At one time Barry Zito of the San Francisco Giants was the highest paid pitcher in baseball. In his days with the Oakland Athletics he was virtually unhittable. With the best curveball in baseball and command do go with it, he was bound to dominate every time he stepped on the mound. Since 2007 something has changed, the 2002 AL Cy Young award winner is now a solid number 5 starter but nothing compared to what he used to be. So what has changed? Something is keeping Zito from being the ace that he once was.
When Barry Zito first came into the league he was known for one thing, his outstanding curveball. Throughout his career the curveball has not changed, it is just as devastating now as it was in 2001 when he came up with Oakland. So if his curveball is still there then there must be something else that has altered his performance. One thing that has changed between the Barry Zito now and the Cy Young award winner is the velocity of his fastball. In his prime Zito could throw the ball 87-90 miles per hour now that has sunk to around 83-86 mph.
Now one might think that this is not a big difference, but for a hitter these couple of miles an hour can be the difference between a strike and a home run. When he was still throwing hard hitters would have to be scared of two pitches, his fastball and curveball. So as a hitter you never knew what to expect. Now the hitters can just wait for the slower fastball to come. They do not have to worry about trying to hit a curveball because they know that the 84 mph fastball will eventually come and they will be able to connect with it.
The fact that the hitters know they will not have to hit the curveball gives them much more confidence than they would have had if he still threw hard. To a hitter confidence can mean a lot. More often than not a person with a positive attitude will be more likely to get positive results.
For Barry Zito to return to the outstanding pitcher that he once was one thing will have to change. Zito will have to make the adjustments needed to regain the velocity that he once had. If he can do this there is no doubt that he can become great once again.