Eddie Zosky

The Toronto Blue Jays’ “former shortstop of the future,” Eddie Zosky, a first-round draft choice, selected 19th overall in 1989, played in 44 major-league games for four teams over five seasons and hit .160.1

His baseball “future” came up very short. Is his story a tragedy in which a collegiate star, named All-American by The Sporting News and Baseball America, is brought down in his professional career by some ordinary human flaw? Or is it a treatise on the uncertainties of talent evaluation and development in professional baseball? Perhaps his story is a quest in which an elusive goal consistently remains out of reach. Maybe his story, like the Robert Frost poem The Road Not Taken, is an assessment of choices along his life’s path.

No, Eddie Zosky’s story is an adventure – an excellent adventure in amateur baseball and 12 years of professional baseball.

Edward James Zosky was born on February 10, 1968, in Whittier, California, 12 miles southwest of Los Angeles in the largest walnut-growing area in the United States.

Zosky was born to Ed and Yvonne Zosky. Ed, a factory manager in Whittier, influenced Eddie’s love of baseball and developed his talent for the sport by spending hours hitting grounders to his son. His mother’s heritage would give Eddie the distinction of being in the select group of Jewish major-league baseball players.

Eddie attended St. Paul High School, a private Catholic high school located in Sante Fe Springs, a neighboring city to Whittier. He starred on the St. Paul baseball team and attracted both college baseball recruiters and professional scouts.

The June 1986 amateur draft was held shortly after he graduated from high school. Selected by the New York Mets in the fifth round, the 18-year-old Zosky faced Robert Frost’s poetic dilemma: commencing his professional career or remaining an amateur and attending Fresno State University.

Not signing professionally with the New York Mets organization was Zosky’s Road Not Taken. Instead, he elected to further develop his skills and attended Fresno State, playing shortstop for the Bulldogs under the tutelage of legendary head coach Bob Bennett.2

In 1987 as a 19-year-old freshman, Zosky hit .292 and evidenced good hitting discipline and power with an on-base percentage of .328 and slugging average of .389. He earned second-team All-Conference honors.3

Zosky’s 1988 sophomore season was exceptional. He hit .320 with an on-base percentage of .338 and slugging average of .500. However, he showed little patience at the plate, walking only eight times in 306 at-bats. Defensively, Zosky’s fielding percentage of .928 suggested that his fielding needed further development and refinement.

Zosky helped the Bulldogs to a regular-season record of 51-9, highlighted by a 32-game winning streak that ended with his absence from the lineup due to mononucleosis. Zosky recovered in time for the playoffs and helped the Bulldogs win the Pacific Coast Athletic Association championship. In the postseason, he was an All-Conference selection to the first team All-Big West and, the National Honors first team for the All-West Region.4

After the playoffs, Zosky received an invitation to try out for the US Olympic baseball team. To this point, his natural talent meant that the game had always come easy. The Olympic tryouts were different; he was behind other players offensively and lacked the versatility to play anywhere but shortstop.5 When the final roster cuts were made in August, Zosky’s name was not on the team list.

Zosky returned to Fresno State for his junior year in 1989 and took his performance to an even higher level. Leading the team with 101 hits, he batted .370 while significantly improving both his plate discipline (on-base percentage of .421) and power (slugging average of .516). He was an All-American selection, first team for the American Baseball Coaches Association, Baseball America, and The Sporting News. He was again named to the National Honors first team All-West Region and the All-Conference first team for the All-Big West.6

Zosky’s back-to-back stellar collegiate seasons made him a top professional prospect.  

On June 5, 1989, with the 19th selection of the draft, the Blue Jays chose Zosky.

His professional career began on June 28, 1989, when the 21-year-old Zosky signed with the Blue Jays for a bonus of $175,000. It was anticipated that he would start his professional career at the A level with the Dunedin Blue Jays of the Florida State League.7 Given his outstanding collegiate statistics and his first-round selection, expectations were high. The shortstop talent pool within the Blue Jays organization was strong at the major-league and Triple-A levels but weak at Double A and A. Tony Fernandez, 27 years old and in his seventh major-league season, was entrenched as the starter in Toronto and was supported by Manny Lee, a 24-year-old who could also play second and third. At Triple A, the Syracuse Chiefs’ starting shortstop was Luis Sojo, a solid hitter and fielder who projected to be of major-league caliber. Light hitting and error-prone fielding characterized the starters in the lower farm system at Knoxville (Double A) and Dunedin (A). Anemic batting averages (sub-.200) and too many errors curtailed the advancement potential for Knoxville’s shortstops, Jose Diaz and Jerry Schunk, and Dunedin’s shortstop, Jimy Kelly.

The lack of depth in the Blue Jays’ low minor-league system presented the road on which Zosky’s professional baseball journey commenced. The original plan to start at Dunedin was upgraded. This time Zosky’s Road Not Taken was Dunedin, where he would have been tutored by Bob Bailor, Dunedin’s manager and a former Blue Jays infielder and outfielder. Instead, the Blue Jays, pressed to fill an immediate organizational need, decided that Zosky would start at Double A with the Knoxville Blue Jays of the Southern League.

In his professional debut with Knoxville, on July 3, 1989, Zosky had a single and an RBI. The initial adjustment from college to Double A was difficult. He did not get his average over .200 until late August. Highlighted by an eight-game hitting streak to finish his first season, he compiled a batting average of .221, on-base percentage of .256, and slugging average of .303. His plate discipline still needed improvement with only 10 walks in 208 at-bats.

Transitioning to professional baseball involved many adjustments: being away from his native California; using wooden bats instead of the aluminum bats used in college; and hitting against older, more experienced, higher-caliber pitching. The Blue Jays continued to assess his potential as high, minimizing his initial struggles at Knoxville. 

Zosky returned to Knoxville in 1990 for what was expected to be a year of significant development. He played well and improved his batting average (.271), on-base percentage (.316), and slugging average (.367). Defensively, there was room for improvement: He made 31 errors for a fielding percentage of .941. After the season Zosky was named the third-best prospect in the Southern League and Baseball America named him the 22nd best prospect in professional baseball. Ranked behind Zosky were future Hall of Famers Jeff Bagwell (32nd), Chipper Jones (49th), and Jim Thome (93rd).8

The opportunity to be the Blue Jays’ starting shortstop opened in December 1990 when Toronto made a franchise-changing trade. Tony Fernandez, the starting shortstop for six years, and first baseman Fred McGriff were sent to the San Diego Padres for second baseman Roberto Alomar and outfielder Joe Carter.

Barring a further trade or free-agent signing, the starting shortstop role for 1991 was now a competition between Zosky and the 25-year-old Lee. Alomar’s arrival forced Manny Lee to transition from second base back to shortstop. 

Zosky acknowledged that the Fernandez trade was “a big plus for me” and that “it could mean that I’m a step closer to ‘The Show.’”9  Regarded as the “heir apparent to the shortstop job for the Jays,” Zosky, a non-roster invitee to spring training 1991, said, “[N]ow I have to go to spring training and prove myself.”10

Playing 19 spring-training games, Zosky struggled at the plate and in the field. He collected 7 hits in 32 at-bats, mostly as a late-inning replacement. Defensively, he committed six errors. He admitted that he felt the pressure from being on the cusp of getting a spot on the Blue Jays’ 25-man roster. Under pressure to perform well, his fielding technique suffered as his strong arm was wild and his footwork needed further refinement.11

Zosky’s performance that spring confirmed that he was not ready for the major leagues. On the eve of the 1991 season, his road diverted to Syracuse; he was assigned to the Chiefs.

Syracuse Chiefs manager Bob Bailor was charged with developing Zosky’s fielding.12 Focusing on footwork and throwing, Zosky’s defensive improvement was slow, with 18 errors in the first half of the season. Feeling more comfortable and relaxed in the second half, he improved remarkably, committing only six errors to lead the International League in fielding percentage (.961). Playing 119 games for Syracuse, he had a solid season offensively, hitting .264 with an on-base percentage of .315, and slugging average of .350, culminating in Zosky’s being named to the 1991 International League all-star team. When September 1 arrived and the major-league rosters were expanded, Zosky was called up.

The media coverage after his major-league debut was full of hyperbole when in the fourth inning of the September 2 game against the Baltimore Orioles, he replaced the starting shortstop, Manny Lee, who was suffering from dizziness and a stiff neck. In Zosky’s first at-bat in the big leagues, he singled to left field. He finished the game batting 1.000 (1-for-1) and was removed in the sixth inning. 

Reporting on Zosky’s debut, the Toronto Star’s Dave Perkins queried, “Eddie Zosky takes his first major league swing, gets his first major league hit and all a guy can think is this: Did Manuel Lee just become Manuel Pipp?”13 Could Zosky substituting for the injured Lee really be equated to Lou Gehrig taking the unfortunate Wally Pipp’s position on the 1925 New York Yankees? Comparing Zosky’s debut to Gehrig’s was beyond ridiculous, but one can’t help but wonder how such hyperbole played out in the mind of that 23-year-old shortstop who had two innings of major-league experience.

Zosky had a hitless streak of 14 at-bats with seven strikeouts over the next eight games. On September 14, starting for the once-again-injured Lee, Zosky collected his first major-league extra-base hit, a triple. In the third inning, hitting against Oakland starter Bob Welch, his bloop single bounced over right fielder Jose Canseco and rolled to the wall. His bid for an inside-the-park home run failed on a perfect Oakland relay that nailed him by a stride at the plate. The next inning, he singled for his first two big-league RBIs.

Zosky finished his 1991 season having played 18 games for the Blue Jays, who won the American League East title. He posted a batting average of .148 with no home runs and two RBIs. His fielding was flawless with no errors in 38 chances. Lacking plate discipline, he failed to walk in 28 plate appearances. He was left off the postseason roster; the Blue Jays lost the American League pennant to the eventual world champion Minnesota Twins.

As the 1992 season approached, expectations for Zosky remained high, though there was evidence that perceptions of his potential were shifting downward. Listed in the top prospects for 1992 by Baseball America, he slipped to the 82nd spot. Baseball America’s list of the top 20 preseason rookies included Zosky in the 11th spot. Their list of top 10 Blue Jays prospects had Zosky sixth but behind shortstop Alex Gonzalez, the Blue Jays’ 1991 13th-round pick, who was ranked second in the organization. In its commentary, Baseball America noted Zosky’s strengths: his work ethic, range, and strong arm, but also noted that he needed more patience at the plate, suggesting that a higher on-base percentage was a prerequisite to advance to the major leagues.14

The starting shortstop role was a competition between the incumbent Manny Lee, Zosky, and spring training nonroster invitee Alfredo Griffin. Lee had hit only .234 with 107 strikeouts during the previous season, and his hold on the position was shaky. Zosky was viewed as the heir-apparent to be the starter. Having missed out on the pennant in 1991, the Blue Jays were focused on immediate performance, not potential.

Zosky’s second spring training competing against Lee for the starting shortstop role did not go well. A batting average of .163 in 23 preseason games and poor fielding destined him to start the season at Syracuse. Lee was named the starter, and the backup spot went to Griffin. Bad habits, particularly fielding, resurfaced and self-doubt and lack of confidence compounded Zosky’s struggle to play well.15

Zosky remained at Syracuse for the entire 1992 minor-league season. In a disappointing year offensively, he finished with a batting average of .231 and walked only 19 times in 373 plate appearances.

For the second consecutive year, the September roster additions included Zosky being promoted to the Blue Jays. He played in eight games, appearing seven times as a late-inning replacement. In his lone start, on September 14, exactly one year after his notable 1991 game against Oakland, Zosky went 1-for-3, highlighted by a triple off Cleveland starter Jose Mesa. He finished September with two hits in seven at-bats for a batting average of .286. 

As a September call-up, he was again not eligible for the Blue Jays’ postseason roster. The Blue Jays went on to win their first World Series in a thrilling six-game series over the Atlanta Braves.

After the season, Manny Lee became a free agent and signed with the Texas Rangers. Now that Zosky’s main competitor had moved on, general manager Pat Gillick declared that the organization felt Zosky could do the job and he would be the starting shortstop for the 1993 season.16 Gillick’s decision softened after Zosky suffered an elbow injury while playing in the 1992 Arizona Fall League. Diagnosed with a stress fracture of a bone spur in his right elbow, Zosky curtailed throwing activities and rested. 

The road to Toronto seemed imminent but there remained competitors to encounter and obstacles to overcome.

By the start of spring training, Zosky’s anointing as the starting shortstop had been rescinded. His chances of making the team were now reported to be no better than 50/50.17 The Blue Jays ventured into the free-agent market and added depth to their shortstop position by signing Dick Schofield, a light-hitting infielder who played mostly with the New York Mets in 1992. They also re-signed Alfredo Griffin and traded for former Blue Jay Luis Sojo.

Within a few months, Zosky’s burden of expectation had shifted from the pressure of having a starting role to the pressure that the window was closing on his opportunity to play regularly in the big leagues. 

In mid-March, his right-elbow bone spurs necessitated surgery and he was placed on the 15-day disabled list. His recovery from surgery kept him off the playing field until late July. In a five-game rehabilitation sojourn with the Hagerstown Suns of the Double-A South Atlantic League, he struggled in his short stint with two singles in 20 at-bats. For the remainder of the season, Zosky returned to Syracuse. His offensive slump continued. Overall for the 1993 season, at Hagerstown and Syracuse combined, his batting average, on-base percentage, and OPS were an anemic .195, .234, and .239 respectively, in 126 plate appearances.

During the 1994 offseason, Zosky was dethroned as the Blue Jays’ “shortstop of the future”; that label passed to Alex Gonzalez. Dick Schofield was projected to be the starting shortstop for the Blue Jays as spring training for the 1994 season got underway. Looking to be on the Blue Jays’ Opening Day roster, Zosky was aiming for a utility role behind Schofield. Zosky had a good spring training, highlighted by a walk-off three-run home run, but was assigned to Syracuse.

Zosky’s potential to be a major leaguer rose with his strong 1994 season, highlighted by a 16-game hitting streak and a solid .264 batting average. Defensively, he enhanced his versatility, playing at second base (41 games) more times than his customary shortstop position (34 games). His power improved with a slugging average of .412. However, his performance in 1994 was clouded by an anemic on-base percentage of .264 as he walked only nine times in 306 plate appearances.

Despite his best season so far, there would not be a September promotion to Toronto. On August 12, the 1994 major-league season was curtailed by a players strike.

Toronto’s legendary GM Gillick retired after the 1994 season and Gord Ash was promoted to be the new general manager. Ash’s first trade sent Zosky to the Florida Marlins for Scotty Pace, a left-handed pitcher whose career consisted of 395 innings in the minor leagues.

Zosky made the Marlins’ Opening Day roster. The strike that curtailed the 1994 season meant that until May 15, major-league rosters were increased to 28 players from the usual 25. Starting at shortstop on April 29 against the San Francisco Giants, he appeared in his first major-league game since October 1992 and went 1-for-3 with a single. As a late-inning defensive replacement, he played five more games for the Marlins, going hitless in two at-bats.

When the Marlins reduced their major-league roster to 25 players, Zosky was sent to their Triple-A affiliate, the Charlotte Knights of the International League. He hit .247 and continued to struggle at getting on base, walking only seven times in 312 at-bats. After the season he was granted free agency.

Zosky’s career path would now lead to new organizations. No longer the “shortstop of the future” but now an itinerant minor-league player, he was playing the game he loved while holding on to the hope of securing a position on a major-league roster.

After each of the 1996 to 2000 seasons, Zosky was granted free agency. During those offseasons, he signed a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training with four different organizations: Baltimore (1996), San Francisco (1997), Milwaukee (1998 and 1999), and Pittsburgh (2000).

During each spring training, he was ultimately sent to the minor-league camp and assigned to that organization’s Triple-A affiliate. Zosky spent the entire 1996 season with the Rochester Red Wings of the International League and the entire 1997 season with the Phoenix Firebirds in the Pacific Coast League. Continuing to redefine himself as a utility infielder, with the Firebirds he had more appearances at third base (42) than at shortstop (30). At Phoenix, he had a career year offensively with his best in batting average (.278), home runs (9), RBIs (45), on-base percentage (.323), and slugging average (.465).

Zosky spent the entire 1998 season with the Louisville Redbirds. Seeking a major-league spot as a utility infielder, he spent time at shortstop, second base, and third base. He returned to Louisville (now called the RiverBats) for the 1999 season. He was having a great season when he was called up to Milwaukee on August 1. After pinch-hitting in the sixth inning, he played the remainder of the game at second base and went 1-for-2. His stay in Milwaukee was short-lived; he was sent back to Louisville on August 5. When major-league rosters expanded in September, Zosky was again promoted to Milwaukee, where he played six more games but went hitless in four at-bats. Overall, for the Brewers that season, he played in eight games and had one single in seven at-bats.

At Louisville in 1999, Zosky had the best season of his career. Playing in 116 games, he exceeded his career highs in batting average (.294), home runs (12), RBIs (47), and on-base percentage (.333).

In 2000 he had a short stint in the Pirates organization, playing for the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Pirates (eight games) and the Triple-A Nashville Sounds (53 games). In late August Zosky was traded to the Houston Astros and assigned to the Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs, where he played in 11 games and had nine singles in 33 at-bats. The Astros promoted him to the major leagues as part of their September roster expansion. Playing sparingly, he appeared in four games and went hitless in four at-bats.

On October 14, 2000, the Associated Press reported that Zosky had cleared waivers and again become a free agent.

This time, his path led home to California. His journey as an amateur and professional baseball player had ended.

A search of publicly available social media indicates that Zosky has settled with his family in Fresno, California, where he has worked as a sales rep for a commercial and residential plumbing supply company for the past 11 years.

Zosky’s mother’s Jewish lineage qualified him to be on the roster of players in the Jewish Baseball Museum.18

In 1995 Zosky was inducted into the Fresno State Bulldogs Hall of Fame.19

In the 1990s, Zosky appeared in 328 games for the Syracuse Chiefs, more than any other player that decade. His best memories were not of a particular season, game, hit, or play.20 Instead, there were fun, unique moments. There was the brawl in Columbus when the teams left the field and dugouts to join a fight in the clubhouse between Turner Ward and the Columbus pitcher; and there was the night at a sold-out game when the trees just beyond the center-field fence caught fire from an ill-fated postgame fireworks show.

Zosky’s most memorable moment occurred during the 1992 season.21 The first game of a doubleheader went into extra innings, forcing the second game to start around midnight. Syracuse third baseman Ed Sprague pulled a veteran move, not wanting to be out there all night and, in his first at-bat, was ejected for arguing a called strike. Reaching the Chiefs’ clubhouse, Sprague found the costume for the Chiefs mascot (Scooch), put it on, and went into the stands where, to the amusement of his teammates, he mocked the umpires.

Four major-league teams, 10 minor-league teams, 1,100 games played, and 3,720 at-bats limit the fullness of Eddie Zosky’s 12-year journey in professional baseball. His story is indeed an adventure: a tale of talent and shortcomings, key happenings, and noteworthy achievements. It is a baseball adventure story of one player’s grasping for, and repeatedly missing, the brass ring of a starting role on any major-league team. Indeed, Eddie Zosky’s baseball career story must be looked upon as an adventure, with moments of struggle, moments of adversity, and fleeting moments of greatness. So many roads, so many miles, and such an adventure.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com; thebaseballcube.com; clippings from Zosky’s file at the National Baseball Hall of Fame Library in Cooperstown, New York; the Toronto Stararchives; newspaperarchive.com for articles from the Syracuse Herald Journal, the Syracuse Post-Standard, and the Orange County Register (Anaheim, California); PaperofRecord.com for The Sporting News; and linkedin.com.

Notes

1 The phrase appears in Allan Ryan, “Zosky Could See It Coming,” Toronto Star, April 1, 1991: C4.

2 Bob Bennett was the head coach of the Fresno State Bulldogs from 1970 to 2002. He was The Sporting News NCAA Coach of the Year in 1988 and 14-time winner of the Conference Coach of the Year. With 1,300 wins he is 11th in NCAA Division I wins (minimum 10 years as a Division I coach). He helped develop many major leaguers, including Terry Pendleton, Dick Ruthven, Dan Gladden, Tom Goodwin, Steve Hosey, Jeff Weaver,and Dennis Springer.

3 Travis Blanshan and Matt Burkholder, 2019 Fresno State Baseball Fact Book (Fresno, California: Fresno State Athletic Communications office, 2019), 61-64.

4 2019 Fresno State Baseball Fact Book.

5 Chuck Abair, “One-Dimensional Players Could Feel Marquess’ Knife,” Orange County Register, June 17, 1988: C16.

6 2019 Fresno State Baseball Fact Book.

7 Neil MacCarl, “Jays Draft Pick Helps Sick Kids,” Toronto Star, June 30, 1989: D2.

8 jewishbaseballmuseum.com, http://jewishbaseballmuseum.com/player/edward-eddie-zosky/?msclkid=dfa17a65af6611ec82523f186b00158b.

9 Norman DaCosta, Mary Ormsby, and Tom Slater, “Trade Winds Ruffle Some Jays,” Toronto Star, December 6, 1990: D4.

10 “Trade Winds Ruffle Some Jays.”

11 Rosie DiManno, “Zosky’s Armed for Another Shot at the Jays Starting Shortstop Job,” Toronto Star, February 27, 1992: D3.

12 Jacque Thomas, “Chiefs Zosky Here to Polish Tools,” Syracuse Herald-Journal, July 8, 1991: E6.

13 Dave Perkins, “Cast of Thousands Take Top Billing,” Toronto Star, September 3, 1991: C3.

14 “Top 10 Prospects AL East,” Baseball America, January 25-February 9, 1992: 15.

15 Matt Michael, “Zosky: Hope, Hype and Hops,” Syracuse Post-Standard, April 8, 1992: D4.

16 Jim Byers, “Jays Give Zosky Second Chance to Prove He’s Everyday Shortstop,” Toronto Star, December 22, 1992: D5.

17 Rosie DiManno, “Zosky Knows His Time Is Running Out,” Toronto Star, February 25, 1993: H3.

18 jewishbaseballmuseum.com.

19 2019 Fresno State Baseball Fact Book.

20 Matt Michael, “RiverBats Zosky Recalls Earlier Days,” Syracuse Herald American, June 27, 1999: C9.

21 “RiverBats Zosky Recalls Earlier Days.”