Todd Zeile’s 1997 experience in the second biggest market, Los Angeles, prepared the slow starter for New York.
This season, Zeile took a month to hit his first home run as a Met. In that time, he basically got a free ride – probably deservedly so – from the fans.
If the slow start persisted though, the fans would’ve insisted on booing. When Zeile left for the Mets’ two-week, four-city road trip at the end of April, his average stood at .254 and he had failed to homer. This wasn’t start he had in mind, but it wasn’t as bad as L.A.
“The one time that I had a really difficult go of it was when I signed with LA,” said the 34-year-old California native. “I signed the three-year deal with L.A. coming off a very good season with Philly and Baltimore and all that stuff. And I started out 0-for-15 to open the season and was hitting .180 or less after all of April.
“That was the toughest stretch of it where I was definitely pressing having to do with coming home, new team and all those expectations, whatever. Then I finally relaxed and got the groove going again.”
Zeile is in a groove now with the Mets. Before last night, he was hitting .421 (8-for-19) during the Mets’ current homestand. He had hit two of his five homers over the past four games.
The problem of late has been that his big hits usually are going to waste. Last Saturday against the Marlins, he hit a go-ahead homer in the sixth, but the bullpen melted down. On Tuesday he tied the game with a long ball in the sixth against the Rockies, but that was forgotten when Bubba Carpenter hit one out in the ninth.
“If it would help the outcome, I would sacrifice a homer, hit it off the top of the wall and start a rally,” said Zeile. “They say homers are rally-killers anyway, right?”
With the recent non-home run news being made by Rickey Henderson, a reporter asked Zeile if he’d run hard out of the box.
“Always,” said Zeile, who entered last night hitting .290 with five homers, 22 RBIs and 12 doubles. “I can’t take for granted I’m going to get a double on a sure double with these wheels I’ve been blessed with.”
Over the 10 years Zeile’s been in the majors he’s averaged 18 home runs and 80 RBIs. His career batting average stood at .268 entering this season.
“I have that philosophy that in this game after four, five, six years in the game, people are going to end up where they are supposed to,” Zeile said. “Somehow, some way it has its way of working itself out and I’ve gotten where I was supposed to be somehow, but that is because I was hotter later.”
After his slow start in ’97 Zeile made a change. Zeile took more batting practice in the offseason and during the next spring he asked for more playing time.
“I’ve had tendency in my career to have my prolong slumps early in the season, April/May,” said Zeile, who finished ’97 season at .268 with a career-high 31 homers and 90 RBIs. “Everybody goes through slumps. The key to success is to try not to make them prolong. I think, with experienced, I’ve curbed them some.”
This spring, Zeile got more playing time because he was making the transition across the diamond from third to first.
“He looks better and better,” Bobby Valentine said of Zeile’s defense. “He’s progressing. What I’ve said a thousand times and Todd’s probably reiterated a thousand times, you can’t teach experience.”
But GM Steve Phillips didn’t sign Zeile to a three-year, $18 million contract for his first baseman’s glove. He did it for his bat and that is coming around after the slow start.
