Hall of Fame
Before going on to a distinguished career in Major League Baseball that would eventually see him land the prestigious role of general manager, Jack Zduriencik was a two-year starting catcher for the Vulcan baseball team in 1972 and 1973.
He received first-team, all-conference honors both seasons and was Cal’s second leading batter in 1972, with a .359 average.
A member of the Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity, Zduriencik transferred to Cal from Middle Georgia College and served as a junior varsity coach while he was ineligible for the 1971 season.
He then played as team captain under the late Cal U Hall of Fame coach and emeritus professor Mitch Bailey ’53. Joining the coaching staff his final season was another eventual Hall of Fame coach and emeritus professor, Chuck Gismondi ’64.
“Mitch was a big influence because he was my coach and Chuck was fun to be around,” said Zduriencik. “They were different personalities for sure but you would look to see what they were doing because you could see yourself being a college coach someday. They were both big part of our lives and I have great respect for both gentleman.”
The admiration is mutual according to Gismondi who was Cal’s head baseball coach from 1980-96. Him and Bailey frequently took Zduriencik to coaching meetings to display catching fundamentals.
“Jack was a great athlete and a super guy personally,” Gismondi said. “He did everything right and played with what I call good baseball sense. He never made mental errors and was a true leader on the team. He never gave us a moment of anxiety off the field and was willing to do anything to help the team. I am so proud of Jack’s success now and can’t say enough about him.”
Following his junior year the Chicago White Sox signed Zduriencik, and he played two seasons of minor league ball. He returned to Cal and earned his bachelor’s degree in education in 1974.
He earned an additional bachelor’s degree in physical education and master’s degrees in education from Austin Peay University, from 1975-1977. He also coached baseball and football at the Tennessee school.
Zduriencik returned to western Pennsylvania and coached both sports at Clairton High School where he served as the school’s in-school disciplinarian before coaching and teaching biology and physical education for three years at Tarpon Springs High School in Florida.
“I always loved coaching and teaching,” he said. “In those positions you are working with the best asset of a community which are the young kids and you’re responsible for raising them and instilling in them life’s ethics.”
In 1983 he accepted a scouting job with the New York Mets, beginning a career in scouting and front office roles that took him across the country.
After seven years with the Mets Zduriencik left in 1991 to work as director of scouting for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
He returned to the Mets in 1994 as their minor league operations director and four years later was named special assistant to the general manager. He then moved on to the Los Angeles Dodgers as director of international scouting and special assistant to the general manager before joining the Milwaukee Brewers in 1999.
With the Brewers he rose to the position of vice president and special assistant to the general manager. He was the first non-GM to be named Baseball America’s Executive of the Year in 2007, and he helped the 2008 team make the organization’s first post-season appearance in 26 years. The Brewers won the National League’s Central Division title this past season.
On Oct. 22, 2008, Zduriencik was named executive vice president and general manager of baseball operations for the Seattle Mariners. The eighth GM in team history, he inherited a team that had lost 101 games in 2008 after tying the modern Major record for wins in a season with 116 in 2001.
“It’s been great, Seattle’s a terrific city,” said Zduriencik. “Rebuilding an organization is a process that has to take place, tough decisions have to be made and there are lumps and bumps you have to take along the way. But once you set your direction and know what you want to do you just stay the course. Your goal is to get people on board and follow the direction you’ve set as GM.”
Originally from New Castle, Pa., Zduriencik is a graduate of New Castle High School, where he played baseball for head coach Don Ross and was also the Red Hurricanes’ starting quarterback.
The son of a steel worker, Zduriencik never envisioned his varied journey in Major League Baseball and believes he would have been happy had he remained a high school teacher and coach.
“My western Pennsylvania upbringing taught me to just do the best you can with what you’ve got in front of you,” he said. “Maybe I would have become a high school principal and I have always just tried to maximize the abilities I have in whatever I am doing. Things just happened the way I happened and I’ve been so fortunate.”
Zduriencik was inducted into the Lawrence County Sports Hall of Fame in April 2009. He is understandably proud to be part of this year’s Cal U Athletic Hall of Fame class.
“Obviously it’s flattering and anytime you’re recognized by your alma mater it means a lot,” Zduriencik said. “Playing at Cal State, now Cal U, was a big part of my life and I enjoyed my time there. It was a steppingstone to the rest of my life.”
Zduriencik and his wife of 29 years, Debbie, reside in Bellevue, Wash. The couple has a grown daughter, Kimberly Swendsen, who is a nurse practitioner in Pittsburgh.
updated 10/26/11
