Detroit – He was a phenom, a flame-throwing freak, and in a blaze of fastballs and fast fame, he became a folk hero. Joel Zumaya stood on the mound in Yankee Stadium 10 years ago and blew pitches past bewildered batters as the Tigers stunned the Yankees in the ALDS, and that’s pretty much where it started.
It ended just a few years later, after six surgeries on his right arm. It ended in a spring-training bullpen session for the Twins, when Zumaya’s tendon finally just snapped. Baseball is riddled with tales of careers wrecked by injury and misfortune, but there aren’t many to match the rapid rise of a guy whose nickname – Zoom-Zoom – fit in so many ways.