Geoff Zahn

[William Malone]

Geoffery Clayton Zahn was born on December 14, 1945 in Baltimore, Maryland.

The Los Angeles Dodgers selected him in round five of the 1968 MLB Draft out of the University of Michigan. He made his Major League debut for them in 1973, and played parts of three seasons for the Dodgers. Zahn was traded to the Chicago Cubs at the 1975 deadline, pitching for them in 1976 as well. The Minnesota Twins signed him as a free agent ahead of the 1977 campaign.

He opened 1977 with a 5-0 record through six starts, posting a 2.95 ERA. This included two complete games. Zahn slowed down as the season progressed, finishing the year 12-14 with a 4.68 ERA. He had seven complete games, including his first career shutout on July 10th against the Seattle Mariners.

Zahn continued to be a mainstay in the Twins rotation for the next three seasons. He went 41-39 with a 3.66 ERA between 1978 and 1980, hurling 29 complete games and five shutouts. This included a one hitter on June 6, 1980 against the Toronto Blue Jays. He walked three and struck out six. The lone hit was a seventh inning single by Blue Jays first baseman John Mayberry.

The California Angels signed Zahn as a free agent following the 1980 season. He pitched five years for the Angels, going 52-42 with a 3.64 ERA.

Zahn retired after his time with the Angels, and launched a lengthy coaching career. He was most notably the head coach at the University of Michigan, his alma mater, from 1996 through 2001. Zahn led them to an NCAA tournament appearance in 1999. The Wolverines reached the regional finals, but lost to top seed Cal State-Fullerton. 

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