Model citizen: Zito making a pitch with his looks, too

By SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS

last updated: August 29, 2008 04:02:18 PM

There were times this season when Barry Zito wanted to crawl into a dark hole. Now he's being plastered to multi-story buildings around the world, and he couldn't be more excited about it.

Presenting Barry Zito, male fashion model.

By sheer luck, Zito was discovered by a national clothing company, True Religion, and offered a modeling contract in April.

Massive billboards featuring a jeans-clad Zito are beginning to show up in major urban areas.

The Zito ads will appear on the sides of buses in Japan. In San Francisco, a True Religion billboard is planned for a building near the intersection of Bush Street and Van Ness Avenue.

"It's crazy," Zito said. "I got a text message from (former A's teammate) Eric Byrnes that said, 'Dude, my wife just saw you on a billboard in Vegas. You've got to be (kidding) me!' "

Zito did not seek out this second career. He told his publicist, Kathy Jacobson, to refuse any endorsement offers -- especially when he had an 0-8 record after nine starts.

"I can't be the 'Seiko guy,' none of that," Zito said. "That just looks bad, like I'm not focusing on baseball. But Kathy said, 'No, it's not an endorsement. It's not because of who you are or that you play baseball. This is a modeling gig.' "

Executives at True Religion held casting calls in Los Angeles, New York and London but couldn't find a male model who captured their brand for the fall campaign. An executive was flipping through Vanity Fair magazine when he happened to see a photo of Zito that accompanied a piece on California tourist spots.

"He said, 'Oh my gosh, someone get this guy for me,' " Zito said. "I had my guitar in the shot so he thought I was a musician. Someone told him I was a baseball player. He said, 'Whatever he is, it doesn't matter, we need this guy for the campaign.' So I did an eight-hour shoot in Malibu on an off-day in June.

"I'd never done a modeling gig before. I thought I'd throw on some Blue Steel," said Zito, referring to the secret pose of Ben Stiller's male model character in the movie, "Zoolander." In addition to being paid model scale, Zito received 12 pair of custom-fitted jeans.

"What's great is that they don't want my name," Zito said. "I'm just strictly a model. Who knows? Maybe it'll open up other doors. It's always fun to be involved in different things."

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