Quote of the day: Zito accepts Triple-A move
Barry Zito is going to Triple-A because not even Rickey stayed in MLB forever. (USATSI)
On Saturday, the Athletics wrapped up their spring schedule against the Giants at the O.co Coliseum. Lefty Barry Zito, who is attempting a comeback, threw a scoreless inning in the game and received a very big ovation from the A’s fans in attendance.
The 36-year-old Zito sat out the 2014 season and had an excellent spring with Oakland — his 5.03 ERA doesn’t do his spring justice, it’s skewed by a four-inning, seven-run outing on March 31 — but it wasn’t enough to earn him a roster spot. The team reassigned Zito to Triple-A Nashville following Saturday’s game and he accepted the assignment. Here’s his reasoning:
Zito mentions Rickey Henderson played at other levels after MLB.”Us non-first ballot Hall of Famers shouldn’t have more pride than Rickey.”
— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) April 4, 2015
That’s pretty tremendous. Zito has accomplished everything a pitcher could possibly want to accomplish in this game. He’s won a Cy Young, he’s been a three-time All-Star, he has two World Series rings, and he’s earned more than $130 million in contracts.
Zito could have easily hung up his spikes and spent the rest of his life sitting on the beach. Instead, he’ll spend the summer riding buses in Triple-A. If that’s not love of the game, I don’t know what is.
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