Toledo Mud Hens. He finished the season with an impressive 199 strikeouts in 151 innings pitched.
In 77 games over 4 seasons, Zumaya was 27-19, and averaged 6.4 hits and 11.1 strikeouts per 9 innings.
[edit] Major league career
With the Tigers, he has most often been used as a middle relief pitcher, and occasionally as a setup man, filling the innings after the starter has finished and before the closer has come in. Zumaya is a fan favorite for his intense, aggressive attitude on the mound and his 100 mph fastball, which has topped out at over 103 mph. He also has a very good knuckle-curve that he uses quite effectively as an off-speed pitch. He was among the primary reasons for the Tigers' bullpen success in 2006.
While he held batters to a .187 batting average in 2006, he was even tougher with runners in scoring position (.176), and 2 outs and runners in scoring position (.143).
Zumaya remained in the bullpen for the 2006 playoffs.
His future as a starter or reliever has not yet been determined. Zumaya has stated that he prefers the bullpen, although has said that he'd start if given the chance. Zumaya was sidelined for the 2006 American League Championship Series by a sore wrist, which Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski disclosed in a December 2006 radio interview was due to Zumaya playing the Playstation 2 video game Guitar Hero. [1] [2]
During home games at Comerica Park, Zumaya enters the game from the bullpen to the song "Voodoo Child" by Jimi Hendrix.
[edit] Record-setting fastballs?
Although not official, the fastest observed fastball speed was a pitch from Mark Wohlers during spring training in 1995, which allegedly clocked in at 103 mph. [1]
The official record according to the Guinness Book of World Records is 101 mph by Nolan Ryan in 1974. Ryan's pitch was clocked using coherent infrared radar.[2]
The reliability of radar guns used at MLB games more recently has been questioned. USA Today columnist Mike Lopresti reported that FOX was using radar guns which recorded speeds 3 to 4 miles an hour faster than the readings on the McAfee Coliseum radar guns in Game 1 of the 2006 American League Championship Series. [3]
During the 2006 season, Zumaya often threw pitches that were clocked at or above the official record reading of 101 mph. On July 4, 2006, at McAfee Coliseum in Oakland, California, Zumaya threw a pitch clocked at 103 mph, thus tying the "unofficial" record held by Wohlers [4]. On July 20, 2006, in a game against the Chicago White Sox, Zumaya threw a fastball that television speedguns recorded at 104 MPH, but it has not yet been decided if this speed will be recognized. Similarly, on May 20, 2006, Zumaya gave up a grand slam to Ken Griffey Jr. on a pitch that FSN Detroit's radar gun clocked at 104 mph [5], but it was concluded that the fastball was 100 mph, and the ball that was hit was traveling 104 mph.[citation needed]
Zumaya hit 103 mph on the Comerica Park radar gun Monday, August 7, while pitching against Minnesota Twins IF Nick Punto. Zumaya reached 101 mph or higher on 5 of 6 pitches during the at-bat. He also reached 103 mph during the Tigers' 4-3 playoff victory at Yankee Stadium on October 5, 2006 [6]; and also on October 10th, 2006, during Game 1 of the ALCS in Oakland, against the A's. [7]
Despite the accuracy of radar guns being in question, it is likely that Zumaya throws some of the fastest pitches in baseball. By contrast, other pitchers have reached 100 mph on television radar guns, but do not usually reach 103 mph (this group includes Bobby Jenks, Kyle Farnsworth, and Billy Wagner, among others). If the readings are in fact inflated by 3 to 4 miles per hour, then Zumaya would really feature a 100 mph fastball, while other pitchers would clock in at 97-98 mph. In an interview for Detroit radio station WRIF, former Tigers pitcher Denny McLain stated that he believed the numbers on stadium and television radar guns were inflated. However, he also claimed that Zumaya had the most consistently fast pitches he had seen in person since Nolan Ryan and former Houston Astro J.R. Richard.
With no scientific evidence (such as Nolan Ryan's infrared radar pitch), the true speed of Joel Zumaya's fastball remains a matter of interpretation or perspective.
However there is a new technology on the horizon that reads pitch speeds more accurately and does not inflate those numbers. It uses cameras and software to obtain the data. This new technology comes from Major League Baseball in its Advanced Media section. Part of Enhanced Gameday tracks pitch speed, break, and trajectory.[8] One pitch registered on this was clocked at 104.8 mph at release by Joel Zumaya. This was during Game 1 of the ALCS against Frank Thomas of the Oakland Athletics on October 10, 2006, at Oakland's McAfee Coliseum (other readings were at 103 mph; the slowest reading was 102 mph).
It should be noted that temperature, wind velocity, barometric pressure, and other factors can affect the speed of a pitch. Historically, baseball has seen both the height of the mound moved up, and the mound moved back (1890s), which could be factors in comparing the fastest pitchers of all time.
After the 2006 season, The Bill James Handbook published a list of pitchers and the number of their pitches thrown at 100 mph or more. Zumaya led the major leagues with 233, while Kyle Farnsworth was second with 26. The National League leader was Billy Wagner, with 5. Zumaya's average fastball was an astonishing 98.6 mph, with 100+ mph fastballs coming every 1 out of 6 pitches. [http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070324&content_id=1857984&vkey=spt2007news&fext=.jsp
During a March 30th, 2007 spring training game against the New York Yankees, Joel Zumaya threw a 107 MPH fastball, clocked by the Joker Marchant Stadium speedgun.[citation needed][9]
[edit] Quotes about Zumaya
Joe Buck, during game 3 of the 2006 World Series: "If you've never seen Joel Zumaya before, get ready. This guy can bring it."
"Well, we had the heat with Verlander, and now the heat's going to be turned up even more." - Jon Miller on ESPN television as Zumaya entered Game 2 of the 2006 American League Division Series against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium
"Not fair. Not fair at all" - Fox Sports Net commentator Rod Allen, referring to Zumaya having used his breaking ball following five consecutive 100 mph-plus fastballs to strike out Vladimir Guerrero.
Nickname: "Zoom"
[edit] References
- ^ Hummin' Slowed By Strummin': Guitar video game hurt Zumaya's arm
- ^ Dave Dombrowski on WXYT 12/13/2006
[edit] External links
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since March 2007 | 1984 births | All-Star Futures Game players | Detroit Tigers players | Living people | Major league pitchers | Major league players from California | People from San Diego
![[9]](http://usera.imagecave.com/pjs24/zumaya107.JPG){kind=link}