Athletes - Todd Zeile

Home > Listing Index > Athletes > Todd Zeile

	Athletes - Todd Zeile

Todd Edward Zeile (born September 9, 1965 in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California) is a former third baseman and first baseman in Major League Baseball who played from 1989 to 2004. After graduating from UCLA, where he played as a catcher, Zeile played for 11 major league teams during his career – the St. Louis Cardinals (1989-1995), Chicago Cubs (1995), Philadelphia Phillies (1996), Baltimore Orioles (1996), Los Angeles Dodgers (1997-1998), Florida Marlins (1998), Texas Rangers (1998-1999), New York Mets (2000-2001, 2004), Colorado Rockies (2002), New York Yankees (2003) and Montreal Expos (2003).

Zeile broke into the majors in 1989 as a catcher and the Cardinals' most anticipated prospect of the year. Cardinals manager Joe Torre wanted to make room for catcher Tom Pagnozzi and believed Zeile would be a more productive hitter and would have a longer career if he moved from behind the plate, so Zeile moved, with some reluctance, initially to first base and then to third base in 1990. Zeile spent most of the 1990s as a third baseman, moving to first base for the Mets in 2000, who wanted him to replace John Olerud.

In 1999, Zeile was part of a historic Rangers team. Along with Gregg Zaun and Jeff Zimmerman, he was one of three players on the team whose last names began with "Z". Not since the 1916 Chicago Cubs had this occurred (Heinie Zimmerman, Dutch Zwilling, and Rollie Zeider).

Zeile retired following the 2004 season. Having planned his retirement in advance, the Mets had him start one final game as a catcher—his first appearance there in 14 years—in September 2004. It was the second-longest span ever between appearances at the position. Gabby Street caught a game in 1931 after last having caught in 1912.

Zeile hit at least one home run for each of the 11 teams he played for over the course of his career, distinguishing him as the one player in Major League history to have hit a home run for 10 or more teams.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Todd Zeile ]

This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article Todd Zeile; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.

Athletes - Todd Zeile

Searches on eBay

Related searches on eBay