Jose Zambrano returned from back injury for 9 pro seasons
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Red Sox farmhand Jose Zambrano hit a big three-run home run to help his Lynchburg Red Sox to this August 1993 win and Zambrano thanked his hurt teammate, according to The Lynchburg News and Advance.
"If he's healthy, I don't even play in this game," Zambrano told The News and Advance. "I know I'm going to play now because he's hurt, but I don't feel good about it."
Zambrano had been hurt himself previously, losing nearly the entire 1991 campaign to a back injury. But he returned to see time in nine campaigns. He topped out at AA.
Zambrano's career began in 1988, signed by the Red Sox as a free agent out of his native Venezuela.
Zambrano started with the Red Sox in the rookie Arizona League. He hit .313 in 28 games.
He then moved to single-A Winter Haven and the Gulf Coast League for 1989 and Winter Haven again for 1990. He hit .270 in 88 games in 1990 at Winter Haven.
Zambrano then had his abbreviated 1991, just three games at high-A Lynchburg. He got back on the field for 1993 at Lynchburg and Winter Haven.
In another August 1993 game, Zambrano hit a 15th-inning home run to give Lynchburg the win, The News and Advance wrote.
"Right down the middle, a fastball," Zambrano told The News and Advance of the pitch he hit for that home run.
Zambrano returned to Lynchburg for 1994, then saw AA Trenton for 22 games in 1995, along with 10 each at high-A Sarasota and the GCL. His last recorded pro time came in 1996 n Mexico.
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- Lynchburg News and Advance, Aug. 3, 1993: Zambrano's heroics halt L-Sox slide
- Lynchburg News and Advance, Aug. 7, 1993: Zambrano's 15th-inning homer leads L-Sox past Spirits
Made the Majors:1,482-31.6%
Never Made Majors:3,213-68.4%-X