Don Zimmer dies at 83; spent more than six decades in baseball

Tom Gatto

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Don Zimmer dies at 83; spent more than six decades in baseball image

Baseball lost one of its most beloved characters Wednesday night with the death of Don Zimmer at age 83.

Zimmer had been in a rehabilitation center in Dunedin, Fla., since having seven hours of heart surgery in mid-April.

Zimmer was proud of the fact that he never had a job in any other field but baseball. His career spanned 66 years, beginning in 1949 when he signed with the Dodgers. His last position was senior adviser for the Rays.

MORE: Classic photos of Don Zimmer | Notable sports deaths of 2014

Zimmer was teammate of Jackie Robinson, played for Hall of Fame managers Walter Alston and Casey Stengel and coached Derek Jeter — quite a span, by any major league measure.

"Zim was around when I first came up. He was someone that taught me a lot about the game — he's been around, he's pretty much seen everything," Jeter said after the Yankees lost to Oakland 7-4. "His stories, his experiences."

His tenure in baseball was nearly cut short in 1953, however, when while playing in the minors he was beaned and left in a coma. Doctors had to put metal screws in his head..

He recovered and went on to play through 1967. After retiring, he embarked on a managing and coaching career. He managed the Padres, Red Sox, Rangers, Cubs and Yankees, compiling a .509 winning percentage over parts of 14 seasons. His best-known stint in the dugout was with the BoSox. He was their skipper in 1978 when Boston surrendered a big lead in the AL East to the Yankees, then lost Game No. 163 to New York at Fenway Park. The key blow was a three-run homer by Bucky Dent over the Green Monster.

In 1989 he led the Cubs to the NL East title. Chicago lost to the Giants in the NLCS. The Sporting News featured his club that summer:

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After the season he earned TSN's NL Manager of the Year award.

Later in his career, Zimmer became one of the faces of the Yankees' championship run in the late '90s and early 2000s, as manager Joe Torre's right-hand man.

"I hired him as a coach, and he became like a family member to me," Torre said in a statement Wednesday night. "He has certainly been a terrific credit to the game. The game was his life. And his passing is going to create a void in my life and my wife Ali's. We loved him. The game of baseball lost a special person tonight. He was a good man."

"Great baseball man. A baseball lifer. Was a mentor to me," teary-eyed Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.

Zimmer's most memorable moment with the Bombers was his charge of Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez during a playoff brawl in 2003.

Other reactions to Zimmer's death from around the sport:

From Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg: "Today we all lost a national treasure and a wonderful man."

Zimmer's No. 66 jersey (for his years in baseball) had been worn recently by longtime Tampa Bay third base coach Tom Foley in tribute. Foley was crying in the dugout after learning of Zimmer's death.

Said Rays third baseman Evan Longoria: "He taught me a lot of things, and those days of sitting in the dugout with him will be missed."

The Rays announced that they will honor Zimmer with a moment of silence at Thursday's game vs. the Marlins at Tropicana Field and will conduct a special pregame ceremony prior to the Rays-Mariners game on Saturday.

Zimmer is survived by his wife, Jean "Soot" Zimmer; a son, Thomas, a scout with the Giants; a daughter, Donna, and four grandchildren.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.