Rest in Peace, Don Zimmer

Yesterday the baseball world lost an icon in Don Zimmer. A Cincinnati native, Zimmer passed away in Florida yesterday after complications from a heart surgery in April. He was still a special assistant to the Rays and was at the ballpark every day. His wife of 63 years survives him. He was 83.

Courtesy of the Rays on Instagram.

Zimmer had been in baseball for 66 years, beginning with his road to the show. His rookie year with the Dodgers in 1954 and from there he would spend time with the Cubs, Reds, Senators (soon to be Rangers) and brand new Mets in 1962. Though Zimmer never was an offensive threat (.235 career average), he was selected to an All-Star game in 1961 with the Cubs. 

After his career as a player, he went on to manage, like many former players do. His managerial career ended just above .500, going 885-858, a winning percentage of .508 and winning Manager of the Year in 1989 with his 93-69 Cubs. 

He spent the rest of his time around baseball coaching and being an assistant, but being in the game for 66 years (79.5% of his lifetime), just think of all the history he not only got to witness firsthand but of which he was a direct part. Even as a rookie, he got to play alongside Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Gil Hodges, and Pee Wee Reese, just to name a few. His 2nd full year in the MLB, as a 24-year old, the Dodgers won a World Series over the crosstown rival Yankees. He was on the Dodgers for when the Dodgers moved to LA and shook the town of New York. With Chicago in the early 60's he got to play with Ernie Banks, Mr. Cub himself, and Hall of Famer Ron Santo, who was then only 20 years old. 

After his short stint in the Windy City, Zimmer was called back to the Big Apple as one of the formative players for the 1962 Mets, the newest franchise on the block. He got to play for Casey Stengel, a managerial legend, and got to kick off a new franchise in his former city. How cool must that have been? He was the original Mets third basemen. Just a few years later he won another World Series ring with the '63 Dodgers, where he got to play behind Sandy Koufax's 25-5 and Don Drysdale's 19-17 seasons (for 22 games at least). And then he was a part of another new organization, the Washington Senators. Their first season was 1961 and Zimmer came to join the team shortly thereafter for the last half of the 1963 season. 

He saw even more history as a coach. Four World Series wins with the Yankees, the Rays rise to greatness under Joe Maddon, he saw the birth of the Montreal Expos as their third base coach in 1971 and he was a coach for Carlton Fisk's "waving home run" in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series. These are just a few of the amazing moments he lived - he's almost like the Forrest Gump of baseball (that he got to see so many amazing things not that he's a shrimp salesman).

Zimmer never left the game despite bouncing around from team to team and city to city. In fact, his tenure with the Rays from 2004 to now was the longest he's ever spent in a city. It seems an appropriate end to a beautifully long career. This link is a great ESPN article celebrating the career of a true baseball life.

Rest in peace, Zim. Thanks for reading.