Don Zimmer dies at 83; spent more than six decades in baseball
Les Krupel
Don Zimmer dies at 83; spent more than six decades in baseball
· June 4, 2014 10:06pm EDT
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Baseball lost one of its most beloved characters Wednesday night with the death of Don Zimmer.
Zimmer's son Tom announced his father's passing.
Zimmer's grandson Beau also confirmed that Zimmer had died.
Zimmer was proud of the fact that he never had a job in any other field but baseball. His career spanned 66 years, beginning in 1949 when he signed with the Dodgers. His last position was special adviser for the Rays.
MORE: Notable sports deaths of 2014
Zimmer was teammate of Jackie Robinson, played for Hall of Fame managers Walter Alston and Casey Stengel and coached Derek Jeter — quite a span, by any major league measure.
His tenure in baseball was nearly cut short in the 1950s, however, when he suffered a serious head injury a result of being beaned. Doctors placed screws in his head.
He recovered and went on to play through 1967. After retiring, he embarked on a managing and coaching career. He managed the Padres, Red Sox, Rangers, Cubs and Yankees, compiling a .509 winning percentage over parts of 14 seasons. His best-known stint in the dugout was with the BoSox. He was their skipper in 1978 when Boston surrendered a big lead in the AL East to the Yankees, then lost Game No. 163 to New York at Fenway Park. The key blow was a three-run homer by Bucky Dent over the Green Monster.
In 1989 he led the Cubs to the NL East title. Chicago lost to the Giants in the NLCS. The Sporting News featured his club that summer:
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After the season he earned TSN's NL Manager of the Year award.
Later in his career, Zimmer became one of the faces of the Yankees' championship run in the late '90s and early 2000s, as manager Joe Torre's right-hand man.
"I hired him as a coach, and he became like a family member to me," Torre said in a statement Wednesday night. "He has certainly been a terrific credit to the game. The game was his life. And his passing is going to create a void in my life and my wife Ali's. We loved him. The game of baseball lost a special person tonight. He was a good man."
Zimmer's most memorable moment with the Bombers was his charge of Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez during a playoff brawl in 2003.
These are just the highlights of the life of a baseball man who produced an endless volume of tales.
Steve Cea
Read this earlier today . Sad day for MLB and its fans
Steve Cea
Sent from my GS4
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