Former Cy Young winner Zito retires
Left-hander Barry Zito, the 2002 American League Cy Young Award winner while with the Oakland Athletics, officially announced his retirement Monday.
Zito finished his career with a 165-143 record and 4.04 ERA in 2,576 2/3 innings over 15 seasons with the A’s and San Francisco Giants. He was part of two World Series winners in San Francisco. He made three All-Star teams and went 6-3 with a 2.83 ERA over 10 postseason starts.
Zito announced the news in a first-person article on The Players’ Tribune website.
“I’m retiring today from baseball, but I’ll never be too far away from the game that made me who I am,” Zito wrote. “I am beyond thankful to be at peace with walking away, thanks in large part to my year of renewal in Nashville with the Sounds.
“My return to Oakland last month was a ‘cherry on top’ moment in my life that my family and I will never forget. I will no doubt be in the stands on both sides of the Bay in years to come.”
The 37-year-old Zito was referring to the 2015 season he spent with Oakland’s Triple-A team, the Nashville Sounds, before the A’s called him up to the majors in late September. He made three appearances, including two starts, and pitched seven innings, giving up eight runs for a 10.29 ERA.
Tigers’ Norris battling cancer
Detroit Tigers pitcher Daniel Norris revealed Monday that he is battling a form of thyroid cancer.
The 22-year-old left-hander said through his Instagram account that he was diagnosed with a malignant growth during the baseball season and will soon undergo surgery.
Norris said a doctor determined he could finish the season before undergoing the procedure.
Norris was acquired from Toronto Blue as part of the midseason deal in which David Price was dealt to the Blue Jays.
He went 3-2 with a 3.75 ERA this season for the Tigers and Blue Jays.
NFL schedules fan meetings on LA move
NFL fans in St. Louis, San Diego and Oakland are being offered a chance to give their two cents on the billion dollar question: Which team is going to Los Angeles?
NFL vice president Eric Grubman will lead public hearings next week in St. Louis (Oct. 27), San Diego (Oct. 28) and Oakland (Oct. 29), all focused on the potential for those teams to be relocated to Los Angeles as soon as the 2016 season.
The community forums are standard procedure and requirements in the collective bargaining agreement regarding relocation policy.
Ducks reassign defenseman Theodore
The Anaheim Ducks reassigned defenseman Shea Theodore to the San Diego Gulls of the American Hockey League on Monday.
Theodore, 20, was recalled from San Diego on Saturday but did not appear in Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Wild.
Theodore opened the season with the Gulls, earning one assist with a plus-3 rating in two games. He has appeared in 15 career AHL games with San Diego and Norfolk, recording 11 points (four goals, seven assists) and two penalty minutes.
Selected by Anaheim in the first round (26th overall) of the 2013 NHL draft, Theodore was named the Western Hockey League’s Defenseman of the Year in 2014-15.