centerfield maz

Wednesday September 10th, 1969: This is one of the most historic days in Mets history as it was on this night that the Amazing Mets took over first place for the first time & never looked back. On August 19th the Chicago Cubs had led the Mets by 9.5 games , but the Cubs soon lost 14 of 21 games including a glorious three game sweep by the Mets at Shea Stadium.  Gil Hodges Mets on the other hand had  won 23 of 29  games & after taking this twin bill sweep, they had seven straight wins. Tonight,  the Mets (83-57) hosted Gene Mauch's last place, expansion Montreal Expos (44-98) in front of 23,512 fans at Shea Stadium.   In the first game Gil Hodges sent Jim McAndrew (6-6) to the mound against Mike Wegener (4-12). Jim  McAndrew had allowed just five earned runs in his last 41innings over five starts, which included two shut outs. In the top of the 1st inning, the Expos Ty Cline led off with a triple. Next, he scored on a...

Tuesday September 9th, 1969: The night after Jerry Koosman's fine pitching performance, the Amazing Mets were hosting the Chicago Cubs for the final matchup of the two teams for the season.  The Mets had gone 10-8 head-to-head with the Cubs in some of the biggest games of the year.  The Mets were red hot, they had won three straights & were now just 1.5 games out of first place behind Leo Durocher's Cubs (84-57). Tonight, 51,448 paid fans came to Shea Stadium, but an estimated 58,000 plus, actually got into the ballpark to see the Amazing's. This was the hottest ticket in town. And one creature got in free & became the star of the night, going down in history, not even knowing it. On the mound, two future Hall of Fame pitchers went at it. The best pitcher in the game, Tom Seaver (20-7) for the Mets went up against the Cubs, Fergie Jenkins (19-12) looking for his twentieth win. This famous game has gone down in Mets history as "The B...

Todd Edward Zeile was born September 9th, 1964, in Van Nuys, California. The same night Sandy Koufax threw a perfect game at Dodger Stadium, some 17 miles away. Presidential Blood : Zeile is a direct descendant of John Adams, the second President of the United States & John  Quincy  Adams the sixth President of the United States. Trivia: Todd's father said he was in attendance at the very first game at Dodger Stadium.  He was also a semi pro baseball player, who once lived in his car during rough times. Mr. Zeile later became a big success heading an aeronautic company.  Todd's mother Sammee (Spooner) Zeile was a newspaper editor.  Todd had one brother who was also a star athlete. UCLA: Todd was first offered a contract by the Kansas City Royals but decided to go to UCLA instead. Zeile was a star catcher for the UCLA Bruins winning the 1986 PAC 10 Southern Division title, on a team that featured ten future MLB players. Zeile was the first pl...