A Barry Good Story

     Barry Zito’s story fascinates me. A big reason is because I am a die-hard San Francisco Giants fan. Another is because his story is one of reconciliation and finding redemption while standing on a very public stage. Barry is a Christian today, but that wasn’t always the case. When he pitched for the cross-bay rival Oakland A’s, he was known by such names as “Planet Zito” and “Captain Quirk” as he avidly followed Zen Buddhism and practiced yoga in the outfield before games. He once credited something he called a universal life force that helped him excel in his career. He was raised in a metaphysical, new-age church where his mother was the pastor.  But all of that began to change in 2010. And to understand the full story we have to go back to 2007 where Barry Zito was a Cy Young award winner and All-Star who had just signed, at that time, the most lucrative long-term contract for a pitcher in Major League Baseball history.

     From the start in San Francisco there were high expectations, and by all accounts Barry was a failure. He was booed and criticized by fans frustrated with his string of yearly sub-par performances. He struggled for years as the highest paid pitcher on the team, yet with the worst record. He hit bottom in 2010 when he was left off of the team’s World Series roster. He watched from home while his teammates went on to win the championship without him.  Fueled by millions of dollars in salary, the expectations of thousands of fans and the merciless media were on his shoulders. It looked like the pressure would crush him.  He was injured in a car accident and had a recurring foot injury that wouldn’t heal. He was replaced as a starter on the Giants.  And Barry began looking for answers and God was there. Even though Barry had previously rejected Christ as a valid option in his life, Jesus graciously began to set him on a course of restoration. Barry began the 2012 season with renewed hope and determination, and also a new life surrendered to Christ.

     And what a turnaround. His first game of the season was a 7-0 shutout. He won 14 games straight to finish the season and lead the Giants to the playoffs. In game 5 of the National League Championship, he pitched what he would call “the best game of my career” bringing the Giants back from the edge of elimination. In two years he went from watching the World Series from the sidelines to being handed the ball to start Game One of the most important game of his life. And he won that game, opposite the best pitcher in the league for the Tigers.  He left the game to a standing ovation. He inspired a Twitter hashtag #rallyzito which trended worldwide. The guy who had become the biggest punch-line, was now the team’s biggest punch-out. Restored to his proper place of a valued and respected player, he walked off the world series mound to a standing ovation of cheering, adoring fans. That was an incredible moment of redemption. A career rescued from the ashes. A life given a second chance. And the once vilified was now reconciled to a city and team that had all but given up and turned their backs on him. 

     It’s not just a feel-good story. It’s the real-life triumph of a man newly surrendered to Christ, who finds that God has the power to make all things new and to bring reconciliation among even the most hopeless situations. That’s our God. And I couldn’t be happier that I get to see restoration and reconciliation lived out in high-definition clarity on a baseball team that I love.