Don Zimmer was around the game just about as long as a man can be.
What I don't think is well enough known about Don Zimmer is that he's one of the greatest What-If? stories in the game. In the summer of 1953, Zimmer was well on his way to becoming the next great Dodger. Pee Wee Reese was still a fine player, but by 1953 Reese was 34 years old. Meanwhile Don Zimmer was playing shortstop for St Paul in the American Association (AAA level) and just tearing the league apart. He was hitting .300/.347.584 with 23 HRs and 63 RBIs in 81 games. He was 22 years old.
And then, in those dark ages before the batting helmet, Zimmer was hit in the skull with a pitch. He was unconscious for almost two weeks, and when he woke up he could neither walk nor talk. He was told his baseball career was over. It wasn't, but like Paul Blair and Dickie Thon after him, he was never even close to being the same player again. (Another serious beaning, once he'd reached the majors, surely didn't help.)
Vaya con Dios.
What I don't think is well enough known about Don Zimmer is that he's one of the greatest What-If? stories in the game. In the summer of 1953, Zimmer was well on his way to becoming the next great Dodger. Pee Wee Reese was still a fine player, but by 1953 Reese was 34 years old. Meanwhile Don Zimmer was playing shortstop for St Paul in the American Association (AAA level) and just tearing the league apart. He was hitting .300/.347.584 with 23 HRs and 63 RBIs in 81 games. He was 22 years old.
And then, in those dark ages before the batting helmet, Zimmer was hit in the skull with a pitch. He was unconscious for almost two weeks, and when he woke up he could neither walk nor talk. He was told his baseball career was over. It wasn't, but like Paul Blair and Dickie Thon after him, he was never even close to being the same player again. (Another serious beaning, once he'd reached the majors, surely didn't help.)
Vaya con Dios.
