Sad news. Zim spent time with and made a significant impact on the Red Sox, the Yankees and the Rays, now three pretty big rivals. A baseball lifer, well respected and highly regarded he will be sorely missed by all those he touched. One of the quotes about Zim was "..the best baseball man I know" an indication of the powerful influence he had on the players and fellow coaches he interacted with. RIP Zim.
from Yahoo Sports:
Don Zimmer dies at 83 — he lived a baseball life that could not be duplicated | Big League Stew - Yahoo Sports:
Baseball is without Don Zimmer now. He died Wednesday at age 83. After his heart surgery in April, Zimmer remained hospitalized because of fibrosis in his lungs. His son, Tom Zimmer, told the Tampa Bay Times that his father went peacefully. "He just faded away."
In Major League Baseball, however, Zimmer will do no such thing. He'll be remembered as a treasure of the game. Commissioner Bud Selig called him one of the game's "most universally beloved figures." Jim Leyland said there's no better person in life than Zimmer. Pick someone in baseball, anyone, they're saying good things about Don Zimmer right now.
Zimmer won six World Series, a manager of the year award and was an All-Star twice. Zimmer played with Jackie Robinson and coached Derek Jeter, bookends of a baseball life that can't be duplicated.'via Blog this'
I remember when he would come to his grandson's games in St. Petersburg, Florida and just sat in the stands and watched quietly like any other proud grandfather. Other than the occasional comment from an admirer -- "That's Don Zimmer siting over there" -- you wouldn't have even known he was there.
In an arena where alpha males throw out their chests and are all too ready to let you know who they are, what they are and where they are at every waking moment, he seemed like a very humble guy with a great perspective on baseball and life. He will be sorely missed.
No comments:
Post a Comment