Popeye is dead

[Chuck Nessa]

Don Zimmer RIP

[mjzee]

He had quite the career. From Wikipedia:

Zimmer signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 1949. He played in MLB with the Dodgers (1954–1959, 1963), Chicago Cubs (1960–1961), New York Mets (1962), Cincinnati Reds (1962), andWashington Senators (1963–1965). He also played for the Toei Flyers of Nippon Professional Baseball in 1966. Zimmer also saw action in the Latin American winter baseball leagues, specifically in Cuba with theTigres de Marianao and a team in Cienfuegos, Mexico and Puerto Rico. Zimmer was nicknamed "El Galleguito" (The Gallegan) in Cuba and "El Soldadito" (The small soldier) in Mexico and Puerto Rico.

During a minor league game on July 7, 1953, Zimmer was struck by a pitch thrown by pitcher Jim Kirk, causing Zimmer to faint. He suffered a brain injury that required surgery. He woke up two weeks later, thinking that it was the day after the game where the incident took place. This led to Major League Baseball adopting batting helmets as a safety measure to be used by players when at-bat. Phil Rizzuto was the first player to use the batting helmets.^[1]

Following his retirement as a player, Zimmer began his coaching career. He worked in minor league baseball, before coaching the Montreal Expos (1971), San Diego Padres (1972), Boston Red Sox (1974–1976, 1992) New York Yankees (1983, 1986, 1996–2003), Cubs (1984–1986), San Francisco Giants (1987), Colorado Rockies (1993–1995), and Tampa Bay Devil Rays / Rays (2004–2014). He served as manager for the Padres (1972–1973), Red Sox (1976–1980), Texas Rangers (1981–1982), and Cubs (1988–1991).

[MomsMobley]

[Kevin Bresnahan]

It's funny that the Wiki article fails to mention his nickname while in Boston: The Gerbil.

[Dan Gould]

A long career in the game, and when you go that long and have funny stories to tell, you end up beloved. But let's be honest, he was far from the greatest manager of men.

The man who gave him that nickname in Boston, the Gerbil, was Bill Lee, who Zimmer buried in 1978 despite Lee's 3.46 ERA and the fact he was better than anyone on the staff not named Eckersley or Torrez). So in September when the Yankees made their move and the Red Sox faded, Lee got all of four appearances, all in mop-up duty, because the manager hated him. And he f-ed the team because of it.

If Lee is used properly, do the Red Sox even have to play the infamous Bucky Dent game?

[Hardbopjazz]

RIP Mr. Zimmer.

[jazztrain]

I was at that game. The subsequent titles in the last decade have only somewhat eased the psychic pain of 1978.

I arrived in Boston in 1976 and adopted them (since my AL loyalties were somewhat ephemeral in those days). Little did I know what I was buying into at the time!

A long career in the game, and when you go that long and have funny stories to tell, you end up beloved. But let's be honest, he was far from the greatest manager of men.

The man who gave him that nickname in Boston, the Gerbil, was Bill Lee, who Zimmer buried in 1978 despite Lee's 3.46 ERA and the fact he was better than anyone on the staff not named Eckersley or Torrez). So in September when the Yankees made their move and the Red Sox faded, Lee got all of four appearances, all in mop-up duty, because the manager hated him. And he f-ed the team because of it.

If Lee is used properly, do the Red Sox even have to play the infamous Bucky Dent game?

[Dave Garrett]

Loved this bit from the Tampa Tribune's obit (http://tbo.com/sports/rays/baseball-legend-don-zimmer-dies-at-83-20140604/):

Years later, the paths of Bucky Dent and Don Zimmer would cross again.

“I’ve been fired (as manager) by Texas, and I take a coaching job with

the Yankees,” Zimmer once said. “Dent has been traded by the Yankees to

Texas. I rent his house in Wyckoff, New Jersey. I go in there and on

every wall, there’s a picture of him with that swing for that home run.

Every wall. I call him up and I tell him I turned every one of them

around, facing the wall.”

[GA Russell]

Don Zimmer was my very first bubble gum card, in 1959 with the Dodgers.