Don Zimmer

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Donald William Zimmer (born January 17, 1931 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is a former infielder, manager and coach in Major League Baseball.

Contents 1 Playing career 2 Coaching and managing career 3 Other information 4 External links

[edit] Playing career

Zimmer, nicknamed "Zim," "The Designated Gerbil," 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 persevered.

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.

[edit] Coaching and managing career

After his retirement, Zimmer managed in the minor leagues until 1971 when he joined the Montreal Expos as third base coach. He took a similar job with the San Diego Padres in 1972, but after only 11 games he was called on to replace Preston Gomez as manager.

After being fired by the Padres at the close of the 1973 campaign, he served as the third-base coach for the Boston Red Sox for 2½ seasons. Working under skipper Darrell Johnson, Zimmer's tenure included a memorable event during Game 6 of the 1975 World Series. Boston had the bases loaded and none out in the home half of the ninth inning. A soft fly to left field was too shallow to score the winning run, but baserunner Denny Doyle thought Zimmer's shouts of "No! No! No!" were actually "Go! Go! Go!" He ran for home, and was thrown out at the plate. That play, and Dwight Evans' brilliant catch off Joe Morgan in extra innings, set up Carlton Fisk's classic, game-winning home run.

The 1976 Red Sox never got untracked under Johnson, and he was fired in July. Zimmer was named acting, then permanent, manager and he led them to winning record, but a disappointing third-place finish in the AL East. The Red Sox would win more than 90 games in Zimmer's three full seasons (1977-79) 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 among Red Sox fans for the team's dramatic collapse during the 1978 season. After leading the American League East by as many as 10 games, the Red Sox stumbled in August. They recovered long enough to build a four-game cushion on the surging New York Yankees. However, in a four-game series in early September, that lead evaporated; the Yankees blew out the Red Sox in a series still known as "the Boston Massacre."

The Red Sox spent the last month of the season trading first place with the Yankees, forcing a one-game playoff on October 2. In that game, the Yankees triumphed on a legendary home run by Bucky Dent over the Fenway Park Green Monster.

During this stretch, Zimmer made several questionable personnel moves. He never got along with lefthanded starting pitcher Bill "Spaceman" Lee. For example, he gave the starting assignment in the last game of the "Massacre" to Bobby Sprowl, who had only been called up from Class AAA Pawtucket a few days earlier. In doing so, he passed over both Lee (who won 12 out of 17 decisions against the Yankees in 10 years with Boston) and Luis Tiant. Sprowl allowed four walks, one hit and one run; he didn't make it out of the first inning and made only three more major-league starts.

Zimmer also penciled catcher Carlton Fisk into the lineup 154 times (out of 162 games) - a shocking number for a catcher; Fisk missed most of the next season with a sore arm. Finally, Zimmer kept third baseman Butch Hobson in the lineup, even though Hobson's elbow miseries made it impossible for him to hit for power or average, or throw accurately. Hobson made error after error, until finally Zimmer called on Jack Brohamer to replace him; with Brohamer at third, Boston won its last eight games of the regular season to force a tie with the Yankees. But they lost the playoff game on Dent's homer. To this day, Red Sox fans have never forgiven him.

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 for one season as a coach (under manager Hobson) in 1992.

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. He was also once hit with an errant throw from Yankee second baseman Chuck Knoblauch. The next game, Zimmer wore an army helmet with the word "ZIM" painted on the side. 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.

[edit] Other information

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.

[edit] External links

• Baseball-Reference.com - career playing statistics and managing record

Preceded by Tommy Lasorda	National League Manager of the Year 1989	Succeeded by Jim Leyland
Preceded by Preston Gomez	San Diego Padres manager 1972–1973	Succeeded by John McNamara
Preceded by Darrell Johnson	Boston Red Sox manager 1976–1980	Succeeded by Johnny Pesky
Preceded by Pat Corrales	Texas Rangers manager 1981-1982	Succeeded by Darrell Johnson
Preceded by Frank Lucchesi	Chicago Cubs manager 1988–1991	Succeeded by Joe Altobelli