Clay Zavada

{{Infobox baseball biography

| name = Clay Zavada

| image =

| position = Relief pitcher

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1984|6|28}}

| birth_place = Streator, Illinois, U.S.

| bats = Left

| throws = Left

|debutleague = MLB

| debutdate = May 21

| debutyear = 2009

| debutteam = Arizona Diamondbacks

| finaldate = October 2

| finalyear = 2009

| finalteam = Arizona Diamondbacks

| statyear =

|statleague = MLB

| stat1label = Win–loss record

| stat1value = 3–3

| stat2label = Earned run average

| stat2value = 3.35

| stat3label = Strikeouts

| stat3value = 52

| teams =

Arizona Diamondbacks ({{By|2009}})

}}

Clay Pflibson Zavada (born June 28, 1984) is a former professional baseball pitcher who pitched in Major League Baseball for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2009. He is noted for his Rollie Fingers moustache.{{cite web| url = http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090701&content_id=5648484&vkey=news_ari&fext=.jsp&c_id=ari| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090704210936/http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090701&content_id=5648484&vkey=news_ari&fext=.jsp&c_id=ari| archive-date = 2009-07-04| title = Zavada trounces adversity to fit in 'pen}}

Early career

Zavada attended Illinois Valley Community College and then transferred to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.'Clay Zavada: A Lunch-Pail Prospect for the Diamondbacks,' New York Times, Katie Thomas, December 20, 2009 Playing with the Mobile BayBears in the spring before his debut, Zavada struck out 18 in 17 and 1/3 innings with an ERA of 2.60, limiting batters to a .169 average.http://www.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090522&content_id=4882786&vkey=news_ari&fext=.jsp&c_id=ari {{Dead link|date=February 2022}}

=Arizona Diamondbacks=

Clay Zavada was originally drafted to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 30th round of 2006 out of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Zavada left baseball after the death of his father in the winter following his first pro season. Upon receiving his business degree, he returned to play baseball for the Southern Illinois Miners, an independent team.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/21/sports/baseball/21pitcher.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2 |work=The New York Times |title=Clay Zavada: A Lunch-Pail Prospect for the Diamondbacks |first=Katie |last=Thomas |date=December 21, 2008}}

Zavada was called up to the Diamondbacks for the first time on May 13, but was returned to Double-A baseball Mobile BayBears the next day to make room for debut starter Bryan Augenstein.{{Cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/player/_/id/30088/clay-zavada|title=Clay Zavada Stats, News, Bio}} He was recalled on May 21, and made his Major League debut the next day.{{Cite web|url=http://www.azsnakepit.com/2009/5/22/883082/diamondbacks-4-marlins-3-feat-of|title=Diamondbacks 4, Marlins 3: Feat of Clay - Zavada wins his MLB debut|date=22 May 2009}} In his MLB debut, Clay entered the game in relief of starter Max Scherzer and threw a perfect seventh inning, defeating his rookie opponent Christian Martinez, who was also making his major league debut for the Florida Marlins.

After failing to make the team in 2010 and struggling in AAA, Zavada had Tommy John surgery and missed the entire 2010 season.{{cite web|title=Diamondbacks injury updates |publisher=Scout.com |url=http://diamondbacks.scout.com/a.z?s=247&p=2&c=971846&ssf=1&RequestedURL=http://diamondbacks.scout.com/2/971846.html|accessdate=2010-05-26}} He pitched in the minor leagues from 2011 to 2013, but did not return to the Major Leagues.