Joel Zumaya

Joel Zumaya
Zumaya pitching for the Tigers during 2009 Spring Training
Detroit Tigers – No. 54
Relief pitcher
Bats: Right Throws: Right
debut
April 3, 2006, for the Detroit Tigers
Career statistics (through 2010 season)
Win–loss record	13–12
Earned run average	3.05
Strikeouts	210
Saves	5
Teams
Detroit Tigers (2006–present)

Joel Martin Zumaya (born November 9, 1984) is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the Detroit Tigers and known for his record-breaking fastballs.

Baseball career

Zumaya was drafted out of Bonita Vista High School in the 11th round by the Tigers, the 320th overall selection of the 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 MPH fastball.

Minor league career

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

During home games at Comerica Park, Zumaya enters the game from the bullpen to the song "Voodoo Child" by Jimi Hendrix. For a time he entered to Slayer's "Raining Blood", but eventually returned to coming out of the bullpen to "Voodoo Child".

With the Tigers, he has most often been used as a middle relief pitcher and occasionally as a setup man, filling the innings after the starter has finished and before the closer has come in. Zumaya is a fan favorite for his intense, aggressive attitude on the mound and his 100 MPH fastball, which has topped out at 104.8 MPH. This was the fastest pitch ever recorded at that time. He also has a very good knuckle-curve that he uses 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 Tiger team. However, Zumaya has been hampered by injuries to his throwing arm since his rookie season in 2006. He has yet to be an effective force for the Tigers since that season.

2006

While he held batters to a .187 batting 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 the PlayStation 2 video game Guitar Hero. 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.

2007

Zumaya's future has been recently 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 the 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 50–60 pound box fell on his right (pitching) shoulder, separating it.

2008

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.

2009

Zumaya was placed on the 15-day DL with a sore right shoulder on March 27, 2009. 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 and was done for the season.

2010

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-displaced fracture of the olecranon. Doctors said it will take four months to heal, ending his season.

Record-setting fastballs

File:Zumaya3.jpg

Joel Zumaya, with "flame" tattoo.

During the 2006 season, Zumaya often threw pitches that were measured at or above the official record reading of 101 MPH. 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 MPH, 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 MPH in a season. On July 4, 2006, at McAfee Coliseum in Oakland, California, Zumaya threw a pitch measured at 103 MPH, thus tying the "unofficial" record held by Mark Wohlers. 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 MPH.

Zumaya hit 104 MPH on the Comerica Park radar gun on August 7 while pitching against Minnesota Twins infielder Nick Punto. Zumaya reached 101 MPH or higher on five of six pitches during the at-bat. He also reached 103 MPH during the Tigers' 4–3 playoff victory at Yankee Stadium on October 5, 2006; and also on October 10, 2006, during Game 1 of the ALCS in Oakland, against the A's.

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 Nolan Ryan and former Houston Astro J. R. Richard.

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. One pitch registered on this was measured at 104.8 MPH 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 MPH; the slowest reading was 102 MPH).

After the 2006 season, The Bill James Handbook published a list of pitchers and the number of their pitches thrown at 100 mph or more. Zumaya led the Major Leagues with 233. Zumaya's average fastball was 98.6 MPH, with 100+ MPH fastballs coming one out of six pitches.

In 2009 and 2010, Zumaya’s fastball averaged 99 mph, according to Pitch f/x.

Quotes about Zumaya

• "The best arm I've seen since I don't know when...If he gets where he pitches both sides of the plate and he throws that fastball low and away, there are going to be some sad faces." - Nolan Ryan
• "Well, if you haven't seen Joel Zumaya, get ready to enjoy. This guy can bring it with the best of 'em." – Joe Buck, during game 3 of the 2006 World Series
• "Well, we had the heat with Verlander, and now the heat's going to be turned up even more." – Jon Miller on ESPN television as Zumaya entered Game 2 of the 2006 American League Division Series against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium
• "Not fair. Not fair at all" – Fox Sports Net commentator Rod Allen, referring to Zumaya having used his breaking ball following five consecutive 100 MPH-plus fastballs to strike out Vladimir Guerrero.
• ESPN the Magazine notes that on one occasion "In an ALDS game in the Bronx, Zumaya threw so hard that Alex Rodriguez said he never saw the ball"

Personal

During the 2007 season, the Tigers drafted Zumaya's brother, Richard Zumaya, who signed with the Tigers and spent the rest of the season pitching with the GCL Tigers.

See also

• Best pitching seasons by a Detroit Tiger

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)