Joel Zumaya

Joel Martin Zumaya (born November 9, 1984) is an American former

Joel Zumaya
professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in Major League Baseball for the
Detroit Tigers from 2006 through 2010. He is known for his record-breaking
fastballs.

Contents
1 Baseball career
1.1 Minor league career
1.2 Major league career
1.2.1 Detroit Tigers (20062011) Zumaya with the Detroit Tigers in 2009
1.2.2 Minnesota Twins (2012)
Pitcher
2 Record-setting fastballs
Born: November 9, 1984
3 See also Chula Vista, California
4 References
Batted: Right Threw: Right
5 External links
MLB debut
April 3, 2006, for the Detroit Tigers
Baseball career Last MLB appearance

Zumaya was drafted out of Bonita Vista High School in the 11th round by the
June 28, 2010, for the Detroit Tigers
Tigers, the 320th overall selection of the 2002 MLB Draft. He was chosen MLB statistics
because of his power arm, but it was not clear whether he would be able to Winloss record 1312
develop adequate control of an off-speed pitch. He is known for his 100 miles
Earned run 3.05
per hour (160 km/h) fastball, which catcher Ivan Rodriguez credits as having
average
been the fastest pitch he ever caught.[1]
Strikeouts 210
Teams
Minor league career
Zumaya began his stint in the Tigers minor league system as a starting pitcher. Detroit Tigers (20062010)
Because he was drafted straight out of high school, Zumaya frequently pitched
against players older than himself. In 2003, the 18-year-old Zumaya made great strides pitching for the Low-A affiliate West
Michigan Whitecaps. 2004 saw Zumaya begin the year pitching for the High-A affiliate Lakeland Tigers, before a late season
promotion to the Double-A Erie SeaWolves. He finished the season with a .500 winloss record and struggled with walks. Zumaya
began the 2005 season back in Erie; however, his results were much improved from 2004, and he was soon promoted to the Triple-A
Toledo Mud Hens. He finished the season with 199 strikeouts in 151 innings pitched. In 77 games over four seasons, Zumaya was
2719, and averaged 6.4hits and 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings.

Major league career

Detroit Tigers (20062011)

With the Tigers, he was most often used as a middle relief pitcher and occasionally as a setup man. Zumaya was a fan favorite for his
intense, aggressive attitude on the mound and his 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) fastball, which topped out at 104.8 miles per hour
(168.7 km/h). This was the fastest pitch ever recorded at that time.[2] He also had a very good knuckle-curve that he used as an off-
speed pitch. He was among the primary reasons for the Tigers bullpen success in 2006, joining fellow rookie Justin Verlander on the
resurgent 2006 Tigers team. However, Zumaya was hampered by injuries to his throwing arm following his rookie season in 2006,
and was never the same pitcher again.

While he held batters to a .187batting average in 2006, he was even tougher with runners in scoring position (.176), and two outs and
runners in scoring position (.143). Zumaya remained in the bullpen for the 2006 playoffs. However, Zumaya was sidelined for the
2006 American League Championship Series by a sore wrist, which Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski disclosed in a
December 2006 radio interview was due to Zumaya playing thePlayStation 2 video game Guitar Hero.[3][4] On the Xbox 360 version
of Guitar Hero II, the credits read: No pitchers were harmed in the making of this game. Except for one. Joel Zumaya. He had it
coming.[5] In a 2016 interview with the Detroit News, however, Zumaya said the Guitar Hero story was just a cover, and not true.
While refusing to disclose the actual source of the injury, and calling the Guitar Hero story his "final answer," he also admitted that it
was "some bogus stuff."[6]

Zumaya's future was then clouded by injury: in May 2007, he ruptured a tendon in his hand, requiring surgery and 12 weeks rehab.
On August 2, 2007, the Tigers activated Zumaya from the 15-day disabled list after not playing since May 1. The next day, he made
his first major league appearance following the injury
, pitching to one batter in a game against theCleveland Indians.

Zumaya sustained another injury, this time to his shoulder, during the 2007 offseason. While helping his father move some boxes in
the attic at his father's home in advance of a fire approaching the area, a 50 to 60 pounds (23 to 27 kg) box fell on his right (pitching)
shoulder, separating it.[7]

He was placed on the 60-day disabled list at the start of the 2008 season. After appearing in six successful minor league rehab games
for the Single-A Lakeland Flying Tigers and Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens, Zumaya rejoined the Tigers on June 20, 2008.

Zumaya was placed on the 15-day DL with a sore right shoulder on March 27, 2009.[8] He was reactivated by the end of April;
however, he was placed back on the 15-day DL following a July 18 appearance against the New York Yankees, where it was reported
he could barely move his right (throwing) arm. Zumaya had sur
gery in August, ending his season.

On June 28, 2010, Zumaya injured his elbow in the eighth inning, while pitching against the Minnesota Twins' Delmon Young at
Target Field. He was in obvious pain and needed assistance walking off the field. The next day an MRI revealed he had a non-
[9]
displaced fracture of theolecranon. Doctors said it would take four months to heal, ending his season.

Zumaya missed the entire 2011 season after undergoing exploratory surgery on his right elbow on May 10. While the surgery,
performed by Dr. James Andrews found no new damage, it was determined that the screw inserted during his previous surgery
needed to be replaced.[10] He was unable to recover sufficiently to return to the team that season, his last before being able to enter
free agency for the 2012 season.[11]

Minnesota Twins (2012)

On January 15, 2012, Zumaya agreed to a one-year contract with theMinnesota Twins worth $800,000 to $1.7 million.[12][13]

On February 25, 2012, Zumaya tore an ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow 13 pitches into a live batting practice session,
requiring Tommy John surgery and ending his 2012 season, in which he was guaranteed to earn $400,000.[14] He was released on
March 3.

Zumaya retired in February 2014.[15]

Record-setting fastballs

Zumaya pitching for the Tigers during
2009 Spring Training
During the 2006 season, Zumaya often threw pitches that were measured at or
above the official record reading of 101 miles per hour (163 km/h). On July 3,
2006, at McAfee Coliseum in Oakland, California, Justin Verlander, Joel
Zumaya, and Fernando Rodney each threw multiple fastballs measured in at
over 100 miles per hour (160 km/h), becoming the first time in MLB history
that three pitchers on the same team had done so during a game. Just five
games into the season, they became the first MLB team to have the same three
pitchers throw over 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) in a season. On July 4,
2006, at McAfee Coliseum in Oakland, California, Zumaya threw a pitch
measured at 103 miles per hour (166 km/h), thus tying the "unofficial" record
held by Mark Wohlers.[16] Similarly, on May 20, 2006, Zumaya gave up a
grand slam to Ken Griffey, Jr. on a pitch that FSN Detroit's radar gun measured
at 104 miles per hour (167 km/h).[17]

Zumaya hit 104 miles per hour (167 km/h) on the Comerica Park radar gun on August 7 while pitching against Minnesota Twins
infielder Nick Punto. Zumaya reached 101 miles per hour (163 km/h) or higher on five of six pitches during the at-bat. He also
reached 103 miles per hour (166 km/h) during the Tigers' 43 playoff victory at Yankee Stadium on October 5, 2006;[18] and also on
October 10, 2006, during Game 1 of theALCS in Oakland, against the A's.[19]

In an interview for Detroit radio station WRIF, former Tigers pitcher Denny McLain stated that he believed the numbers on stadium
and television radar guns were inflated. However, he also claimed that Zumaya had the most consistently fast pitches he had seen in
person since former Houston AstrosNolan Ryan and J. R. Richard.

However, there is a new technology on the horizon that reads pitch speeds more accurately and doe
s not inflate those numbers. It uses
cameras and software to obtain the data. This new technology comes from Major League Baseball in its Advanced Media section.
Part of Enhanced Gameday tracks pitch speed, break, and trajectory.[20] One pitch registered on this was measured at 104.8 miles per
hour (168.7 km/h) at release by Joel Zumaya. This was during Game 1 of the ALCS against Frank Thomas of the Oakland Athletics
on October 10, 2006, at Oakland's McAfee Coliseum (other readings were at 103 miles per hour (166 km/h); the slowest reading was
102 miles per hour (164 km/h)).

After the 2006 season, The Bill James Handbook published a list of pitchers and the number of their pitches thrown at 100 miles per
hour (160 km/h) or more. Zumaya led the major leagues with 233. Zumaya's average fastball was 98.6 miles per hour (158.7 km/h),
[21]
with 100+ mph fastballs coming one out of six pitches.

Pitch f/x.[22]
In 2009 and 2010, Zumaya's fastball averaged 99 miles per hour (159 km/h), according to

See also
Best pitching seasons by a Detroit Tiger

References
1. "High-speed pursuit - MLB - ESPN"(http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/preview07/columns/story?columnist=crasnick_jer
ry&id=2809709). Sports.espn.go.com. March 26, 2007. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
2. /http://www.baseball-almanac.com/articles/fastest-pitcher-in-baseball.shtml
3. Guitar hero? Pitcher hurt playing video game(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16212095/)Archived (https://web.archiv
e.org/web/20070322094320/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16212095/)March 22, 2007, at theWayback Machine.
4. Dave Dombrowski on WXYT 12/13/2006(http://podcast.1270sports.com/wxyt/54486.mp3)Archived (https://web.arc
hive.org/web/20061218182911/http://podcast.1270sports.com/wxyt/54486.mp3)
December 18, 2006, at the
Wayback Machine.
 5. "GUITAR HERO: Sequel strikes the perfect chord" (http://www.whatsonwinnipeg.com/index.php?option=com_conten
t&task=view&id=21040&searchpanel=advrestaurant) . CanWest News Service. April 26, 2007. Retrieved June 2,
2007.
6. Wojnowski, Bob (June 8, 2016)."Wojo: Zumaya flamed out in a blaze of glory" (http://www.detroitnews.com/story/sp
orts/mlb/tigers/2016/06/07/wojo-zumaya-flamed-out-blaze-glory/85578402/)
. Detroit News. Retrieved 14 August
2016.
7. "Zumaya hurts shoulder, might miss part of '08 season" (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3090054)
.
Retrieved June 10, 2012.
8. "Zumaya placed on 15-day DL"(https://web.archive.org/web/20121018183728/http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/news/arti
cle.jsp?ymd=20090329&content_id=4083898&vkey=news_det&c_id=det&fext=.jsp) . Detroit.tigers.mlb.com. Archived
from the original (http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090329&content_id=4083898&vkey=news_de
t&fext=.jsp&c_id=det) on October 18, 2012. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
9. Zumaya out for year with fracture in elbow(http://beck.mlblogs.com/archives/2010/06/zumaya_out_for_year_with_fra
ct.html) MLB.com
10. No new damage found during Joel Zumaya's elbow surgery(http://aol.sportingnews.com/mlb/story/2011-05-11/no-n
ew-damage-found-during-joel-zumayas-elbow-surgery)Sporting News staff report, May 11, 2011. Retrieved from
sportingnews.com October 29, 2011,
11. Was Tuesday Joel Zumaya's swan song? Despite surgery
, he wants to stay Tiger (http://www.freep.com/article/2011
1012/SPORTS02/110120483/Was-Tuesday-Joel-Zumaya-s-swan-song-)by Vince Ellis, Detroit Free Press, October
12, 2011
12. Silva, Drew (January 15, 2012)."Twins, Joel Zumaya agree to terms on one-year deal" (http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.
com/2012/01/15/twins-joel-zumaya-agree-to-terms-on-one-year-deal/). NBC Sports. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
13. Twins, Zumaya sign one-year deal(http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/01/twins-agree-to-sign-joel-zumaya.html)
mlb trade rumors
14. Girandola, Chris (February 26, 2012)."Torn elbow ligament to cost Twins reliever Joel Zumaya 2012 season"(http://
minnesota.twins.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120226&content_id=26867436&vkey=news_min&c_id=min) .
twinsbaseball.com.
15. Report: Former Detroit Tigers reliever Joel Zumaya to retire; last pitched in majors in 2010(http://www.mlive.com/tige
rs/index.ssf/2014/02/report_former_detroit_tigers_r_2.html)
16. "The Fastest Pitcher in Baseball History"(http://www.baseball-almanac.com/articles/fastest-pitcher-in-
baseball.shtml). Baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
17. "Reds Top Plays Archive (multimedia, see "Griffey's slam" under May 20"(http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/NASApp/ml
b/multimedia/tp_archive.jsp?c_id=cin&ym=200605) . Cincinnati.reds.mlb.com. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
18. "Tigers even series with Yankees" (http://www.cbc.ca/sports/baseball/story/2006/10/05/alds-det-nyy.html). Cbc.ca.
October 5, 2006. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
19. Wetzel, Dan (October 11, 2006)."Mo' town" (https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=dw-tigers101006&prov=yhoo
&type=lgns). Sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
20. "Latest technology enhances playoffs" (http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20061018&content_id
=1716309&vkey=ps2006news&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb) . Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
21. "Zumaya more than just a flame-thrower"(http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070324&content_id
=1857984&vkey=spt2007news&fext=.jsp). Florida.marlins.mlb.com. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
22. [1] (http://joeposnanski.si.com/2010/09/07/thirty-two-fast-pitchers/)Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/201009090
00933/http://joeposnanski.si.com/2010/09/07/thirty-two-fast-pitchers/)September 9, 2010, at theWayback Machine.

External links
Career statistics and player information fromMLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball
Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joel_Zumaya&oldid=803853317

"

This page was last edited on 5 October 2017, at 01:44.

Text is available under theCreative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this
site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia is a registered trademark of theWikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.