Gregg Zaun

In November, the main sports topic of conversation around Toronto normally focuses on the Maple Leafs and if they have enough player personnel and grit to challenge for the Stanley Cup. Turned out that the Maple Leafs weren?t the only team in the heavily populated lakeside city that grabbed the headlines last fall. One of the subjects bantered about was who would be the starting catcher for the Toronto Blue Jays. At Rogers Center, the palatial home of the Blue Jays, the members of the front office hunkered down to devise a plan on who would fill that role in 2007.

"All the world's indeed a stage/ And we are merely players/ Performers and portrayers/" — Lyrics to Rush's 'Limelight' Gregg Zaun's at-bat music U nfortunately, I had just one occasion to meet Gregg Zaun. But the first impression made by the Glendale native was certainly a lasting one. Throughout a 16-year career, he's had to make first impressions with nine teams. One would likely color Zaun a journeyman, and they'd likely be correct.

Edgar Melik-Stepanyan A look at how locals Mark Loretta, Jim Parque and Gregg Zaun are doing in the major leagues. Brighter days: Escaping the lowly Milwaukee Brewers might have been the best thing to happen to Mark Loretta, who was traded to the playoff-contending Houston Astros on Saturday for two players to be named later. The Brewers have the third-worst record in the league, behind the Detroit Tigers and Tampa Bay Devil Rays. In his first game for the Astros on Sunday, Loretta, a 1989 St. Francis High graduate, was hitless in three at-bats and walked once against the Dodgers.

GLENDALE — St. Francis High graduate Gregg Zaun is back in the playoff hunt. Zaun, a Glendale native, was acquired Friday by the Tampa Bay Rays from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Zaun, who graduated from St. Francis in 1989, planned to join the Rays, who captured the American League championship last season for the first time in the franchise’s history, on their road trip that began Friday in Seattle. Tampa Bay entered Friday’s contest in third place in the competitive America League East Division behind the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. “We had some accelerated conversations with Baltimore,” Tampa Bay Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman said via a conference call Friday afternoon from Seattle.

GLENDALE — In need of catching depth, the San Diego Padres looked at a Glendale resident to possibly fill that slot. San Diego reportedly signed St. Francis High graduate Gregg Zaun to a minor league contract Tuesday, according to msnbc.com. Zaun, who spent last season with the Milwaukee Brewers before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury that he believed might have ended his career, earned an invitation to spring training, where he'll compete for the backup job with Rob Johnson.

Peter Fuertes GLENDALE -- Former St. Francis baseball player Gregg Zaun, who was part of a blockbuster trade Nov. 2 between the Texas Rangers and the Detroit Tigers, was shipped off to Kansas City Tuesday for either a player to be named later or cash. The 28-year-old catcher was part of one of baseball's biggest trades last fall, when he was sent to the Tigers along Texas Ranger slugger Juan Gonzalez and pitcher Danny Patterson for pitchers Justin Thompson, Alan Webb and Francisco Cordero, outfielder Gabe Kapler, catcher Bill Haselman and infielder Frank Catalano.

Charles Rich Mark Loretta (St. Francis, 1989), San Diego Padres -- Loretta continues to tear up National League pitching, and there's a chance he might be named to the All-Star team in July. The 32-year-old Loretta is making a good case for himself. Through Sunday, Loretta is batting .313 with five home runs and 22 runs batted in. In a three-game series against the host Philadelphia Phillies this past weekend, Loretta collected six hits. Loretta was the first Padre to hit a home run at San Diego's new stadium, PETCO Park.

GLENDALE — Former area high school baseball standouts Gregg Zaun and Jim Parque were among 89 past and present Major League Baseball players named in the Mitchell Report, former Sen. George Mitchell’s 311-page report that entails his findings as they relate to performance-enhancing drug use in the game. At a press conference in New York on Thursday, Mitchell released the long-awaited report. In it were specific examples found during a 20-month investigation that blamed management and players for the alleged steroid use in baseball.

GLENDALE — Two Major League Baseball players with local ties were named Thursday by former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell in his investigation into steroid use in the league. Included among the more than 70 current or former Major League Baseball players implicated for allegedly using performance-enhancing drugs during the past two decades were Crescenta Valley High School graduate Jim Parque and St. Francis graduate Gregg Zaun. At a press conference Thursday in New York, Mitchell, a former Senate majority leader, released his report after a 20-month investigation into steroid use in baseball.

GLENDALE — The following are updates on the area’s Major League Baseball players. Freddy Sanchez (Glendale Community College, 1998) infielder, Pittsburgh Pirates: The 2006 National League batting champion is enjoying quite a September. Sanchez, a two-time All-Star, entered Tuesday’s home game against the Milwaukee Brewers batting .350 (14 for 40) in 10 September games. He’s recorded two-or-more hits in five of those contests. Sanchez entered Tuesday’s game batting .313 (173 for 552)

GLENDALE — After suffering a shoulder injury that stemmed from a violent home-plate collision last season, Gregg Zaun found himself behind home plate for the first time Sunday during a spring training contest against the Oakland Athletics at the Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Ariz. Zaun caught three innings and had two plate appearances. Shortly after the game ended, Zaun, a Glendale native and 1989 St. Francis High graduate, took off his equipment and tugged off his uniform for the final time before announcing his retirement on Sunday following a 16-year Major League Baseball career.

GLENDALE — In need of catching depth, the San Diego Padres looked at a Glendale resident to possibly fill that slot. San Diego reportedly signed St. Francis High graduate Gregg Zaun to a minor league contract Tuesday, according to msnbc.com. Zaun, who spent last season with the Milwaukee Brewers before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury that he believed might have ended his career, earned an invitation to spring training, where he'll compete for the backup job with Rob Johnson.

"All the world's indeed a stage/ And we are merely players/ Performers and portrayers/" — Lyrics to Rush's 'Limelight' Gregg Zaun's at-bat music U nfortunately, I had just one occasion to meet Gregg Zaun. But the first impression made by the Glendale native was certainly a lasting one. Throughout a 16-year career, he's had to make first impressions with nine teams. One would likely color Zaun a journeyman, and they'd likely be correct.

GLENDALE — The following are updates on area Major League Baseball players. Gregg Zaun (St. Francis High, 1989) Milwaukee Brewers catcher: Zaun will undergo season-ending surgery on Tuesday to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. He sustained the injury in April in a plate collision and went on the disabled list May 21, while still hoping treatment and rest might be enough the get him back on the field this year. Now, the 39-year-old veteran is contemplating the possible end of his career.

GLENDALE — The following are updates on area Major League Baseball players . Gregg Zaun (St. Francis High, 1989) Milwaukee Brewers catcher: The Glendale native remains on the disabled list. However, he learned that his season might have come to an end after he was diagnosed with a torn labrum in the front of his right shoulder. Mlb.com reported that the injury might end Zaun's career. Mlb.com reported Zaun put his chances of playing this season at "50-50" and the team doctors have recommended treatment for the next two to four weeks.

GLENDALE — By the end of the 2010 Major League Baseball season, the situation may well be different, but as it stands now, with nearly every team getting ready to christen the campaign, big leaguers with local ties will be hard to find on the field today. On Opening Day, one local son is sure to be on an active roster. Beyond that, only time will tell. Others who have suited up for big league clubs in recent years are either hard at work rehabilitating injuries, fine-tuning in the minor leagues or, in the case of one veteran local, well on their way down a second career path after hanging up the glove for good in the offseason.

GLENDALE ? For the second time in as many seasons, St. Francis High graduate Gregg Zaun will be starting fresh in a new uniform, this time with the Milwaukee Brewers, who signed the 15-year Major League veteran catcher to a one-year free-agent contract for 2010 late Thursday night. As was the case when he signed a one-year deal with the Baltimore Orioles for the 2009 season, Zaun figures to begin the season as a starter, but this time there are added benefits. Zaun will make more money ?

GLENDALE — The following are updates on area Major League Baseball players .   Gregg Zaun (St. Francis High, 1989) Tampa Bay Rays catcher: Things have been going well for Zaun since he was acquired from the Baltimore Orioles on Aug. 7. The Glendale native has slugged a pair of home runs since joining Tampa Bay, which won the American League championship last season. His latest came in the bottom of the eighth inning Sunday against the Toronto Blue Jays in a pinch-hitting role.

ANAHEIM — Now with the eighth team in his 15-year Major League Baseball career, Glendale native Gregg Zaun has seemingly become as accustomed to going from one team to the next as any old pro could. “It’s happened to me so many times,” he said shortly after his newest club, the Tampa Bay Rays, lost to the host Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Wednesday afternoon, 10-5. “I make friends pretty quick.” In the lockerroom after the game, decked out in jeans, a Western-style long-sleeve shirt and a pair of boots, the St. Francis High graduate shows off a thick, silver belt buckle to a new teammate, who chuckles and it’s clear he’s already started to, indeed, make friends.