Todd Zeile

Zeile in 1998

Third baseman / First baseman

Born: September 9, 1965 (age 51)
Van Nuys, California

Batted: Right

Threw: Right

MLB debut

August 18, 1989, for the St. Louis Cardinals

Last MLB appearance

October 3, 2004, for the New York Mets

MLB statistics

Batting average

.265

Home runs

253

Runs batted in

1,110

Teams

Todd Edward Zeile (born September 9, 1965) is a former professional baseball player. He played sixteen seasons in Major League Baseball, from 1989 to 2004, primarily as a third baseman. 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). Only four players in Major League Baseball history have played for more teams.

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. He was traded from the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Florida Marlins along with Mike Piazza in 1998 for five players, then was traded to the Rangers later that season. 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, with Heinie Zimmerman, Dutch Zwilling, and Rollie Zeider, had this occurred. Zeile ended the decade having committed more errors than any other player during the 1990s.

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