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One of the greatest players in California baseball history, Jon Zuber was hired as the Golden Bears' assistant baseball coach on July 12, 2004. In his first year with the program, Zuber immediately helped Cal vie for a postseason berth and produce two All-Pac-10 hitters (Brennan Boesch and Josh Satin) and a freshman All-American (Satin). In 2006, he saw four of his hitters sign pro contracts. This past season, Zuber's hitters produced a .303 team batting average, the highest Cal team average since 1998.
A former major leaguer and a 2003 California Hall of Fame inductee, Zuber was named Co-Pac-10 Player of the Year and NCAA East Regional MVP in 1992. He remains Cal's career leader in hits (291), doubles (61) and putouts (1,299), and ranks among all-time school leaders in runs scored (third, 187), walks (fourth, 137), batting average (sixth, .364) and RBI (sixth, 148). Zuber, who led the Bears to the 1991 NCAA Midwest Regional finals and the 1992 College World Series, was also an outstanding pitcher who still ranks seventh in career saves (13) in school history.
A three-time first-team All-Pac-10 selection, Zuber was Cal's batting leader with a .386 average in 1990. He was drafted in the 12th round by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1992 and went on to play first base and outfield in the major leagues for the Phillies from 1996-99. In 1993, Zuber set the single-season doubles record, 37, while playing for Clearwater in the Florida State League. He was later selected to play in six Minor League All-Star Games (1993 Single A Florida State League, 1994 Double A Eastern League, 1996-99 Triple A International League) and was named the 1996 Scranton Wilkes-Barre Player of the Year. Zuber also played for the New York Yankees, the Yokahama Baystars in Japan (batting .305 in 2001) and the Milwaukee Brewers, before retiring from professional baseball in 2002.
In 1999, Zuber helped the USA National Team to a silver medal at the PanAm Games, enabling Team USA to qualify for the 2000 Olympic Games. That same year, he was named Franchise Player of the Decade by Scranton Wilkes-Barre of the Triple A International League.
Most recently, Zuber was the head coach of the Acalanes High School baseball team in Lafayette. In his first season at Acalanes, Zuber turned around a program that had gone 11-12-1 in 2003 to a 21-7 record, the school's first Diablo Foothill Athletic League title, and a berth in the North Coast Section 2A East Bay championship game. He was named the 2004 Contra Costa Times high school Coach of the Year.
Zuber, 38, earned a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies from Cal in 1993. He and his wife, Shannon, live in Lafayette with their daughters, Madison (six) and Tatum (three). His father, Ed, is the announcer for Cal baseball's home games.
