Don Zimmer
Donald William Zimmer (born
January 17,
1931 in
Cincinnati, Ohio) is a former
infielder,
manager and coach in
Major League Baseball.
Zimmer, nicknamed both "Zim" and "
Popeye", began his career in 1949 at
Cambridge of the (Maryland)
Eastern Shore League. He then played in
Hornell, New York,
Elmira, New York,
Mobile, Alabama, and finally
St. Paul, Minnesota before making it to the major leagues with the
Brooklyn Dodgers in
1954. Zimmer's rise to the major leagues was amazing considering he nearly died after being hit with a pitch while with St. Paul in
1953. He was beaned again in 1956 but he perservered.
In the major leagues, Zimmer remained with the Los Angeles Dodgers after their move west in
1958, then playing for the
Chicago Cubs, the first
New York Mets team in
1962, and the
Cincinnati Reds; he returned briefly to the Dodgers in
1963, before finishing his career with the
Washington Senators.
In 12 seasons, Zimmer played 1095
games. He compiled 773
hits, 91
home runs, 352
RBI, 45
stolen bases and a .235
batting average. He played in the
World Series with the Dodgers in
1955 and
1959, and was selected to the
National League All-Star team in
1961.
Although he had a low batting average, Zimmer was a fine infielder, willing to fill in at
third base,
shortstop, and
second base. He also
caught 33 games in his final season with Washington in
1965.
After his retirement, Zimmer managed in the
minor leagues until
1971 when he joined the
Montreal Expos. He was coaching the
San Diego Padres when he was called on to replace
Preston Gomez as manager. After being fired by the Padres, he coached and managed the
Boston Red Sox, leading them into a one-game playoff with the
New York Yankees for the
1978 American League Eastern Division title; the Yankees triumphed on a legendary home run by
Bucky Dent over the
Fenway Park Green Monster. Zimmer then managed the
Texas Rangers, coached three stints with the Yankees, and coached and managed the Cubs – leading them to the NL Eastern Division title in
1989 – before returning to Boston.
Zimmer was on the first coaching staff of the expansion
Colorado Rockies in
1993. In
1996, he joined the Yankees as their
bench coach for their run of four World Series titles. Many fans know him for his "
brawl" with
Pedro Martinez in the
2003 American League Championship Series. Currently, Zimmer is a senior advisor for the
Tampa Bay Devil Rays. His role includes assisting the team during
spring training and during home games.
Overall, Zimmer won 906 major league games as a manager. With the Cubs, he was named
Manager of the Year in
1989. He is the last former Brooklyn Dodger still serving on the field in some capacity.
He has written 2 books,
Zim: A Baseball Life, and
The Zen of Zim, that describe his life in baseball, as a
player,
manager, and
coach.
On April 18, 2006, the Boston-based magazine
Phoenix gave Zimmer the title of "29th unsexiest male celebrity".[
1]
He likes to brag that he had never drawn a paycheck outside of baseball.
*
Baseball-Reference.com - career playing statistics and managing record
