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Carlos Zambrano

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Carlos Alberto Zambrano (born June 1, 1981 Puerto Cabello, Carabobo State, Venezuela) is a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who has played for the Chicago Cubs since 2001. He is a switch-hitter (which is rare in baseball, especially for a pitcher) and throws right-handed.

Zambrano, an imposing figure at 6'5" and 255 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 13-11 record, 168 strikeouts and a 3.11 ERA. He was also 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. Nevertheless, Zambrano seems to be hurt less by giving up walks than most pitchers, due to the fact that batters hit many more ground balls than flyballs against him. This can be attributed to the sinking movement of his fastball. He rarely surrenders home runs (34 in his career) and often induces double plays.

In 2004, Zambrano led his team in ERA (2.75, fourth in the league), won 16 games (tied with teammate Greg Maddux), collected 188 strikeouts, and led the league in hit batsmen (20). He also got his first All-Star berth.

Through 2004, Zambrano has posted a 34-29 record with 453 strikeouts and a 3.25 ERA in 539.2 innings. A switch-hitter, he won't embarras himself with the bat, either bunting or swinging away. He is a .198 hitter (35-for-178) with three home runs and 11 RBI.

2005

  • August 7 - In just the fourth meeting of pitchers with the same last name since 2000, Víctor Zambrano of the New York Mets outdueled Carlos Zambrano in front of 40,321 fans at Shea Stadium, pitching the New York Mets to a 6-1 win and a sweep of the three-game series. Both Zambranos entered with 42 career wins, the second time in major league history that opposing starters with the same last name came in with matching victory totals, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The other was on June 15, 1944, when Red Barrett of the Boston Braves and Dick Barrett of the Philadelphia Phillies each had 19 career wins. Like the Barretts, Víctor and Carlos obviously share a double feat, but the similarities don't end there. The Zambranos were born in Venezuela, both throw with their right arm, and both wear No. 38. Beside this, it was the fourth time in modern major league history that starting pitchers with a last name beginning with Z faced each other, according to ESPN. Víctor and Carlos Zambrano have both faced Barry Zito of the Oakland Athletics.

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