Normally a ballplayer, manager, or someone else involved in Major League Baseball has to hit certain milestones to be considered a Hall of Famer. For a hitter it could be five hundred homeruns or three hundred wins for a pitcher. For a manager, usually it means you have to have a World Series ring or two. Otherwise, if you make it to the Hall of Fame, it's because you did something to revolutionize the game such as breaking the color barrier.
But when should someone be elected to the Hall of Fame, despite not hitting any of the these career milestones? How about a player with these stats....
12 Seasons, .235 career batting average, 773 hits, 91 homeruns, 45 stolen bases, and 1 All-Star appearance
...or manager stats that look like this?...1 first place season, 1 manager of the year award, and a career record of 885 wins and 858 loses.
Not very Hall of Fame like at first glance, right?
Normally I would agree, but in this case, these stats belong to Don Zimmer. He spent sixty-six seasons in professional baseball, playing with World Series winners ('55 and '59 with the Dodgers), and coaching four more ('96 and '98-'00 with the Yankees). He had been involved with the MLB so long that he was the last member of the Brooklyn Dodgers franchise to still be working on the field (Vin Scully is technically the last, but he never played/coached/managed).
Zimmer had also been involved in several other notorious moments in Major League Baseball history. Because of Zimmer nudging Billy Martin to ask about George Brett's bat, the famous "Pine Tar Incident" in 1983 took place. Also in 1953, after being struck in the head by a pitch, the MLB began to adopt the practice of hitters using helmets. Lastly, during a brawl on the field, Zimmer, a coach for the Yankees at the time, charged Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez, only to be tossed to the ground. It became one of the most famous fight moments in baseball history.
He also has the dubious honor of being only one of four people to be ejected from a game in six different decades. The others are Casey Stengel, Frank Robinson, and Leo Durocher. He also was the first New York Met to wear the uniform.
As the bench coach for the Yankees, Zimmer was the person to convince Torre not to make it mandatory for the players to wear ties when traveling on road trips. During his tribute in Tampa Bay, it was revealed that his wife Soot used to tie his ties during home games, but on the road, without his wife, he couldn't tie the tie himself. His wife was part of Zimmer and baseball as far back as 1951. They were married at home plate in Elmira, New York in between two games of a doubleheader.
At his tribute, his family mentioned that no funeral service would be performed because the baseball field was his church. Over the years he touched and molded many players and legends of the game from Derek Jeter to Jackie Robinson. Mark Grace to Roberto Clemente. Willie Mays to David Price.
The game won't be the same without him there. With sixty-six years of professional baseball experience under his belt, it's hard for anyone to recall a time the game had been played without Zimmer being part of it. Despite his lack of milestone numbers, his influence superseded what most players have ever achieved in their lifetime.
No comments:
Post a Comment