Barry William Zito (born May 13, 1978 in Las Vegas, Nevada) is a left handed starting pitcher for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. He previously played seven seasons with the Oakland Athletics where he won the 2002 American League Cy Young Award and made three All-Star game rosters. Zito never missed a scheduled start in his career until 2008, and led the American League in starts four times. After the 2006 season, Zito signed the most expensive contract in history for a pitcher at the time. Zito is well known for the drastic difference between his pre- and post- All-Star Game pitching statistics and is considered as one of the greatest second-half pitchers in baseball history.

Zito played collegiately at UC Santa Barbara, Los Angeles Pierce College, and the University of Southern California. In the 1999 draft, he was drafted by the Oakland Athletics with the ninth pick of the first round. Zito is known for his idiosyncrasies, and his offbeat personality. He created the charity Strikeouts for Troops which provides money to hospitals for soldiers wounded in military operations.

Zito transferred from San Diego's Coleman High School to University of San Diego High School, a Roman Catholic school where he earned all-league honors with an 8-4 record and 105 strikeouts in 85 innings as a senior. He then attended UC Santa Barbara where he earned Freshman All-America Honors with 123 strikeouts in 85⅓ innings. Transferring to Los Angeles Pierce College, he posted a 2.62 ERA and went 9-2 with 135 strikeouts in 103 innings, and was named to the all-state and all-conference teams.