The Big Lead

Barry Zito sings national anthem at last A's game in Oakland to get 'closure'

By Joe Lago

Mar 30, 2018; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics retired player Barry Zito during a presentation to recognize the 50th anniversary team at Oakland Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images
Mar 30, 2018; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics retired player Barry Zito during a presentation to recognize the 50th anniversary team at Oakland Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images / Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images
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Barry Zito felt like the 46,889 fans who packed the stands for the final Oakland A's game at the Oakland Coliseum on Thursday. He showed up because he needed closure.

So when the former A's left-hander got a call from his former club to sing the national anthem, he couldn't pass up the offer.

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"I came out for 24 hours and (had) to be a part of this," Zito told Jenny Cavnar and Dallas Braden on NBC Sports California. "This is so special. I love seeing all the fans. All the green and gold, man."

Zito spent the first seven seasons of his 15-year MLB career in Oakland as part of the "Moneyball" A's. All three of his All-Star selections came during that stretch, the first coming in 2000 when he won the American League Cy Young Award with a 23-5 record and 2.75 ERA.

Zito played his final season with the A's in 2015. He was a fan favorite as part of a talented starting rotation that included Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder, who were two-time All-Stars in Oakland.

"I think for my own personal closure, honestly, it was real important to feel it, to be here," Zito said. "I didn't want to sing the anthem if I'm being totally honest. I've never sang the anthem my whole life except for two weeks ago when I started doing it. It was quite a way to do it the first time.

"For me personally, this is a huge chapter of my life. So many of my dreams came true right down on that mound."

Zito said he saw famiilar faces when he walked around the Coliseum field, saying hello to longtime season-ticket holders and stadium employees. He wanted to take home a memento from his locker but discovered that his old locker room is now a weight room.

"For me, this was the first and last mound I ever pitched on. It bookended my career," Zito said. "I had a lot of highs and lows in my career. And to kind of go to that place, I mean, we all love that feeling of nostalgia. You go to that playground you played on as a kid, or your high school baseball field. And that's what this is like for me.

"This is like my high school field. I know every in and out of this entire stadium and this entire field and dugout and clubhouse, except I didn't know the clubhouse was changed."

"It's been surreal. ... It's been important to me," he added.

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