He never topped the ERA charts, but the top of the Billboard charts don’t seem out of reach.
Former Cy Young Award winner Barry Zito isn’t dropping his devastating curveball anymore. He keeps himself busy these days with a guitar – and a pretty good singing voice that’s getting him recognized with music industry movers and shakers.
Just two years after retiring from baseball, the former Athletics and Giants pitcher recently released his first EP, titled “No Secrets,” which made surprising appearances on Billboard charts — landing No. 15 on the Americana/Folk Album chart and No. 39 on the Country Album chart.
Zito, a Southern California native who’s now based in Nashville, told Billboard he first learned to play guitar shortly after he signed with Oakland in 1999. He found refuge from the travel and long hours on the road by dabbling in music.
Zito’s father was a conductor for legendary jazz singer Nat King Cole. His mother was a backup singer for Cole, and his aunt, Sally Zito, is also an accomplished country singer.
Although music runs through Zito’s blood, he said his baseball career, which lasted 15 MLB seasons, helped prepare his transition into music.
“When you’re performing for an audience, you’re really singing to give people an emotional experience,” said Zito, who won a World Series with San Francisco in 2012. “But when you’re playing baseball, if there’s 50,000 people watching or two people, I really don’t care because I’m still in this competition and in battle with somebody. So, it’s not as much about the fans when you’re on the field competing. But when you’re performing, it’s all about the fans.”
Zito, who wrote the EP’s “Home” track by himself, becomes the first Cy Young winner to appear on Billboard charts. Former Yankees outfielder Bernie Williams made two appearances on the Billboard 200, and Bronson Arroyo, who’s attempting a comeback with the Cincinnati Reds, appeared in 2005.
Zito peaked in 2002 with the Moneyball A’s. Spearheading a rotation that also featured Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson, Zito went 23-5 with a 2.75 ERA to garner the Cy Young. In 2006, Zito signed a seven-year, $126 million free-agent contract with the Giants. Zito’s performance and fastball velocity ebbed from there. He did not pitch in 2014, then attempted a brief comeback with the A’s in 2015, at age 37, appearing in just three games.