Happy Birthday Don Zimmer!!!
Don Zimmer turns 82 years old today.
‘Zim’ enjoyed a 12-season major league baseball career. And in those 12 years he played for 6 teams, all of them legendary – Brooklyn Dodgers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds, and the Washington Senators. And while nobody would count Zimmer as one of the game’s greats with his career .235 batting average, he was a key contributor for these teams – even making the All-star team as a member of the 1961 Cubs!!
Zimmer is better known as a baseball manager. And while most people’s memories go straight to some of his highly publicized happenings while coaching the Yankees, my memories of ‘Zim’ are firmly planted in the home team’s dugout at Wrigley Field!! Zimmer was managing the team the year(1989) that my family moved to Chicago from Florida. Never having a ‘home’ team before, I was quickly swept up into ‘Cubbie-Fever’. And now, more than 20 years later I still have vivid memories of ‘Zim’ and his division winning team having one heck of an enjoyable season.
‘Zim’ was smiles every step of the way!! Happy Birthday Coach Zimmer!!!
He was recently given his own “Zimbear” sga by the Rays. Thing looks demonic.
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/eye-on-baseball/19654197/rays-add-second-zim-bear-night-nation-rejoices
WHOA!!! Kind of cool, kind of creepy!