Don Zimmer died this week. He was one of those characters that are often found associated with baseball. I never knew him as a player. He was a teammate of Jackie Robinson in Brooklyn, but by the time he got to the bigs, he had already suffered a beaning in the minors. Zimmer's injury was serious enough that had to have brain surgery, and a plate put into his head. Many writers cite Zimmer's beaning as the turning point that led to batting helmets becoming mandatory. It was a good move for baseball, but too late for Zimmer, as he was never the same player he had been before.
But his diminished playing skills probably sped up the clock on Zim's coaching and managerial career. He became a valued instructor. He coached in the minors before moving up to the Expos and Padres. Then, the offer to manage came. He started with the lowly Padres in 1972, but that didn't go well or last long. He joined Darrell Johnson's coaching staff in Boston for the '74 season. He was there in 1975 when Rice and Lynn were rookies, Yaz was the star, Dewey Evans was playing Hall of Fame caliber rightfield, El Tiante was spinning on the mound, and for the first time since '67, the Sox were winners. They played the Big Red Machine in one of the truly epic World Series of all time.
Don Zimmer managed perhaps the best Red Sox team between Bill Corrigan and Tito Francona in 1978. They should have won the American League East that year. They would have won the AL East that year, if not for one Bucky F. Dent. There's a long drive to left...Yastrzemski's not going to get it...It's a home run!
Zimmer later had a stop with the other sad sack franchise of Major League Baseball, the Chicago Cubs. Was it an accident that the Red Sox and Cubs each had success and won under Popeye? (Zim had many nicknames, but when he got mad and argued with umpires, his eyes would bug out, he would turn red, and he looked like Popeye) Was it an accident that the Yankees last dynasty was guided by the totally unflappable Joe Torre and his bench coach/Yoda, Don Zimmer? No. There are no accidents. Don Zimmer knew the game. Don Zimmer taught the game. Don Zimmer managed the game. And on the rare occasions that his players were anywhere near good, he won the game.
Zim was what is called a "Baseball Lifer." For crying out loud, he married his beloved Soot (Carol Jean), whom he started dating in 10th Grade, in 1951, at home plate, before an Elmira minor league game. She was by his side when he died on Wednesday. His son, Tom, is a scout for the Giants. The Zimmers also have a daughter, Donna, and four grandchildren.
Starting late in his tenure coaching with Torre and the Yankees, Don Zimmer began wearing a uniform bearing the number of years he had been in the game. His last stop was as an instructor and advisor with the Tampa Bay Rays. His uniform this year carried the number 66.
Zim isn't in the Hall of Fame. But he managed, coached and taught the game to a lot of men who are. And several of them have come forward this week to say that without Don Zimmer, they might not be there, either.
And the game certainly would not have been as much fun, had Zip Zimmer not been there.
