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Don Zimmer
Donald William Zimmer (January 17, 1931 – June 4, 2014) was an American infielder, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). Zimmer was involved in professional baseball from 1949 until his death, a span of 65 years, across 8 decades.
Zimmer signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 1949. He played in the major leagues with the Dodgers (1954–1959, 1963), Chicago Cubs (1960–1961), New York Mets (1962), Cincinnati Reds (1962), and Washington Senators (1963–1965). Shortly thereafter came a stint with the Toei Flyers of Nippon Professional Baseball in 1966.
In between, Zimmer saw action in all or parts of 18 minor league seasons spanning 1949–1967. He also played winter baseball with the Elefantes de Cienfuegos and the Tigres de Marianao of the Cuban League during the 1952–53 season, as well as for the 1954–55 Puerto Rican League champion Cangrejeros de Santurce en route to the 1955 Caribbean Series. Zimmer led his team to the Series title, topping all hitters with a .400 batting average (8-for-20), three home runs and a .950 slugging percentage, while claiming Most Valuable Player honors.
During a minor league game on July 7, 1953, Zimmer was struck in the head by a pitch from Jim Kirk and lost consciousness, and developed blood clots on his brain that required two operations. He woke up two weeks later, thinking that it was the day after the game where the incident took place. This eventually led to Major League Baseball adopting mandatory batting helmets as a safety measure to be used by players when at-bat.
Following his retirement as a player, Zimmer began his coaching career. He worked in Minor League Baseball, before coaching the Montreal Expos (1971), San Diego Padres (1972), Boston Red Sox (1974–76, 1992), New York Yankees (1983, 1986, 1996–2003), Cubs (1984–1986), San Francisco Giants (1987), Colorado Rockies (1993–1995), and Tampa Bay Devil Rays / Rays (2004–2014). He served as manager for the Padres (1972–73), Red Sox (1976–1980), Texas Rangers (1981–82), and Cubs (1988–1991).
Zimmer was nicknamed "Zim", "Gerbil", and sometimes "Popeye" because of his facial resemblance to the cartoon character, In addition, he was dubbed "El Galleguito" (The little Galician) in Cuba as well as "El Soldadito" (The little soldier) in Mexico and Puerto Rico.
Zimmer began his career in 1949 with the Cambridge Dodgers of the Class-D Eastern Shore League. He then played with the Hornell Dodgers of the Class-D PONY League in 1950, the Elmira Pioneers of the Single-A Eastern League in 1951, the Mobile Bears of the Double-A Southern League in 1952, and the St. Paul Saints of the Triple-A American Association in 1953 and 1954. He made his major league debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1954. Zimmer's big league career lasted 12 seasons, almost exclusively as a utility infielder. Notably, he played for the 1955 World Series champion Brooklyn Dodgers, and with the 1962 New York Mets, who lost a then-record 120 games.
Immediately following his rookie season, Zimmer played winter ball in Puerto Rico, emerging as a dark horse 1955 Caribbean Series MVP on the heavy-hitting 1954–1955 Cangrejeros de Santurce club managed by Herman Franks. Nicknamed El Escuadrón del Pánico (lit. "The Panic Squad"), the team featured future Hall-of-Famers Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente, future All-Stars George Crowe and Sam Jones, local hero Luis Olmo, as well as Negro leagues stars Bob Thurman and Buster Clarkson. It was later described by Zimmer as "probably the best winter league baseball club ever assembled."
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Don Zimmer
Donald William Zimmer (January 17, 1931 – June 4, 2014) was an American infielder, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). Zimmer was involved in professional baseball from 1949 until his death, a span of 65 years, across 8 decades.
Zimmer signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 1949. He played in the major leagues with the Dodgers (1954–1959, 1963), Chicago Cubs (1960–1961), New York Mets (1962), Cincinnati Reds (1962), and Washington Senators (1963–1965). Shortly thereafter came a stint with the Toei Flyers of Nippon Professional Baseball in 1966.
In between, Zimmer saw action in all or parts of 18 minor league seasons spanning 1949–1967. He also played winter baseball with the Elefantes de Cienfuegos and the Tigres de Marianao of the Cuban League during the 1952–53 season, as well as for the 1954–55 Puerto Rican League champion Cangrejeros de Santurce en route to the 1955 Caribbean Series. Zimmer led his team to the Series title, topping all hitters with a .400 batting average (8-for-20), three home runs and a .950 slugging percentage, while claiming Most Valuable Player honors.
During a minor league game on July 7, 1953, Zimmer was struck in the head by a pitch from Jim Kirk and lost consciousness, and developed blood clots on his brain that required two operations. He woke up two weeks later, thinking that it was the day after the game where the incident took place. This eventually led to Major League Baseball adopting mandatory batting helmets as a safety measure to be used by players when at-bat.
Following his retirement as a player, Zimmer began his coaching career. He worked in Minor League Baseball, before coaching the Montreal Expos (1971), San Diego Padres (1972), Boston Red Sox (1974–76, 1992), New York Yankees (1983, 1986, 1996–2003), Cubs (1984–1986), San Francisco Giants (1987), Colorado Rockies (1993–1995), and Tampa Bay Devil Rays / Rays (2004–2014). He served as manager for the Padres (1972–73), Red Sox (1976–1980), Texas Rangers (1981–82), and Cubs (1988–1991).
Zimmer was nicknamed "Zim", "Gerbil", and sometimes "Popeye" because of his facial resemblance to the cartoon character, In addition, he was dubbed "El Galleguito" (The little Galician) in Cuba as well as "El Soldadito" (The little soldier) in Mexico and Puerto Rico.
Zimmer began his career in 1949 with the Cambridge Dodgers of the Class-D Eastern Shore League. He then played with the Hornell Dodgers of the Class-D PONY League in 1950, the Elmira Pioneers of the Single-A Eastern League in 1951, the Mobile Bears of the Double-A Southern League in 1952, and the St. Paul Saints of the Triple-A American Association in 1953 and 1954. He made his major league debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1954. Zimmer's big league career lasted 12 seasons, almost exclusively as a utility infielder. Notably, he played for the 1955 World Series champion Brooklyn Dodgers, and with the 1962 New York Mets, who lost a then-record 120 games.
Immediately following his rookie season, Zimmer played winter ball in Puerto Rico, emerging as a dark horse 1955 Caribbean Series MVP on the heavy-hitting 1954–1955 Cangrejeros de Santurce club managed by Herman Franks. Nicknamed El Escuadrón del Pánico (lit. "The Panic Squad"), the team featured future Hall-of-Famers Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente, future All-Stars George Crowe and Sam Jones, local hero Luis Olmo, as well as Negro leagues stars Bob Thurman and Buster Clarkson. It was later described by Zimmer as "probably the best winter league baseball club ever assembled."