The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1190316
BY JACEY ZEMBAL F ormer NC State first baseman Phillip "Turtle" Zaun is proof that sometimes it is who you know in recruiting that can make all the difference. Zaun had a relationship with Wolfpack great Tracy Wood- son's family while growing up in Richmond, Va., and that link proved fortunate for both Zaun and NC State. Woodson was a star first baseman for the Wolfpack, earning sec- ond-team All-America honors from three different media outlets in 1984, including Baseball America. Woodson, who currently coaches baseball at the University of Richmond, went on to play five years with the Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals. "I played in the same Little League as Tracy Woodson," Zaun said. "He was always a league ahead of me because he's three years older than I am. Tracy was my boyhood hero." Zaun played with Woodson's younger brother in middle school and had home room for numerous years with his younger sister. Zaun was getting some looks from colleges in both football and baseball, but the latter was his first love. Woodson's father helped raise Zaun's recruit- ing profile by letting Wolfpack head coach Sam Esposito and assistant coach Ray Tanner know about him. "One day the phone rings, and it is Mr. Wood- son, Tracy's dad," Zaun said. "He was telling me about Tracy's season because he was having a big junior year. He said it looked likely that Tracy would end up getting drafted and leave school." That call was the start to putting Zaun in the Wolfpack recruiting consciousness. "I drove down one day with Mr. Woodson to see a game," Zaun said. "It actually got rained out, and we just spent time with Coach Esposito and Coach Tanner. That got the ball rolling." Zaun followed in Woodson's footsteps at NC State, receiving third-team All-America notice in 1987 from Collegiate Baseball, and then second- team recognition in 1988 from three organiza- tions — ABCA, Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America. Zaun, like Woodson, was also an ACC Player of the Year, earning the honor in 1988, and both were selected to the ACC 50th anniver- sary team, which was announced in 2002. A three-time first-team All-ACC selection, Zaun ranks second on NC State's all-time lists for career home runs (54) and career slugging percentage (.711), and is fourth in career batting average (.372), fifth in career runs batted in (195) and sixth in career total bases (451). Zaun isn't sure any of those achievements would have happened at NC State without his connection to Woodson. It also seems fitting that Zaun and Woodson are tied for the most home runs in a season at NCSU. Zaun hit 25 as a senior in 1988, and Woodson did the same in 1984. Zaun also pro- duced an NC State single-season best of 87 runs batted in during his dream-like final year. Zaun didn't have amazing success early at NC State, resulting in a stint as the bullpen catcher at one point. That isn't ideal when you are supposed to be a first baseman. "I was confident going in, but then I was hum- bled my freshman year," Zaun said. "I had played a lot at the beginning of the season, but then I struggled and became the bullpen catcher." Zaun recalled playing a pair of games to open the 1987 season at Baptist College, which is now called Charleston Southern. The Wolfpack won 5-1 and 10-1, but more importantly, Zaun became a trusted star hitter. "I came back from that trip and thought, 'We could do this because we have a solid team. It's time to get it going,'" Zaun said. "We had a really good team my sophomore year and won the regular-season championship in the conference, but lost in the finals of the ACC Tournament to Georgia Tech." A Life-Changing Decision Phillip "Turtle" Zaun, One Of NC State's Best Baseball Players Ever, Gave Up The Sport To Become A Dentist JANUARY 2020 ■ 53 Zaun was selected in the 10th round of the 1988 MLB Draft by the San Francisco Giants following his senior season, but made the tough decision to pursue a career in dentistry instead. PHOTO COURTESY ZAUN DENTISTRY Phillip "Turtle" Zaun Baseball (1985-88) Age: 54 Living: Richmond, Va. Occupation: Dentist in Mechanicsville, Va. Did You Know? The last time that Zaun swung a baseball bat was at a batting practice set up during the fall of 2018 at NC State. "We laughed at how old and slow we are now," he said.