Carlos Zambrano: Over-Shadowed by Greatness
With Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, Greg Maddux and Matt Clement on his staff, Carlos Zambrano has been over-shadowed by other household name pitchers. After todays (May 13th) start, in which Zambrano pitched 8 innings giving up 0 ER and striking out 11 hitters, Carlos Zambrano is now 4-1. On May 7th, Zambrano pitched a 2-hitter against the Colorado Rockies and threw just 97 pitches in the shutout. In Zambrano´s last 3 starts (24 IP) he hasn´t given up an earned run. In 2 of his 3 starts during May, Zambrano has striken out more than 10 batters. Zambrano hasn´t always been this good however.
Signed as a non-drafted free-agent by the Chicago Cubs in 1997, Zambrano was the first player born in the 1980´s to play a game for Chicago. In his rookie season he was 1-2 with a 15.26 ERA which is not something to call home about. He then improved on his rookie season with a 3.66 ERA after joining the Cubs in July of 2002. Despite the good ERA, Zambrano only had a 4-8 record. Finally, last season, Zambrano broke out. He posted a 13-11 record with a 3.11 ERA. Zambrano solidified his part in the Cubs staff, and began his quest for stardome.
The Venezuela native has come a long way from being an un-drafted free agent in 1997, and is now a key part of one of the best staffs in baseball. Zambrano´s 1.82 ERA is 2nd in the league right now, behind future hall-of-famer Roger Clemens. He has become one of the NL´s more dominant strikeout pitchers, and his 46 strikeouts rank 8th in the NL. Zambrano is one of only 6 NL pitchers to have a shutout so far in the season.
Even with these great stats, and even though he has probably been the most impressive starter for the Cubs this season, Zambrano still isn´t getting the attention he deserves. If Carlos Zambrano can keep up this amazing start to the season, he will have a great chance to make the all-star team. Soon, fans from all over will know of Carlos Zambrano, and they will mention his name right along-side fellow pitchers like Kerry Wood, Mark Prior and Greg Maddux.
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