OAKLAND, Calif. — Just call it reunion Saturday for A’s left-hander Barry Zito at the O.co Coliseum.
Zito will make his first start for Oakland since 2006 against the San Francisco Giants, his former team, and he’ll face right-hander Tim Hudson, his former A’s teammate.
Zito and Hudson once were two of the A’s so-called “Big Three” starting pitchers. The other one, Mark Mulder, will also be at the O.co Coliseum on Saturday to watch their matchup. All three will be honored Sunday in a pre-game ceremony.
“It’s definitely going to be rowdy out here,” Zito said Tuesday before the A’s 8-6 loss to Texas. “I can’t be a fan that day. I got to still be a player. I won’t be able to enjoy it as much as if I was in the dugout and I didn’t have to lock it in for a game. But it’s going to be a really great experience, regardless of what happens.”
Zito played his first seven major-league seasons with Oakland, winning the American League Cy Young Award in 2002 and making the All-Star team three times. He went 102-63 with a 3.55 ERA in 222 starts for Oakland. Zito played for the Giants from 2007-2013, going 63-80. In 2012, he went 2-0 in three postseason starts during the Giants’ World Series title run. He beat St. Louis in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series, throwing 7 2/3 shutout innings, and Detroit in Game 1 of the World Series.
He sat out the 2014 season then re-signed with Oakland this year, spending the season at Triple-A Nashville.
Zito thought his season was over when he pitched an inning in Nashville’s second to last game, returning after a long stint on the Triple-A disabled list. But he was recalled by the A’s on Sept. 16.
“It’s icing,” said Zito, who pitched an inning of relief for the A’s on Sunday at Houston. “I came to peace with the fact that Omaha was my last start. I had an inning on a Sunday game. Monday was our last game. The team threw me a little party. I had a baseball pinata in there and a champagne shower.
“I was thinking this probably would be it. I never came out officially, and obviously still kind of seeing what happens. I was hanging out at home. I definitely didn’t think this was going to happen. This is icing. This is all bonus, triple-bonus situation right now, so I’m enjoying it.”
Zito went 8-7 with a 3.46 ERA for Nashville, making 22 starts.
“It will be a terrific day, with Hudson pitching on the other side,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “He’ll be ready for it. He’s pitched a couple extended bullpens, one today. He’ll throw a little bit of a flat ground, maybe on Thursday, so he’ll be ready to go. And he really and truly deserves it, based on what he did this year in Triple-A, what he’s meant to this organization and to get him out here one more time in our ballpark against the Giants with our fan base, their fan base and Tim Hudson on the mound, it’s going to be a very exciting day.”
Zito hasn’t made a start for the A’s since Oct. 10, 2006, in Game 1 of the A.L. Championship Series against Detroit.
After that season, he signed a seven-year, $126 contract with San Francisco.