Former MLB infielder Todd Zeile played for a number of teams throughout his 16-year MLB career. But his longest tenure on one team found Zeile living with prominent broadcaster Joe Buck, which he recalled on the SNY pregame show ahead of the team’s matchup against the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday.
Zeile, now an analyst on SNY, played for the Cardinals for the first six years of his career. But before his MLB career got started, both he and Buck spent time in Louisville where Zeile played for and Buck called games for the former Triple-A affiliate of the Cardinals, the Louisville Redbirds.
Zeile got called up to the major leagues midway through the 1989 MLB season. And after being called up, he actually ended up living in Buck’s apartment. Buck had an apartment in St. Louis due to his family ties, with his father Jack Buck working as the play-by-play broadcaster of the Cardinals.
On the SNY Pre Game Show, a clip was shown of a young Joe Buck interviewing Zeile during their time together in Louisville. This prompted Zeile to tell viewers the story of how Buck had let him stay in his apartment, later living with the legendary broadcaster.
“First off, sadly we didn’t get to see Greg Vaughn, who is an old buddy. But Joe Buck was the broadcaster for us in Triple-A Louisville. His dad obviously, Jack Buck, the Hall of Fame broadcaster. So when I got called up to the big leagues, Joe was still finishing up the Triple-A season. So he said ‘Hey, here’s the keys to my apartment. Go live in my apartment.’ Which I did.
“I lived at Joe’s apartment in St. Louis. And then when he came up after September was over, we were roommates. We’ve come a long way. I’d say both of us have come a long way.”
The two have indeed both come a long way since then, as Buck is of course now one of the most recognizable broadcasters in all of sports. Meanwhile Zeile in his own right has had a lengthy tenure with SNY: he’s worked there since 2006, earning himself an Emmy Award in 2022 for Best Sports Analyst.
[SNY]
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.