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| Don Zimmer (1931-2014) |
He never did anything else besides baseball.
Don Zimmer—who
passed away Wednesday at the age of 83—spent 66 years in the sport he loved so much. He was one of a vanishing breed of baseball lifers—and was actually a teammate of the great
Jackie Robinson. Zimmer's managerial career was unfairly linked to the epic collapse of his 1978 Red Sox team—perhaps one of the most talent-laden in baseball history. After leading by 14.5 games in August, they ended the season in a one-game playoff loss to
The Evil Ones and one
Bucky F. Dent. But Zimmer's career was so much bigger than that one season. He complied a .509 winning percentage with Boston,
The Bronx Embalmers, Padres, Rangers and Cubs (who he piloted to the NL East championship in 1989). Personally, I will always remember an encounter my young son and I had with Zim at a BoSox Club luncheon several years ago. I introduced him as a former Red Sox manager—and he sadly talked about the abuse he got in town. Zim deserved better. May he rest in peace.
