Gregg Zaun

After spending the bulk of the first 12 years of his Major League Baseball career as a backup catcher for seven different clubs, Gregg Zaun seemed to have found a home in Toronto. The Glendale native and St. Francis High graduate enjoyed the most productive offensive seasons of his career in his first three years there, and after the 2006 campaign signed a two-year, $7.25 million-contract, while assuming full-time, behind-the-plate duties for the Blue Jays. Little has changed about Zaun since that point.

GLENDALE — The following are updates on area Major League Baseball players .   Freddy Sanchez (Glendale Community College, 1998) Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman: With just six hits in 35 at bats so far in the month of July, the former National League batting titlist’s average continues to hover just below .230, where it has remained since dipping to .229 with an 0-for-six outing on July 1. A slow starter last year as well, Sanchez finished the 2007 season with a solid line of .304 with 11 home runs and 81 runs batted in. The former Vaquero flipped his power switch on after the All-Star break as well, slugging nine of his homers and 47 RBIs after July 13. Time is running out for a similar revival, but Sanchez is focused on making it happen “The numbers pretty much speak for themselves,” Sanchez, who is batting .225 on the season with five home runs and 35 RBIs, told MLB.com on July 12. “I’m not hitting the way I feel like I should be, but I’m a confident guy and I know that it’s going to turn around at some point.

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 — 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 — The following is a retrospective on how locals fared during the 2007 Major League Baseball regular season. Freddy Sanchez (Glendale Community College, 1998) infielder, Pittsburgh Pirates : Sanchez wasn’t able to win a second consecutive National League batting championship, but he did manage to bat a team-high .304 (183 for 602) with a career-high 11 home runs and 81 runs batted in despite battling several injuries. Sanchez competed in the All-Star Game in July for the second consecutive year, and once again showcased his versatility.