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.\n', '

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.[citation needed]\n', '

In 2000, then signed a contract with the New York Mets, where he rejoined Piazza, and moved to first base for the Mets in 2000, who wanted him to replace John Olerud. In 2002, he was traded to the Rockies, where he moved back to third base. He led all NL third basemen in errors in 2002, with 21, when he had the lowest fielding percentage in the league (.942).\n', '

Return to Todd Zeile Autograph Profile