Gregg Zaun

Infobox MLB player
name=Gregg Zaun

---

width=200
position=Catcher
team=Toronto Blue Jays
number=9
bats=Switch
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1971|4|14
birthplace=city-state|Glendale|California
debutdate=June 24
debutyear=1995
debutteam=Baltimore Orioles
statyear=2008 season
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value= .251
stat2label=Home runs| stat2value= 78
stat3label=Runs batted in
stat3value= 405
teams=
*Baltimore Orioles (by|1995)
*Florida Marlins (by|1996-by|1998)
*Texas Rangers (by|1999)
*Kansas City Royals (by|2000-by|2001)
*Houston Astros (by|2002)
*Colorado Rockies (by|2003)
*Toronto Blue Jays (by|2004-present)

Gregory Owen Zaun (pronEng|zɑːn; born April 14, 1971 in Glendale, California) is a Major League Baseball player with the Toronto Blue Jays. A catcher, his plate-blocking ability and hustle have made him a fan favorite in Toronto. He is the nephew of former MLB catcher Rick Dempsey. Zaun was a high school teammate of Mark Loretta of the Houston Astros. Zaun and Loretta attended Saint Francis High School in La Cañada, California and graduated in 1989.

Professional career

Drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 13th round of the by|1989 MLB Draft, Zaun reached the majors with the Orioles in June of mlby|1995. Used primarily as a back-up early in his career, he was traded to the Florida Marlins in mlby|1996. After winning a World Series with the Marlins in mlby|1997, he moved to the Texas Rangers prior to the mlby|1999 season. He has also played with the Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros, and Colorado Rockies. He signed as a free agent with the Blue Jays prior to the mlby|2004 season. In 2004, the Blue Jays were the first team to make Zaun, at 33, a starting catcher. Valuable in the line-up as a switch-hitter, he set a career high in mlby|2005 with 133 games, which helped him earn his nickname "Big Jeezy".

Prior to the mlby|2006 season, the Blue Jays signed Bengie Molina as the everyday catcher, making Zaun once again the backup. Zaun started 2006 on on the disabled list, with Jason Phillips serving as Molina's backup during the first week of the year. Zaun hit a game-winning two-run homer off the Tampa Bay Devil Rays' Jason Childers in his return on April 8. Molina's struggles against right-handed pitchers caused John Gibbons to platoon the two, with Molina generally starting against left-handed pitchers and Zaun playing against righties. On September 13, 2006, he hit home runs from both sides of the plate in the same game. He was only the 4th Blue Jay in history to do this.

Because the Toronto Blue Jays actively pursued Rod Barajas of the Texas Rangers as the club's new starting catcher during the 2006 offseason, it was assumed that Zaun would be exploring free agency as signing Barajas would mean Zaun would be maintained as a backup. Meanwhile, negotiations between Zaun and the club deteriorated, as Zaun claimed that the Jays offered "slightly better than back-up money for playing every day". [ [http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&col=970081593064&c=Article&cid=1164063010470&call_pageid=968867503640 TheStar.com - Page Not Found ] ] Negotiations with Barajas went as far as an offer conditional on a routine physical, but eventually fell apart for reasons yet to be disclosed. After turning down a reported $6.5 million two-year offer from the Blue Jays a week earlier, [ [http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1164667810863&call_pageid=968867503640&col=970081593064 TheStar.com - Page Not Found ] ] Zaun officially accepted a two-year, $7.25 million contract offer to return to the Toronto Blue Jays as their starting catcher on November 28, 2006. The new contract deal also included a 3rd year option, guaranteed based on appearances. [ [http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1164711546500&call_pageid=968867503640&col=970081593064&t=TS_Home TheStar.com - Page Not Found ] ] The signing came after Zaun was rumoured to have been courted by the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, both in backup roles.

His at-bat music is "Limelight" by Rush.

Broadcasting

Zaun started his broadcasting career after the Blue Jays closed out their 2006 season. Throughout the playoffs, Zaun would offer his thoughts on how the teams and players were doing, and how he thought they could improve. He worked alongside Jamie Campbell on Rogers Sportsnet. During the mlby|2007 season, he continued his work in the booth on his off days or before the game. After the season, he continued to share his thoughts with the viewers.

teroid accusations

In the December 2007 Mitchell Report on performance enhancing drugs in baseball, Zaun was accused of having used the steroids Deca-Durabolin and Winstrol. Zaun allegedly purchased the drugs as a member of the Kansas City Royals from known steroid dealer Kirk Radomski; a check from Zaun to Radomski is provided as evidence in the report. As well, according to the report, former bullpen catcher Luis Perez revealed to MLB investigators that he has supplied anabolic steroids to Zaun. Zaun refused to meet with Mitchell to discuss the allegations, and has publicly denied them, claiming that he owed a teammate money and sent a blank check, which was later used to buy steroids.

References

External links

*baseballstats |mlb=124748 |espn=3267 |br=z/zaungr01 |fangraphs=580 |cube=Z/Gregg-Zaun
* [http://www.greggzaun.com Official Gregg Zaun Site]
* [http://www2.sportsnet.ca/blogs/gregg_zaun/ Gregg Zaun's blog page on Sportsnet.ca]