Joel Zumaya

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Joel Zumaya
Zumaya with the Detroit Tigers in 2009
Pitcher
Born: (1984-11-09) November 9, 1984 (age 40)
Chula Vista, California, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 3, 2006, for the Detroit Tigers
Last MLB appearance
June 28, 2010, for the Detroit Tigers
MLB statistics
Win–loss record13–12
Earned run average3.05
Strikeouts210
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams

Joel Martin Zumaya (born November 9, 1984) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in Major League Baseball for the Detroit Tigers from 2006 through 2010.

Baseball career

Zumaya was drafted out of

2002 MLB Draft. He was chosen because of his power arm, but it was not clear whether he would be able to develop adequate control of an off-speed pitch. He is known for his 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) fastball, which catcher Iván Rodríguez credits as having been the fastest pitch he ever caught.[1]

Minor league career

Zumaya began his stint in the Tigers minor league system as a

Lakeland Tigers, before a late season promotion to the Double-A Erie SeaWolves. He finished the season with a .500 win–loss 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 27–19, and averaged 6.4 hits
and 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings.

Major league career

Detroit Tigers (2006–2011)

With the Tigers, he was most often used as a

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 .187

Guitar Hero.[3][4] This was acknowledged by the game's developers with a message on the credits of the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II: 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

Cleveland 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 surgery in August, ending his season.

On June 28, 2010, Zumaya injured his elbow in the eighth inning, while pitching against the

MRI revealed he had a non-displaced fracture of the olecranon. Doctors said it would take four months to heal, ending his season.[9]

Zumaya missed the entire 2011 season after undergoing exploratory surgery on his right elbow on May 10. While the surgery, performed by 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 the Minnesota Twins worth $800,000 to $1.7 million.[12][13]

On February 25, 2012, Zumaya tore an

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

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

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

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' 4–3 playoff victory at Yankee Stadium on October 5, 2006;[18] and also on October 10, 2006, during Game 1 of the ALCS 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, there is a new technology on the horizon that reads pitch speeds more accurately and does 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.

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), with 100+ mph fastballs coming one out of six pitches.[21]

In 2009 and 2010, Zumaya's fastball averaged 99 miles per hour (159 km/h), according to

Pitch f/x.[22]

Post Career

After his baseball career, Zumaya had other careers distinct from baseball. In 2016, he worked as a fisherman.[23] In 2019, he worked at the San Diego Airport.[24] He resides in Chula Vista, California.[25][26]

See also

  • Best pitching seasons by a Detroit Tiger

References

  1. ^ Crasnick, Jerry (March 26, 2007). "High-speed pursuit". ESPN. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  2. ^ "Fastest Pitcher in Baseball". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  3. ^ "Guitar hero? Pitcher hurt playing video game". MSNBC. December 14, 2006. Archived from the original on March 22, 2007.
  4. ^ Dave Dombrowski on WXYT (Radio broadcast). WXYT. December 13, 2006. Archived from the original on December 18, 2006.
  5. CanWest News Service. April 26, 2007. Retrieved June 2, 2007.[permanent dead link
    ‍]
  6. ^ Wojnowski, Bob (June 8, 2016). "Wojo: Zumaya flamed out in a blaze of glory". Detroit News. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  7. ^ "Zumaya hurts shoulder, might miss part of '08 season". ESPN. Associated Press. November 1, 2007. Retrieved June 10, 2012.
  8. ^ "Zumaya placed on 15-day DL". Detroit.tigers.mlb.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  9. ^ Zumaya out for year with fracture in elbow Archived July 2, 2010, at the Wayback Machine MLB.com
  10. ^ "No new damage found during Joel Zumaya's elbow surgery". Sporting News. May 11, 2011. Retrieved October 29, 2011.[permanent dead link‍]
  11. ^ Ellis, Vince (October 12, 2011). "Was Tuesday Joel Zumaya's swan song?". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on October 15, 2011.
  12. ^ Silva, Drew (January 15, 2012). "Twins, Joel Zumaya agree to terms on one-year deal". NBC Sports. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
  13. ^ Axisa, Mike (January 18, 2012). "Twins Agree To Sign Joel Zumaya". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  14. ^ Girandola, Chris (February 26, 2012). "Torn elbow ligament to cost Twins reliever Joel Zumaya 2012 season". twinsbaseball.com. Archived from the original on February 27, 2012.
  15. ^ Slagter, Josh (February 8, 2014). "Report: Former Detroit Tigers reliever Joel Zumaya to retire; last pitched in majors in 2010". Michigan Live. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  16. ^ "The Fastest Pitcher in Baseball History". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  17. ^ "Reds Top Plays Archive (multimedia, see "Griffey's slam" under May 20". Cincinnati.reds.mlb.com. Retrieved December 5, 2013.[dead link‍]
  18. ^ "Tigers even series with Yankees". Cbc.ca. October 5, 2006. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  19. ^ Wetzel, Dan (October 11, 2006). "Mo' town". Sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  20. ^ Newman, Mark (October 20, 2006). "Latest technology enhances playoffs". MLB.com. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012.
  21. ^ "Zumaya more than just a flame-thrower". MLB.com. Archived from the original on November 9, 2007.
  22. ^ Posnanski, Joe (September 7, 2010). "Thirty-Two Fast Pitchers". SI.com. Archived from the original on September 9, 2010.
  23. ^ Wojnowski, Bob. "Wojo: Zumaya flamed out in a blaze of glory". The Detroit News. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
  24. ^ Fenech, Anthony. "I went to Detroit Tigers fantasy camp. The people are better than my fastball". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
  25. ^ "Tigers heat up with Zumaya". Spokesman.com. July 4, 2008. Retrieved March 23, 2025.
  26. ^ "Detroit Tigers: Looking Back at the 2002 MLB Draft". Motor City Bengals. May 29, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2025.
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