| Don Zimmer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Infielder /Manager | |
| Born:(1931-01-17)January 17, 1931 Cincinnati,Ohio, U.S. | |
| Died: June 4, 2014(2014-06-04) (aged 83) Dunedin, Florida, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| July 2, 1954, for the Brooklyn Dodgers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 2, 1965, for the Washington Senators | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .235 |
| Home runs | 91 |
| Runs batted in | 352 |
| Managerial record | 885–858 |
| Winning % | .508 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Managerial record at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
As player
As manager
As coach | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Donald William Zimmer (January 17, 1931 – June 4, 2014) was an Americaninfielder,manager, andcoach inMajor League Baseball (MLB). Zimmer was involved in professionalbaseball from 1949 until his death, a span of 65 years, across 8 decades.[1]
Zimmer signed with theBrooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 1949. He played in the major leagues with the Dodgers (1954–1959, 1963),Chicago Cubs (1960–1961),New York Mets (1962),Cincinnati Reds (1962), andWashington Senators (1963–1965). Shortly thereafter came a stint with theToei Flyers ofNippon Professional Baseball in 1966.
In between, Zimmer saw action in all or parts of 18 minor league seasons spanning 1949–1967. He also played winter baseball with theElefantes de Cienfuegos[2] and theTigres de Marianao[3] of the Cuban League during the 1952–53 season, as well as for the 1954–55 Puerto Rican League championCangrejeros de Santurce en route to the1955 Caribbean Series. Zimmer led his team to the Series title, topping all hitters with a .400 batting average (8-for-20), three home runs and a .950 slugging percentage, while claimingMost Valuable Player honors.[4][5]
During a minor league game on July 7, 1953, Zimmer was struck in the head by a pitch from Jim Kirk and lost consciousness, and developed blood clots on his brain that required two operations.[6][7][8] He woke up two weeks later, thinking that it was the day after the game where the incident took place. This eventually led to Major League Baseball adopting mandatory batting helmets as a safety measure to be used by players when at-bat.
Following his retirement as a player, Zimmer began his coaching career. He worked inMinor League Baseball, before coaching theMontreal Expos (1971),San Diego Padres (1972),Boston Red Sox (1974–76, 1992),New York Yankees (1983, 1986, 1996–2003), Cubs (1984–1986),San Francisco Giants (1987),Colorado Rockies (1993–1995), andTampa Bay Devil Rays / Rays (2004–2014). He served as manager for the Padres (1972–73), Red Sox (1976–1980),Texas Rangers (1981–82), and Cubs (1988–1991).
Zimmer was nicknamed "Zim", "Gerbil", and sometimes "Popeye" because of his facial resemblance to thecartoon character,[9] In addition, he was dubbed "El Galleguito" (The little Galician) in Cuba as well as "El Soldadito" (The little soldier) in Mexico and Puerto Rico.[10]
Zimmer began his career in 1949 with theCambridge Dodgers of the Class-DEastern Shore League. He then played with theHornell Dodgers of the Class-DPONY League in 1950, theElmira Pioneers of the Single-AEastern League in 1951, theMobile Bears of the Double-ASouthern League in 1952, and theSt. Paul Saints of the Triple-AAmerican Association in 1953 and 1954. He made his major league debut with theBrooklyn Dodgers in 1954. Zimmer's big league career lasted 12 seasons, almost exclusively as autility infielder. Notably, he played for the1955 World Series champion Brooklyn Dodgers, and with the 1962New York Mets, who lost a then-record 120 games.
Immediately following his rookie season, Zimmer played winter ball in Puerto Rico, emerging as adark horse1955 Caribbean Series MVP on the heavy-hitting 1954–1955 Cangrejeros de Santurce club managed byHerman Franks.[11] Nicknamed El Escuadrón del Pánico (lit. "The Panic Squad"), the team featured futureHall-of-FamersWillie Mays andRoberto Clemente, futureAll-StarsGeorge Crowe andSam Jones, local heroLuis Olmo, as well asNegro leagues starsBob Thurman andBuster Clarkson.[12] It was later described by Zimmer as "probably the best winter league baseball club ever assembled."[5]
While with St. Paul in 1953, Zimmer nearly died after being hit in the temple with a pitch. He was not fully conscious for 13 days, during which holes were drilled in his skull to relieve the pressure of swelling. His vision was blurred, he could neither walk nor talk and his weight plunged from 170 to 124. He was told his career was finished at age 22; nonetheless, the following year Zimmer reached the Major Leagues.
Zimmer was beaned again in 1956 when a fastball thrown by Cincinnati Reds' pitcherHal Jeffcoat broke his cheekbone and almost caused adetached retina[13] but he persevered. Because of these injuries it was widely reported that he had a surgically implanted steel plate in his head.[14] This was false, although the holes drilled in the surgeries following the 1953 beanball were later filled with fourtantalum metal corkscrew-shaped "buttons."[15]
In the major leagues, Zimmer remained with the Los Angeles Dodgers after their move west in 1958. In 1960, the Dodgers traded Zimmer to theChicago Cubs forJohnny Goryl,Ron Perranoski,Lee Handley and $25,000. After the 1961 season, the expansionNew York Mets chose Zimmer from the Cubs as the fifth pick in the premium phase of the1961 Major League Baseball expansion draft, costing the Mets $125,000. In May 1962, the Mets traded Zimmer to theCincinnati Reds forCliff Cook andBob Miller. He returned briefly to the Dodgers in 1963, when the Reds traded him to the Dodgers for Scott Breeden. TheWashington Senators purchased Zimmer from the Dodgers in June 1963. The Senators released Zimmer after the 1965 season, and he played for the Toei Flyers ofNippon Professional Baseball in 1966.
In 12 seasons, Zimmer played 1,095games. He compiled 773hits, 91home runs, 352RBI, 45stolen bases and a .235batting average. He played in theWorld Series with the Dodgers in1955 and1959, and was selected to theNational LeagueAll-Star team in 1961. Although he had a low career batting average, Zimmer was regarded as a fine infielder, willing to fill in atthird base,shortstop, andsecond base. He alsocaught 33 games in his final season with Washington in 1965.
Zimmer served as aplayer-manager for theCincinnati Reds with theDouble-AKnoxville Smokies andTriple-ABuffalo Bisons in 1967.[16] Zimmer ended his playing career after the 1967 season, and he managed the Triple-AIndianapolis Indians in 1968. In 1969, he left the Reds' organization for the expansionSan Diego Padres, piloting theClass-AKey West Padres before moving up to the Triple-ASalt Lake City Bees in 1970.[16]
In 1971, he joined theMontreal Expos as third-base coach, working under former DodgerGene Mauch.[17] He spent a year with Mauch, then returned to the Padres to take up a similar post for 1972. But after only 11 games, he was asked to replacePreston Gómez as San Diego's skipper on April 27. The promotion gave Zimmer, now 41, his first managerial job in the major leagues.[18]
Zimmer compiled a 54–88 record for the remainder of1972, then posted a 60–102 mark in1973, each season finishing last in theNational League West Division. The Padres' attendance woes caused the team's founding majority owner,C. Arnholdt Smith, to sell the club amidst rumors it might move toWashington, D.C. When new ownerRay Kroc bought the team, Zimmer and most of his coaching staff were dismissed.
He then was hired as the third-base coach for theBoston Red Sox, serving for 2½ seasons. Working under skipperDarrell Johnson, Zimmer's tenure included a memorable event during Game 6 of the1975 World Series. Boston had the bases loaded and no one out in the home half of the ninth inning. The score was tied. A soft fly to left field was too shallow to score the winning run, but baserunnerDenny Doyle thought Zimmer's shouts of "No! No! No!" were actually "Go! Go! Go!"[19] He ran for home, and was thrown out at the plate. That play, andDwight Evans' brilliant catch offJoe Morgan in extra innings, set upCarlton Fisk's classic, game-winning home run.
The1976 Red Sox never got on track under Johnson, who was replaced by Zimmer as manager onJuly 19.[20] He led them to a winning record, but a disappointing third-place finish in theAL East.[21] The Red Sox would win more than 90 games in each of Zimmer's three full seasons (1977–1979) as manager, only the second time they had pulled off this feat since World War I. His 1978 team won 99 games, still the fourth-best record in franchise history.
However, he is best remembered amongRed Sox fans for the team's dramatic collapse during the 1978 season. After leading the Yankees by as many as fourteen games, the Red Sox stumbled in August. By early September that lead was reduced to four games.[22] That lead evaporated in a four-game series against the surgingNew York Yankees which is still known as "the Boston Massacre."
The Red Sox spent the last month of the season trading first place with the Yankees, forcing aone-game playoff on October 2. In that game, the Yankees took the lead permanently on a home run byBucky Dent overFenway Park'sGreen Monster.
During this stretch, Zimmer made several questionable personnel moves. He never got along with left-handed starting pitcherBill "Spaceman" Lee. The feeling was mutual; Lee nicknamed Zimmer "the Gerbil." Zimmer's outright hatred of Lee ran so deep that he gave the starting assignment in the last game of the "Massacre" to rookieBobby Sprowl, who had only been called up fromTriple-APawtucket a few days earlier. Reportedly,Carl Yastrzemski pleaded with Zimmer to start Lee, who, along withLuis Tiant, had dominated the Yankees during their careers. (Lee, for example, won 12 out of 17 decisions against the Yankees in 10 years with Boston.) Sprowl allowed four walks, one hit and one run in the first inning before being pulled and made only three more major-league starts.
Zimmer also started Fisk, the team's longtime starting catcher, 154 times (out of a possible 162), a heavy workload for a catcher. Fisk complained of sore knees for much of this stretch and missed most of the next season with a sore arm. Finally, Zimmer kept third basemanButch Hobson in the lineup, even though Hobson's elbow miseries (he had floating bone chips which he frequently rearranged before coming to the plate) made it impossible for him to hit for power or average, or throw accurately. Hobson made 18errors during August and September 1978 (and a league-leading 43 errors for the season, resulting in an abysmal .899fielding percentage). Finally, Zimmer called onJack Brohamer to replace Hobson on September 23; with Brohamer at third, Boston won its last eight games of the regular season to force a tie with the Yankees, but the Red Sox lost the playoff game on home runs by Dent and Reggie Jackson.
Zimmer next managed theTexas Rangers. He spent less than two years in the job and his firing by ownerEddie Chiles was different. Zimmer was fired on a Monday but asked to remain on through Wednesday's game before being replaced byDarrell Johnson.[23] When asked for the reason he fired Zimmer, Chiles said it was "something personal" but refused to elaborate further.[24]
After Texas, Zimmer coached three stints with the Yankees (1983, 1986, 1996–2003), then coached for theSan Francisco Giants in 1987.[17] He served as third base coach for theChicago Cubs from 1984 to 1986. Zimmer took over as manager of the Cubs in 1988. In 1989, he managed the Cubs to a division title and was namedManager of the Year.[25] He was fired as Cubs manager during the 1991 season after a slow start. Later, he returned to Boston for one season as a coach (under manager Hobson) in 1992.[17] Overall, Zimmer won 906 Major League games as a manager.[17]
Zimmer was on the first coaching staff of the expansionColorado Rockies in 1993 under managerDon Baylor. On June 6, 1995, he left the bench during the fifth inning of the game against St. Louis, which came to the surprise of players and staff (he had told Baylor about plans to retire a few weeks beforehand).[26] He was unhappy that Baylor had become close toArt Howe, who was added to the Rockies coaching staff in 1995.[17]
In 1996, he joined the Yankees as theirbench coach for their run of four World Series titles. In 1999, Zimmer filled in for managerJoe Torre while he was recuperating from treatment for prostate cancer.[27] Zimmer went 21–15 while guiding the Yankees during Torre's absence. (This record, however, is credited to Torre's managerial record.)
In 1999, Zimmer was hit by a sharply struck foul ball batted by Yankee second basemanChuck Knoblauch. The next game, Zimmer wore an army helmet with the word "ZIM" painted on the side and the Yankees logo stenciled on the front, which was given to him by Michael Patti, a Madison Avenue advertising executive. This led to the installation of railed fencing in front of the dugouts atYankee Stadium, which eventually became commonplace at all ballparks. Zimmer was involved in an incident withPedro Martínez in the2003 American League Championship Series, when he lunged at Martinez and Martinez defensively maneuvered to the side and pushed him to the ground.[28] Zimmer accepted responsibility for the altercation and was apologetic to his family and the Yankees organization but maintained that Martínez was "one of the most unprofessional players" he had ever known.[29]
Zimmer was a senior advisor for theTampa Bay Rays from 2004 to 2014. His role included assisting the team duringspring training and during home games.[27] Every year, Zimmer incremented his uniform number by one to match the number of years he has worked in baseball. During the 2014 season he wore #66.[30] (In 2014, longtime Tampa Bay third base coachTom Foley wore Zimmer's name and number on the back of his own uniform in tribute.)[31] Zimmer often noted that every paycheck he'd ever gotten came from baseball, and that he never held a job in any other profession.
Zimmer wrote two books,Zim: A Baseball Life, andThe Zen of Zim, that describe his life in baseball, as aplayer,manager, andcoach.
From the 2008 season to his death, Zimmer was one of the last former Brooklyn Dodgers (along with pitchersDon Newcombe andTommy Lasorda and announcerVin Scully) still in baseball in some capacity. Zimmer also served as a member of the advisory board of the Baseball Assistance Team, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to helping former Major League, Minor League, and Negro league players through financial and medical difficulties.
On March 24, 2015, the Rays announced they were retiring number 66 in honor of Zimmer.[32][33]
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| SD | 1972 | 142 | 54 | 88 | .380 | 6th in NL West | – | – | – | – |
| SD | 1973 | 162 | 60 | 102 | .370 | 6th in NL West | – | – | – | – |
| SD total | 304 | 114 | 190 | .375 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
| BOS | 1976 | 76 | 42 | 34 | .553 | 3rd in AL East | – | – | – | – |
| BOS | 1977 | 161 | 97 | 64 | .602 | 3rd in AL East | – | – | – | – |
| BOS | 1978 | 163 | 99 | 64 | .607 | 2nd in AL East | – | – | – | – |
| BOS | 1979 | 160 | 91 | 69 | .569 | 3rd in AL East | – | – | – | – |
| BOS | 1980 | 155 | 82 | 73 | .529 | Fired | – | – | – | – |
| BOS total | 715 | 411 | 304 | .575 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
| TEX | 1981 | 55 | 33 | 22 | .600 | 2nd in AL West | – | – | – | – |
| 50 | 24 | 26 | .480 | 3rd in AL West | ||||||
| TEX | 1982 | 96 | 38 | 58 | .396 | Fired | – | – | – | – |
| TEX total | 201 | 95 | 106 | .473 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
| CHC | 1988 | 162 | 77 | 85 | .475 | 4th in NL East | – | – | – | – |
| CHC | 1989 | 162 | 93 | 69 | .574 | 1st in NL East | 1 | 4 | .200 | LostNLCS (SF) |
| CHC | 1990 | 162 | 77 | 85 | .475 | 5th in NL East | – | – | – | – |
| CHC | 1991 | 37 | 18 | 19 | .486 | Fired | – | – | – | – |
| CHC total | 523 | 265 | 258 | .507 | 1 | 4 | .200 | |||
| Total[34] | 1743 | 885 | 858 | .508 | 1 | 4 | .200 | |||
Zimmer grew up inCincinnati, Ohio. His father owned a wholesale fruit and vegetable company. At home plate before a night game inElmira, New York on August 16, 1951, Zimmer married Soot (Carol Jean Bauerle), whom he had started dating in 10th grade.[1] Until his death in June 2014, they were still married and lived inSeminole, Florida.[27] They had lived in theTampa Bay Area since the late 1950s.[27]
Zimmer's sonThomas is a scout with the San Francisco Giants. Zimmer also had a daughter, Donna, and four grandchildren.[35] A grandson, Beau, works as a reporter atWTSP 10,St. Petersburg, Florida.[36]
In December 2008, Zimmer suffered astroke, causing loss of speech for a week.[37]
On June 4, 2014, Zimmer died at age 83 inDunedin, Florida, from heart and kidney problems.[1][38][39]
Don Zimmer, #Rays senior advisor and baseball legend, has died at age 83, son Tom has told the @TB_Times
· Baseball Reference · Fangraphs · Baseball Reference (Minors) · Retrosheet · Baseball Almanac| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Montreal Exposthird-base coach 1971 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Boston Red Soxthird-base coach 1974–1976 1992 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Franchise established Ron Hassey | Colorado Rockiesthird-base coach 1993 1995 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | New York Yankeesbench coach 1996–2003 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
