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Don “The Gerbil” Zimmer Photo Gallery
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Let’s Remember Baseball Lifer Don Zimmer and His 66 Years in the Game!
“Hey, it’s been a great ride for me, a great life. Everything I have I owe to baseball. Baseball owes me nothin’. Ain’t nobody has to give me nothin’. I would be embarrassed if I had a day somewhere. I don’t want no day. I want friends, to live my life the way I wanna live it.” –Don Zimmer
Ah yes…Great words spoken like a true baseball lifer. And when you’ve been in the game for 66 years, you qualify as a lifer!
As I was watching the Yankees and Red Sox in their wild card game last night, I have to admit that my baseball history antenna was real active. I found myself thinking about all the players in history who have played for both teams and had partaken in this great rivalry.
230 Played For Both Teams
Doing a little research I found that there have been 230 players in major league history that have played for both teams, including some pretty big names. Of course, any such list would have to be headed by the great Bambino himself. But the Babe’s not the only Hall-of-Famer. The HOF list includes Jack Chesboro, Herb Pennock, Red Ruffing, Waite Hoyt, Herb Pennock, and Wade Boggs. Other notable names include Duffy Lewis, Sparky Lyle, David Wells, Carl Mays, Elston Howard, Johnny Damon, Luis Tiant, Ben Chapman, Roger Clemens, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Rick Cerone.
In spite of all these big names, I found myself thinking about Don Zimmer, a guy who never played for these teams, but played a significant role in the history of both. Who can ever forget the photo of Pedro Martinez shoving Zim down to the
Pedro Martinez throws Zim to the ground
ground in 2003, or the one of Zim wearing an army helmet after a beaning in the dugout? So here’s a few words about the career of one of the most beloved characters in the history of the game, Don “Popeye” Zimmer.
A Real Baseball Lifer!
Like his Dodger teammate, Tommy Lasorda, Zim was also a baseball lifer whose career covered a continuous span of 66 years. Claiming he never drew a paycheck outside of baseball, Zim broke in professionally with the Class-D Cambridge Dodgers of the Eastern Shore League in 1949, and was still in the game as an advisor to the Tampa Bay Rays in 2014, the year of his death.
Zim made his major league debut with the Dodgers in 1954, and over his 12-year career (1954-1965), he played for the Dodgers, Cubs, Mets, Reds, Senators, and later, the Toei Flyers in Japan. Primarily a utility infielder, Zim batted .235, with 773 hits, 91 home runs, and 352 RBI. An All-Star in 1951, Zim was regarded as a fine defensive infielder, and was a member of two Dodgers’ World Series championship teams (1955 and ’59).
Forty-Seven Years Coaching and Managing
Following his playing days, in 1967 Zim, nicknamed “the Gerbil” by Spaceman Bill Lee, started on a 47-year coaching and managing career at both the minor and major league levels. In the majors, he managed the Padres, Red Sox, Rangers, and Cubs, compiling an 885-858 (.508) record. In 1989, he managed the Cubs to a division title and was named Manager of the Year. He coached for 11 different major league teams, most notably serving as the Yankee bench coach under Joe Torre (1996-2003) during which time the team won four World Series titles.
Memorable Moments:
- A true baseball life, Zim was married at home plate at Dunn Field in Elimira, NY on August 16, 1951 (see photo in gallery above).
- In 1953, Zim nearly died after being hit in the temple with a pitch. He suffered a brain injury that required surgery and was not fully conscious for 13 days. This led to major league baseball adopting batting helmets.
- In 1962, Zim became one of the “Original Mets,” choosing him from the Cubs as their fifth pick.
- Zim was the third base coach in Game Six of the 1975 World Series. The Red Sox had the bases loaded and none out in the bottom of the ninth with the score tied. Zim yelled “No! No! No!” to Denny Doyle on third after a short fly ball. Unfortunately, Doyle thought he yelled, “Go! Go! Go!” and was thrown out at the plate in a crucial play, setting the stage for Carlton Fisk’s dramatic home run.
- In spite of winning more than 90 games in each of his three seasons as Red Sox manager, he is best remembered for the collapse of the 1978 season. The Sox led at one point by as many as 14 games, but lost a one-game playoff to the Yankees on Bucky Dent’s dramatic home run.
- Fans remember his “brawl” with Pedro Martínez in the 2003 American League Championship Series, when Zimmer ran at Martinez and Martinez threw him to the ground.
- While sitting on the Yankee bench, Zim was once hit by a sharply hit foul ball. The next game, Zim appeared in the dugout wearing an army helmet with
Zim wearing an Army helmet after getting hit by a foul ball in the dugout.
the word “ZIM” painted on the side.
- From the 2008 season to his death, Zimmer was one of the last former Brooklyn Dodgers (besides pitcher Don Newcombe who has since passed away, and announcer Vin Scully, now retired) still in baseball in some capacity.
Zim’s last baseball job was as a senior advisor for the Tampa Bay Rays. Every year, Zim incremented his uniform number by one to match the number of years he has worked in baseball. During the 2014 season, he wore #66, which has been retired by the Rays.
One of the most beloved figures in the game, Don Zimmer died at age 83 on June 4, 2014. Zim has been elected to the Red Sox Hall of Fame.
Gary Livacari
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Information: Excerpts edited from Don Zimmer Wikipedia page; Article on Boston-Yankee players by Ernesto Cova, August 14, 2020