Sports

The Man Who Has Everything
By Tony Serri

When the San Fransico Giants signed Barry Zito to 126 million dollar contract in 2006, their expectations were reasonable. Zito, as his history had shown, would give them innings, would be injury-free and would take the ball every fifth day. The Giants knew what they were getting and were pleased to pay for it.

While he's taken the ball every fifth day, the results have gone from disappointing in 2007, to disastrous in 2008. Barry Zito, 126 million dollar pitcher, the highest paid pitcher in baseball, is 0-6 with a 7.53 ERA.

And now, the feeding frenzy is beginning. The blogosphere has made Barry Zito it's official pinada in a slow news month. ESPN and talk radio are gleefully jumping into the blood bath as well. In an industry and news climate set up to revel in failure, Zito's struggles have been made to order.

Yet through it all, Zito has handled the scrutiny, the whispers, the boos and the rolled eyes of his teammates and management with dignity, honesty, accountability and professionalism. After each loss, he shoulders the responsibility. He credits his teammates and faults himself exclusively. He empathizes with the fan's disappointment and talks honestly about the emotional toll it takes on him to let down his team and his city. He promises to work harder, and he does. He took his demotion to the bullpen with honest disappointment but admirable stoicism.

In short, Barry Zito is being a role model. But unfortunately, that's not as scintillating to the press as him going 2 1/3 innings and giving up 6 runs. His statements and his behavior during this stretch will never get the play of the goofy arithmetic of failure that always gets flung around whenever a high-paid sports star fails spectacularly ($ 15,000 per pitch…. 1.8 million dollars per win...etc. ).

Granted, 126 million dollars can assuage a lot of wounds in a person's psyche. Zito by all accounts is as smart, honest and perspicacious as anyone out there, so he know what he was getting into. But when given the chance to pull for someone or pull against someone, we tend to choose "against" 99 percent of the time, and the common denominator is always, money.

As in, "He's rich, so he gets what he deserves."

Again, not being rich or gifted, I don't really know how easy or how hard either must me. It could be harder than any of us know to go out there and pitch in front of 50,000 skeptical fans, get run from a game after 3 innings, and have to face a grizzled, sneering press corp. Or it could be a breeze and Barry Zito could be laughing all the way to the bank. My suspicion is it's the former. There is a reason a baseball player might be paid 126 million dollars and one of those reasons might very well be, "your life will be turned upside down forever if you fail."

When I look at Barry Zito, I see a man struggling to do his job the best he can, and coaching himself out of self-pity. I see a man accepting the indignities hurled at him, while understanding that words can't hurt you if you don't let them. And if they do hurt him, I see a guy who knows that showing it, or reacting to it, will only make it worse, and make it harder for him to live up to the expectations and the responsibility he feels.

That all sounds like pretty tough work to me, and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be up to it, no matter how much you paid me. If anyone is really paying attention, there is a lesson being taught here, intentionally or not, about how to handle yourself during a personal crisis. I like to think that Zito, feels that his behavior is a way to earn his keep while he awaits the return of his curveball. These days, when sports stars seem as flawed as Old Testament characters, it's refreshing to see one, who gets it, so completely as Barry Zito does.

So I'm pulling hard for Barry Zito. Because as painful as it is to watch him pitch right now, watching him perform after the game is a thing of beauty.