Topic: Carlos Zambrano

Carlos Alberto Zambrano (born June 1, 1981) is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher with the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball. Zambrano, who stands 6' 5" and weighs 260 pounds, was signed by the Cubs as a free agent in 1997 and made his debut in 2001. After being used in both starting and relief duties, he enjoyed his first full season as a starter in 2003, finishing with a 13-11 record, 168 strikeouts and a 3.11 ERA.

Zambrano is a switch-hitter and has a career .244 batting average with 23 home runs, 69 RBIs and a slugging percentage of .396. The 23 home runs are the most ever by a Cubs pitcher. He also tied with Ferguson Jenkins for the club record for home runs by a pitcher in a single season, hitting six in 2006. Zambrano has been called on to pinch hit 20 times in his career and has won a Silver Slugger Award three times for his hitting.

Zambrano was the only National League pitcher to have won at least 13 games in each year from 2003–08. In 2006, he became the first player from Venezuela to lead the National League in wins.