Hall of Fame Poll: Carlos Zambrano

We’ve made it to the end of the list. Carlos Zambrano, not surprisingly, is the last name alphabetically on this year’s Hall of Fame ballot (Jays, I could use some real news very soon).

Zambrano was a good pitcher, but, he had a fairly short career (for someone on the Hall of Fame ballot).

He played 12 seasons (the first one really shouldn’t count, just 7.2 innings). He had a 132-91 record and a 3.66 ERA in 354 games, 302 starts. He walked a lot of batters, 898 in 1959 innings, leading the league in walks 2 times (and led the league in hit batters once as well.

Carlos was an All-Star 3 times, had Cy Young votes 3 times (finishing 5th each time) and won the Silver Slugger, for best hitting pitcher 3 times (career he hit .238/.248/.388 with 24 home runs in 744 PA.

He had a really good 5 year stretch, pitching 200+ innings a year from 2003 to 2007, going 77-45. After that, he was still good, but a step or two down.

He had the odd run in with umpires and with the Cubs. Here’s one of the stories from Wikipedia:

On August 12, 2011, against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field, Zambrano allowed five home runs. After the fifth home run he allowed, he threw two inside pitches at Chipper Jones. Zambrano was subsequently ejected from the game by home plate umpire Tim Timmons. This would turn out to be Zambrano's final appearance with the Cubs. Following his ejection, Zambrano cleaned out his locker from the visiting team's clubhouse, and told the team's personnel that he was retiring. The next day, on August 13, the Cubs suspended Zambrano for 30 days, preventing him from performing or attending any activity with the club, as well as having his pay suspended for a period of 30 days. Zambrano later apologized to the Cubs and their fans, saying he wanted to "remain a Cub for life" and that his comments about retiring were said out of frustration. He appealed for a shorter suspension through the MLBPA. On September 2, the club announced that Zambrano would not participate for the remainder of the 2011 season. Cub teammates did not express sympathy for his plight, with veteran pitcher Ryan Dempster remarking, "He's made his bed. Let him sleep in it. It's not like it's something new." As Zambrano spent the rest of the 2011 season on the restricted list, he finished the year 9–7 with a 4.82 ERA in 24 starts.

He’d be traded to the Marlins after the season, played there for one season, signed as a free agent with the Philles, but never played in the majors again.

Matt’s chart:

Similar Players: Preacher Roe, Bobby Shantz, Johnny Antonelli, Bob Veale.