He’d be back in 1974 and give the eventual National League champs a solid 21 appearances, finishing up with a record of 3-5 with an ERA of 2.03 in 79.2 innings, with ten of those appearances starts.
He’d have a rough next couple of years, even finding himself traded to the Chicago Cubs in 1975 with Eddie Solomon for Burt Hooton, appearing in a combined 21 games going 2-9 with an ERA around 5.00.
In 1977 he’d find himself with the Minnesota Twins, and over the next eight years he’d become a dependable starter for them as well as the California Angels, who he’ll join in 1981 and have his best MLB season for a year later.
In 1982, while the Angels chugged to a Western Division title, Zahn posted a career best 18 wins along with four shutouts over 34 starts, completing 12 games and pitching 229.1 innings.
He’d win a combined 22 games for the Angels over the next two years before having one final down season in 1985 at the age of 39 when he posted a record of 2-2 with a 4.38 ERA over seven appearances, calling it a career by season’s end.
All told, he finished with a record of 111-109 over 304 appearances, with a 3.74 ERA and 20 shutouts over 1849 innings pitched between 1973 and 1985, completing 79 of 270 starts along the way.
