EVENTS
 Sportsman of the Year
 Heisman Trophy
 Swimsuit 2001

2. New York Mets

Will a new look -- more power, less speed and a long-sought ace -- produce more wins?

By Jeff Pearlman

Offense Defense Starting Pitching Bullpen Manager 1999 Record 97-66 (second in NL East) Batting Order LF Rickey Henderson CF Darryl Hamilton 2B Edgardo Alfonzo C Mike Piazza 3B Robin Ventura 1B Todd Zeile RF Derek Bell SS Rey Ordoñez IF Melvin Mora Bench OF Jay Payton OF Jon Nunnally IF Matt Franco C Todd Pratt Starters LH Mike Hampton LH Al Leiter RH Rick Reed RH Bobby J. Jones LH Glendon Rusch Bullpen RH Armando Benitez LH John Franco LH Dennis Cook RH Turk Wendell RH Pat Mahomes LH Bobby M. Jones Next Up... His legend was secured against the Braves in Game 6 of the 1999 National League Championship Series. Melvin Mora, an eight-year minor leaguer, had entered as a pinch hitter in the eighth. Two innings later he fielded an Ozzie Guillen single to right and made a stunning, one-bounce throw to nail Ryan Klesko at third. "People get excited over the things they see," says Mets manager Bobby Valentine, "but Melvin doesn't really have a Grade A arm. He has other tools that make it seem that way." Like good instincts. And a quick release. And versatility. The 28-year-old Mora, who spent part of the 1998 season in Taiwan, played well enough in last year's playoffs (including a Game 2 homer against Atlanta) to all but secure a utility spot on New York's 2000 roster. He plays six positions -- all relatively smoothly. "The more I can do," says Mora, "the more valuable I am." The Book An opposing team's scout sizes up the Mets: "Mike Hampton, Al Leiter and Rick Reed are a great top three, but there's not much after that.... The righthanded Bobby Jones has marginal stuff. He tries too hard to be perfect. Bill Pulsipher has never reached the level he was at in the minors. The other Bobby Jones, the lefty from Colorado, has a ton of arm strength, but I don't think he'll ever be consistent. He has a funky arm action -- he never throws the same way twice.... Todd Zeile was a good pickup to replace John Olerud at first, but he doesn't stand out in the lineup. People can pitch around Mike Piazza more now, and Zeile hits into a lot of double plays.... Piazza is a terrible defensive catcher -- stone hands, not much movement. But his offense clearly makes up for it. His power is monstrous. Still, they'd be better with Zeile catching and Piazza at first.... Derek Bell was horrible last year. He's definitely on the downswing.... Rickey Henderson is still one of the best leadoff hitters around. He'll steal bases, he'll get on at a .400 clip. But he's such a pain in the ass, I'd rather do without him."

Todd Zeile is so Cali surfer boy that one could easily squeeze his head and uncork two duuudes, a bitchin' and a bottle of sun block. There's just something about the Van Nuys native's mannerisms -- real laid back, real slow talkin'. Everything is taken in stride. Panic is never seen. Hang loose. Kick it. "That's my image," says Zeile, laughing, "and it's not even close to being right."

This off-season, when he agreed to a three-year, $18 million deal to leave Texas, join the Mets and switch from third to first base, the 34-year-old Zeile was bombarded with questions from friends and relatives, mostly along the lines of Have you gone mental? Zeile was a key factor in the Rangers' winning two straight American League West titles. He was happy and comfortable in Arlington. "I wasn't lying when I told people I thought New York had the best chance of reaching the World Series," he says, "but there was another reason I came here."

Although Zeile must adjust to a new team and a new position -- again -- at least he's comfortable with life in New York.Bob Rosato

Simply put, the surfer boy is a Noo Yawkah at heart. He recently rented an apartment in Manhattan's East Village. His favorite restaurant, Da Tommaso, is located in midtown. "And the museums are just spectacular," says Zeile, whose hands-down favorite -- "because my son loves the dinosaurs" -- is the Museum of Natural History. "The cultural diversity of New York was a huge draw for me," says Zeile. "How couldn't you be excited?"

Reason 1: Ed Whitson Disease (a.k.a. big-time pressure). Zeile will be expected to start 150 games, hit 25 to 30 home runs, drive in 90 to 100 runs and play stellar defense at a position where he has 76 games of big league experience -- and do so while Mets fans retain fresh memories of John Olerud, a soft-handed, even-tempered Big Apple favorite who, before signing a free-agent deal with the Mariners, used to ride the number 7 train to Shea. To meet the defensive demands, Zeile spent much of his spring working with former Mets Gold Glover Keith Hernandez, who preached the concepts of good footwork and balance.

Zeile's main challenge won't be learning the pitchers in the NL (where he has spent nearly 10 of his 11 major league seasons) but finding the bag without looking, getting in proper position and holding runners on. He is, until otherwise proven, the weak link in what was baseball's best defensive infield last season. "It's not an easy transition," says manager Bobby Valentine, "but Todd's a great athlete, and he seems to understand the game well."

Plus, he's been through this before. Two years after Zeile started 105 games as a rookie catcher with St. Louis, in 1990, then Cardinals skipper Joe Torre moved him to third base. It was a heartbreaking switch. "I took pride in being a good defensive catcher," Zeile says. Since then he has avoided an infielder's boredom by imagining games through a catcher's eyes, still calling each pitch to himself.

Zeile is part of a mini-makeover that, if things go according to plan, will allow the Mets to overtake the Braves and win their first division title in 12 seasons. The other big pickup was Mike Hampton, who placed second to Arizona's Randy Johnson in last season's NL Cy Young Award voting. Hampton, acquired for speedy outfielder Roger Cedeño and pitching prodigy Octavio Dotel, allows the rest of the staff to fall into place. Fellow lefthander Al Leiter isn't a No. 1 starter, a role he had filled by default, but he fits in perfectly behind Hampton. Leiter spent much of the off-season tinkering with his cut fastball, a pitch that guided him to 17 wins and a 2.47 ERA two years ago but regularly missed the corners in 1999. "I probably controlled the inside and outside of the plate one out of every five starts last year," says Leiter. "If you do that three or four times out of five, you win 20 games." Valentine is counting on righty Bobby J. Jones (not to be confused with lefty teammate Bobby M. Jones), an All-Star in '97, to rebound from the shoulder injury that limited him to nine starts, and steady righty Rick Reed to win his 10 to 15 games.

Although the Mets lost much of their speed with the departure of Cedeño and his team-record 66 steals, they should make up for it with enhanced pop. Zeile won't walk as often as Olerud, but he'll hit more home runs. Catcher Mike Piazza, third baseman Robin Ventura and second baseman Edgardo Alfonzo are good for about 30 homers each, and 31-year-old rightfielder Derek Bell, acquired with Hampton, slumped last season but had 22 homers and 108 RBIs in 1998.

"Clearly, we look like an improved team," says Ventura, who, like shortstop Rey Ordoñez, won a Gold Glove in '99, "but you never know how things will mesh until you go out and play. I've been on teams with great talent that just don't work. Everyone has to come through."

That starts with Zeile, the catcher in infielder's clothes.

Issue date: March 27, 2000

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