RIP Don Zimmer

[BenPoquette]

I am hearing that Zim passed today...will never forget Pedro tossing him to the ground.

 

[93Devil]

RIP

Does he go into heaven wearing a Cubs, Sox or Yankee hat?

 

[Corky Ramirez up on 94th St.]

As a Red Sox fan, the first thing that comes to mind is Denny Doyle hearing "Go go go" and Zimmer saying it was "No no no" when George Foster threw Doyle out at the plate in Game 6.

RIP to Popeye. Quite a life in baseball.

Edit to show this clip when he was with the Cubs (the great 30-minute argument that included the fight with Mario Soto), where you can see how intense he just was: http://youtu.be/qAhzFOBKrE8?t=8m16s
Hell, just watch the entire clip.

 

[YankeeFan]

Oh no!

 

[Gator]

Will be remembered by young people as the guy who charged Pedro and thrown to the ground. That's kind of sad.

 

[Steak Snabler]

Zimmer was nearly killed when he was beaned in the minor leagues in 1953. He was administered the last rites and spent two weeks in a coma.

Then he woke up and lived another 60 years.

 

[BDC99]

RIP

Does he go into heaven wearing a Cubs, Sox or Yankee hat?

Rays? Nah, has to be Yankees, no? RIP to a true sports icon.

 

[BDC99]

Will be remembered by young people as the guy who charged Pedro and thrown to the ground. That's kind of sad.

Not really. I think most people who saw that could sense the respect Zimmer had within the game.

 

[spikechiquet]

When I think of Zimmer, I think Cubs.

And yes kids..he was more than just the guy that Pedro tossed to the side.

 

[BDC99]

He sure bounced around a lot, but it looks like his best years were with the Cubs. I was not even a gleam in my father's eye when he retired, so I mostly remember him as a coach.

 

[Steak Snabler]

Zimmer won his first World Series ring as a utility infielder with the Dodgers in 1955.

But his pettiness helped cost the Red Sox the division in 1978. He so hated Bill Lee that he refused to start him in a key series against the Yankees. Rookie Bobby Sprowl started instead, and got torched.

Anyway, RIP to a pretty good player, a great "baseball man" and a so-so manager. Zimmer's one of the last guys who could say he earned every dollar he ever made in his life from baseball.

 

[Corky Ramirez up on 94th St.]

But his pettiness helped cost the Red Sox the division in 1978. He so hated Bill Lee that he refused to start him in a key series against the Yankees. Rookie Bobby Sprowl started instead, and got torched.

Thus earning him the nickname 'Gerbil' from Lee.

 

[Boom_70]

One of my favorite Zim memories.

RIP

 

[Bubbler]

When I think of Zimmer, I think Cubs.

And yes kids..he was more than just the guy that Pedro tossed to the side.

I think Rangers, but that's because I lived in Dallas when he managed there. RIP.

 

[exmediahack]

Zimmer was either a player, coach or a manager on:
Dodgers
Cubs
Mets
Reds
Senators II/Rangers
Padres
Red Sox
Expos
Yankees
Giants
Rockies
Devil Rays

That's 12 different MLB franchises -- that's pretty amazing.

 

[BDC99]

Zimmer was either a player, coach or a manager on:
Dodgers
Cubs
Mets
Reds
Senators II/Rangers
Padres
Red Sox
Expos
Yankees
Giants
Rockies
Devil Rays

That's 12 different MLB franchises -- that's pretty amazing.

Well, he WAS a pretty average player and spent 66 years in baseball. But yeah, pretty cool.

 

[cjericho]

Zimmer won his first World Series ring as a utility infielder with the Dodgers in 1955.

But his pettiness helped cost the Red Sox the division in 1978. He so hated Bill Lee that he refused to start him in a key series against the Yankees. Rookie Bobby Sprowl started instead, and got torched.

Anyway, RIP to a pretty good player, a great "baseball man" and a so-so manager. Zimmer's one of the last guys who could say he earned every dollar he ever made in his life from baseball.

That sums it up nicely. He was an old school baseball guy. There's good and bad in that. The my way or the highway sometimes doesn't get you where you want to go. Billy Martin was a more extreme case, as shown with the way he disliked Larry Gura and his relationship with Reggie Jackson.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Also was the first third baseman in Mets history.

As the story goes, he went 0-35 or something, then he got two hits and the Mets traded him. The joke was they traded him while he was hot.

I also remember some sportswriter, I think it was, that described Zimmer's face as looking like a blocked kick, which made me laugh.

RIP

 

[Mark2010]

When I think of Zimmer, I think Cubs.

And yes kids..he was more than just the guy that Pedro tossed to the side.

I think Red Sox and the 1978 collapse.

 

[jr/shotglass]

Zimmer was nearly killed when he was beaned in the minor leagues in 1953. He was administered the last rites and spent two weeks in a coma.

Then he woke up and lived another 60 years.

That wasn't even the bad one, Steak.

He bounced back after that two-week coma and made it to the majors with the Dodgers before the next season was over. Then, in 1956, Hal Jeffcoat was looking for revenge after giving up two early home runs and crushed Zim's cheekbone with a fastball. That's when he was never quite the same.

Consider this: In 1950, he stole 63 bases in a minor-league season. Ten of those were steals of home.

RIP to a true baseball man.