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Revision as of 20:37, 14 May 2004 by RadicalBender (talk | contribs) (b. -> born)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Carlos Alberto Zambrano (born June 1, 1981 in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela) is a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher who plays for the Chicago Cubs.
Zambrano, an imposing figure at 6'5" and 225 pounds, was signed by the Cubs as an amateur free agent in 1997 and made his debut in 2001. After being used in both starting and relief duties, he enjoyed his first full season as a starter in 2003, finishing with a record of 13-11, 168 strikeouts and a 3.11 ERA.
He was also productive as a switch-hitter, batting .240 with two homers, six RBI, 18 hits, 5 doubles 9 runs scored, and a .387 slugging average. Zambrano was a major contributor in the Cubs' run to the National League playoffs, in which they would come up five outs shy of the World Series, losing to the eventual world champion Florida Marlins.
Zambrano has been noted for his vibrant personality on the mound. He allows his emotions to be readily evident, always indicating whether he is happy with his performance or not. Zambrano's pitches match this eclectic nature, as every pitch in his repertoire has significant movement. He relies on a two-seam fastball in the low 90s, a slider, a split-finger fastball, and also throws a straight four-seamer, making him among baseball's hardest pitchers to hit. His main weakness is a lack of pinpoint control, leading to a tendency to surrender walks. Zambrano seems to be hurt less by giving up walks than most pitchers however, due to the fact that he rarely surrenders home runs and often induces double-plays since batters hit many more groundballs than flyballs against him. This can be attributed to the sinking movement of his fastball. In 2003, Zambrano surrendered only 9 home runs in 214 innings pitched.
Although he is viewed as perhaps the third or fourth best starter in the Cubs' starting rotation (which also includes pitchers Mark Prior, Kerry Wood, Greg Maddux, and Matt Clement), Zambrano is considered one of the best young National League pitchers.