SF Gate: Zito factored tabloids into choice of team

Barry Zito: Schadenfraud of all pitchers.

Barry Zito, who pitches in today’s series finale at Shea Stadium, acknowledged that stuff such as that played into his decision to sign with the Giants rather than the Mets, who also pursued him.

“I knew that would be a factor, the media markets,” Zito said. “You get exposed and you don’t really have a personal life anymore. It becomes so much more inflated than the reality is, which is, we’re just playing ball. I think buying into the lie that we’re doing something so important, I think it hurts our performance because we feel our performance is determining the fate of the world. A lot of times in huge media markets you can start to think that.”

Zito has seen the A-Rod stuff in the papers and said, “It’s just a shame. I don’t know what the real story is. Only a limited amount of people do. It’s just a shame that society is geared this way where we put someone’s details of their lives or problems on the front page. It’s a shame that people are entertained more with the downfalls and struggles of certain peoples in the spotlight than they are with their successes.”