Gregory Owen Zaun (; born April 14, 1971) is an American baseball analyst,

public speaker Public speaking, is the practice of delivering speeches to a live audience. Throughout history, public speaking has held significant cultural, religious, and political importance, emphasizing the necessity of effective rhetorical skills. It all ...

and a former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

, currently he is the interim manager for the Tigres de Quintana Roo of the Mexican League. He played for nine teams over 16 seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) from 1995 until 2010, winning a World Series Championship in 1997. From 2006 to 2017, he served as an on-air personality with

Sportsnet Sportsnet is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language Discretionary service, discretionary sports broadcasting, sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture betw ...

in Canada.

Playing career

Early life

Zaun, the nephew of former MLB catcher

Rick Dempsey John Rikard Dempsey (born September 13, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player.Mark Loretta. Zaun and Loretta attended Saint Francis High School in La Cañada, California, and graduated in 1989. Zaun was recruited to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

Loyola Marymount Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. LMU enrolls over 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students, making it the largest Catholic university on the west coast of the ...

and

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, but signed a letter of intent to play for

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. However, he chose not to play for Texas upon learning that they had signed a

junior college A junior college is a type of post-secondary institution that offers vocational and academic training that is designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations or support roles in professions such as engineering, a ...

All-American catcher. Zaun also played for the

United States national baseball team The United States national baseball team, also known as Team USA, represents the United States in international level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 5th in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The United S ...

at the 1989 World Junior Baseball Championship in Canada.

Professional career

Drafted by the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

in the 17th round of the 1989 Major League Baseball draft, Zaun reached the majors with the Orioles in June 1995. He was used primarily as a back-up early in his career. He batted .231 with one

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

and 13

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

(RBI) in 39 games with the Orioles in 1996 before being optioned on August 6 to the

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Fie ...

where he hit .319 in 14 games. He was sent to the Florida Marlins on August 23 to complete a transaction from two days prior on August 21 when Terry Mathews was acquired by the Orioles. After winning a

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

with the Marlins in 1997, he became their starting catcher to finish out the 1998 season when Charles Johnson and then Mike Piazza were traded. He then moved to the Texas Rangers prior to the 1999 season. He has also played with the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

, and

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

. He signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

with the Blue Jays prior to the 2004 season. Valuable in the line-up as a switch-hitter, he set a career high in 2005 with 133 games.

2006–2011

Prior to the 2006 season, the Blue Jays signed Bengie Molina as the everyday catcher, making Zaun the backup. Zaun started 2006 on the injured list, with Jason Phillips serving as Molina's backup during the first week of the year. Zaun hit a game-winning two-run homer off the Tampa Bay Devil Rays' Jason Childers in his return on April 8. Molina's struggles against right-handed pitchers caused John Gibbons to

platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...

the two, with Molina generally starting against left-handed pitchers and Zaun playing against righties. On September 13, 2006, he hit home runs from both sides of the plate in the same game. He was only the fourth Blue Jay in history to do this. Because the Blue Jays actively pursued Rod Barajas of the Texas Rangers as the club's new starting catcher during the 2006 offseason, it was assumed that Zaun would be exploring free agency as signing Barajas would mean Zaun would be maintained as a backup. Meanwhile, negotiations between Zaun and the club deteriorated, as Zaun claimed that the Jays offered "slightly better than back-up money for playing every day". Negotiations with Barajas went as far as an offer conditional on a routine physical, but eventually fell apart for undisclosed reasons. After turning down a reported $6.5 million two-year offer from the Blue Jays a week earlier, Zaun officially accepted a two-year, $7.25 million contract offer to return to the Blue Jays as their starting catcher on November 28, 2006. The new contract deal also included a third-year option, guaranteed based on appearances. The signing came after Zaun was rumored to have been courted by the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

and

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

, both in backup roles. Arguably his most famous play with the Jays was hitting a game-winning grand slam in the bottom of the 13th inning off of Tampa Bay Rays closer Troy Percival, on September 6, 2008, with two outs in the inning, wiping out the Rays, 7–4. Zaun hit only the second game-winning grand slam in Jays history but it was the first that occurred in extra innings, and even more spectacular was that his team was losing at the time, due to an RBI single by Dioner Navarro to put the Rays up, 4–3, before the slam at the top of the 13th. On January 22, 2009, Zaun signed a one-year deal with the

. Zaun was claimed off waivers by the Tampa Bay Rays GM Andrew Friedman in exchange for Rhyne Hughes on August 7, 2009. On August 16, Zaun hit a pinch hit grand slam home run against his old team, the Blue Jays, in the eighth inning off Brandon League on a 3–2 fastball. On November 12, 2009, Zaun was granted free agency. On December 4, 2009, Zaun signed a one-year contract with the Milwaukee Brewers for $1.9 million. After suffering a severe injury, Zaun's 2010 season—and, as it turned out, his MLB career, ended on May 20. After the season, Milwaukee declined his contract option, and he became a free agent on November 2. In January, Zaun signed a minor league deal with the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

, with an invitation to spring training. However, noting that he still had not recovered from his previous injury enough to play regularly, he chose to retire on March 7, 2011.

Mitchell Report

In 2007, Zaun was included in the Mitchell Report following a 20-month investigation into the use of performance-enhancing drugs by former Senator George Mitchell. In the report, Kirk Radomski claimed he sold Deca-Durabolin and Winstrol to Zaun in 2001, after a referral from Jason Grimsley. Radomski produced a cheque from Zaun for $500. Mitchell also explained that former

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

bullpen catcher Luis Perez claimed to have supplied Zaun with steroids in 2002. Zaun declined to be interviewed for the report. On February 15, 2008, Zaun responded in detail to the allegations made in the report after issuing a denial as soon as it came out. Zaun vehemently denied taking performance-enhancing drugs, stating that he owed Grimsley $500 and that Grimsley re-wrote the cheque to purchase drugs for himself. Zaun explained, "I can say, with 100% certainty, that the cheque was not to buy performance-enhancing drugs. It's obvious to me what parts of the cheque are my writing".

Post-playing career

Broadcasting career

Zaun started his broadcasting career after the Blue Jays closed out their 2006 season. Throughout the playoffs, Zaun would offer his thoughts on how the teams and players were doing, and how he thought they could improve. After his retirement, on March 14, 2011, Zaun signed a two-year contract with Rogers Sportsnet to become their studio MLB analyst. He also served as a part-time analyst on Sportsnet Radio Fan 590 and the Blue Jays Radio Network. As part of his duties he blogged on his website 'zauntourage.com' (now defunct). On May 10–11, 2011 Zaun filled in as the color commentator on the NESN broadcast of a Red Sox series against the Blue Jays when the normal broadcaster, Jerry Remy was ill.

Firing

On November 30, 2017, Rogers Communications announced Zaun's employment had been terminated after an investigation into complaints of improper conduct from several female employees. Zaun issued an apology in response to the allegations on December 4.

Coaching career

Glacier Range Riders

On March 30, 2023, Zaun was hired to serve as the catching/hitting instructor for the Glacier Range Riders of the Pioneer League.

Lexington Legends

On February 21, 2024, Zaun was announced as the manager for the Lexington Legends of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

Tigres de Quintana Roo

On January 2, 2025, Zaun was hired to serve on the coaching staff of the Tigres de Quintana Roo of the Mexican League. On May 18, Zaun was promoted to the interim manager role following the firing of C.J. Retherford.

References

External links

Gregg Zaun official site
(2012) via

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by Internet Archive, an American nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California. Launched for public access in 2001, the service allows users to go "back in ...

Gregg Zaun's blog page
(2008) on Sportsnet.ca via Wayback Machine {{DEFAULTSORT:Zaun, Gregg 1971 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baltimore Orioles players Bluefield Orioles players Bowie Baysox players Colorado Rockies players Dunedin Blue Jays players Florida Marlins players Frederick Keys players Gulf Coast Royals players Houston Astros players Kane County Cougars players Kansas City Royals players Major League Baseball catchers Milwaukee Brewers players New Hampshire Fisher Cats players Omaha Golden Spikes players Rochester Red Wings players Baseball players from Baltimore Baseball players from Glendale, California Syracuse Chiefs players Syracuse SkyChiefs players Tampa Bay Rays players Texas Rangers players Toronto Blue Jays announcers Toronto Blue Jays players Wausau Timbers players