The mustache ride might be over for Arizona Diamondbacks reliever Clay Zavada.
Depending on what you read…the recipient of the 2009 Robert Goulet Memorial Mustached American of the Year Award is either going to show up to camp Wednesday or contemplating retirement.
Sure, it’s hard to think of a world where the owner of one of baseball’s finest lip sweaters, might hang it up, but according to azcentral.com…that’s exactly what might happen.
Left-hander Clay Zavada, who was invited to big-league camp after signing a minor-league deal, appears to be contemplating retirement. Diamondbacks General Manager Kevin Towers said Zavada, who did not undergo a scheduled physical Sunday and missed Monday’s workout, told the club’s training staff he was “having some doubts on wanting to go through this again.”
But, according to if you take what MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert says as gospel…Zavada will be in camp soon.
Zavada’s agent, Barry Meister, said that Zavada experienced some discomfort in his shoulder and that was the reason for his absence. “He just needed a couple of days to figure out what was going on with his shoulder,” Meister said.
Meister said that Zavada was going to see either the team’s training staff or team physician Michael Lee about his shoulder Tuesday and that he had talked to manager Kirk Gibson about his situation.
Walking away from baseball wouldn’t be new for Zavada.
He missed the entire 2007 season after the death of his father and was forced to sit out all of last season due to Tommy John surgery. The Streator, Illinois native, and former 30th round draft pick, appeared in 49 games in 2009…striking out 52 batters in 51 innings. He finished the season with a 3-3 record and a 3.35 ERA.
So…will he or won’t he?
Granted, it isn’t the same level of drama that surrounded New York Yankees lefty Andy Pettitte, but to Mustached Americans…Zavada is a hero. In October 2009, he took home the afore mentioned American Mustache Institute’s coveted Robert Goulet Memorial Mustached American of the Year Award.
Shortly after receiving the honor…sat down with the organization’s leader, the esteemed Dr. Aaron Perlut.
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