Carlos Zambrano

Carlos Zambrano

Carlos Alberto Zambrano (born June 1, 1981) is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher. Zambrano, who stands 6' 5" 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m) and weighs 260 pounds (120 kg), was signed by the Cubs as a free agent in 1997 and made his debut in 2001. After being used in both starting and relief duties, he enjoyed his first full season as a starter in 2003, finishing with a 13–11 record, 168 strikeouts and a 3.11 ERA.

The controversial pitcher is known as one of the best hitting pitchers of all time. He is a switch-hitter and has a career .238 batting average with 24 home runs, 71 RBIs and a slugging percentage of .396. The 23 home runs are the most ever by a Cubs pitcher, as well as also being the active leader in home runs hit by a pitcher. He also tied with Ferguson Jenkins for the club record for home runs by a pitcher in a single season, hitting six in 2006. Zambrano has been called on to pinch hit 20 times in his career and has won a Silver Slugger Award three times for his hitting. Zambrano is often thought to be the brother of former Venezuelan pitcher Victor Zambrano, although they are not related.

Zambrano was the only National League pitcher to have won at least 13 games in each year from 2003 to 2008. In 2006, he became the first player from Venezuela to lead the National League in wins.

Read more about Carlos Zambrano:  Pitching Style

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