Ultimate Mets Database - Memories of Don Zimmer

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Don Zimmer
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Don Zimmer
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Memories of
Don Zimmer

Don Zimmer
Ultimate Mets Database popularity ranking: 253 of 1252 players

Donald William Zimmer
Born: January 17, 1931 at Cincinnati, O.
Died: June 4, 2014 at Dunedin, Fla. Obituary
Throws: Right Bats: Right
Height: 5.09 Weight: 175

Don Zimmer has been the most popular Ultimate Mets Database daily lookup 12 times, most recently on September 4, 2019.

First Mets game: April 11, 1962
Last Mets game: May 6, 1962

Share your memories of Don Zimmer

HERE IS WHAT OTHER METS FANS HAVE TO SAY:

Richard Kissel
"Zip" was in an 0 for 34 streak when he finally got a hit in 1962. The next day the Mets traded him. Casey said he figured he would trade him while he was hot.

Adam
December 11, 2000
Friend of mine works closely for the skankees. He said that the funniest question Zimmer ever got was what it was like knowing that he was going to have to wear polyester 8 months out of the year.

Coach HoJo 20
March 24, 2001
Cant hate the 1st person to ever wear a Mets uniform. He is one of the few people (3) in the Yankees organization that I don't hate. That in itself is amazing.

Mr. Sparkle
March 31, 2001
National Lampoon once gave him the nick-name Don "beer fart" Zimmer. I think of that everytime I see the guy.

Coach HoJo 20
June 14, 2001
It didn't take much, But now I officially hate this man. Here is his latest jibber jabber about Mike Piazza concerning the Clemens incident
"Is Piazza the only (player) in America who ever got hit in the head with a ball? That's what burned my (expletive). There's only one man in the world that knows: the guy that threw it."
Zimmer needs to wake up, Not only did Clemens bean him with a fast ball, He also threw a bat at him in the World Series, Gee is wonder if that was an "accident" too.

300k
September 26, 2001
Well, Zim, looks like YOU made a "little man" out of yourself when Bernie Williams got hit in the head. Now it's YOUR turn to be outraged, and now you know how WE felt when Piazza went down. Stinks, doesn't it?

Elliot baron
January 17, 2002
Remembering the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field "Zip" was a favorite of mine until he went to work for Steinmeister. Now he is a true Yankee and no Mets fan (from the beginning ) can respect a person who sees nothing wrong with what Clemens the -----kicker did to Piazza in 2000. Retire already, GERBIL!

rich edwards
April 23, 2002
If Zim had been a better fielder, Alston wouldnt have brought in Gilliam from leftfield to replace him at 2B and put Amaros in leftfield. Gilliam doesn't make that catch in left field off Yogi (glove on left hand) and Yanks win in 1955.

Tom
April 24, 2002
This Clemens Apologist has become a laughingstock. Nice helmet. Say what you want about the Braves (and I do hate the Braves) but Cox & Mazzone had Rocker pitch at Shea while Torre and this clown allowed Roger the fading Rocket to skip his turn. Clemens is gutless and Zimmer carries his bags. Shameful.

STEVE B.
May 29, 2002
Managed the Red Sox in the mid 70's like he already had a job with the Yanks. Seeing that little fat pudge win ring after ring makes me sick. Then his comments about Piazza makes it official. I hate this guy!

Larry Burns
June 13, 2002
This guy almost died from a beaning in baseball and has a steel plate in his head. Yet he sides with Clemens throwing at people like Piazza and Bonds. He is either an awful human being who turns a blind eye to any morally bankrupt behavior provided it is done by "one of us," or the beaning damaged more of his brain then we were led to believe. Amzing likeness of Porky Pig also!

Jonathan Stern
November 21, 2002
My dad told me he actually saw Zim play for the Mets at the Polo Grounds. Playing 3B, he was shouting, "Hit it to me! Hit it to me!" Someone hit it to him and it went right through his legs.

Harry Brinkman
October 13, 2003
I remember the old fool getting his butt kicked by another Caribbean hot-head in the early 1980s. Cincinnati Reds' ace Mario Soto was attacked by this lunatic in the middle of a donnybrook at Wrigley. Please come home you crazy old man. You can wander the streets with fellow alum Pete and we will love you forever. We don't even care that you lost your mind due to too many HBPs.

LenDog
October 16, 2003
God, did I LOVE watching this idiot fall to the ground at Fenway the other day. He publicly criticized Mike Piazza for responding WITH WORDS in a civilized, calm manner to a FASTBALL TO THE HEAD; then, he blows a fuse at Pedro Martinez (don't get me started on that coward) for barely hitting Garcia in the back.
This man is an idiot and I wish the NYC media had the nerve to point out Zimmer's hypocrisy. They all say he has a quick trigger re headhunting, but conviently omit his ludicrous comments re Piazza. The reason? Zimmer's comments re Piazza would mess with their story line ("Zim is a righteous slayer of headhunters"), and journalists HATE when the facts get in the way of their pre-determined 'angle.' So, just omit was does not fit.
Zimmer, like Torre, Jeter, etc., is a practitioner of situational ethics.
Zimmer, Torre, Jeter: "Is it wrong to throw a ball at another human being's head?"
Zimmer, Torre, Jeter: "First tell me what uniforms everyone is wearing. My answer depends on that."
Mrs. Zimmer should put him out in the backyard with a coloring book and keep him out of harm's way.

Jim Snedeker
October 22, 2003
I think it's ridiculous how people have criticized Pedro for what happened. Saying things like "he threw the 73-year-old Zimmer to the ground."
Obviously, nobody who says that saw the tape. Actually, Pedro saved both of them from certain doom. Zimmer had catapulted himself toward Peyme, who was just standing there. With Zimmer's mass (approx. 300 lbs, or 136 kg ) and velocity (approx. 8 mph or 0.45 m/s), the formula for momentum P=mv means that Pedro's slim abdomen would have absorbed 61.2 (kg x m)/s. I can just feel the muscles in his lower back tearing apart.
ZImmer did a dumb thing. And Pedro did the right thing, stepping aside, and redirecting this whopping kinetic energy (13.77kg x m/s2) to the ground. If he hadn't, Pedro would probably have ended up with a ruined back, Zimmer would have ended up with a wrenched neck, and would have been remembered for ruining the career of the best pitcher in baseball.

Bill Deegan
November 27, 2003
Thanks, Jim Snedeker, for the physics lesson. I like humorist Dave Barry's comments about Zimmer -- He "looks like an ill-conceived genetic experiment involving W.C. Fields and a manatee"!

Alan
November 24, 2004
I have been a Mets fan since 1963. I just want to say if Willie Randolph puts this idiot on the coaching staff, I will no longer be a Mets fan. It's only my opinion, and I just wanted to get that off my chest!

George Felonbrenner
May 11, 2005
Mix booze, a career in Brooklyn, and a metal plate and what do get? A slobbering, raving maniac by the name of Don Zimmer. It’s guys like him that harbor a thug culture in pro-sports. Ya think he was a bit of a cry baby when he left the Yanks?
To think, he was the first man to ever wear the Mets uniform.

Bob P
May 18, 2005
I feel the May 11 post is out of line. I'm not a Zimmer fan and never have been, but those are mean-spirited words.

Jonathan Stern
May 18, 2005
I agree. In general, most of these Don Zimmer posts have been more than a bit rough. He's a great baseball man, period. Just because was a particularly colorful part of the most recent Yankee dynasty doesn't give Mets fans the right to say such nasty things. And enough about his metal plate. He's a hero for persevering despite his injury.
Oh, by the way, he's no longer with the Yankees. And he said some cool things about Steinbrenner on his way out the door.

David Mo
October 4, 2007
Useless Trivia: From Day 1 Zim has been the last Met listed alphabetically. He almost lost that distinction in 1994 when the Mets were prepared to go north with a first-base platoon of Joe Orsulak and Alan Zinter. A few days before opening day, Zinter was traded for Rico Brogna and Zim's "record" remained intact. The Mets also declined to overpay Barry Zito this past winter, otherwise he would have put an end to Zimmer's reign of pulling up the rear (alphabetically speaking, that is).

scott r
November 19, 2008
Some harsh comments on here. I don't remember what he said about Piazza so I can't comment. Pretty dumb thing to go after Pedro, but he admitted that the next day in a tearful press conference. Who among would not want to trade places with him? Almost 60 years in baseball, not a great career but almost as well known and as popular as anybody in the history of the game, and an added bonus he hates Steinbrenner.

Bklyn Met
December 22, 2008
Don Zimmer is a Mascot, a horse racing buddy, a cartoon character. Not buying this great baseball man thing. Owner of some of the most boneheaded decisions in baseball history. He is a joke!

Witz
January 2, 2009
One man's "bonehead" decision is another man's exciting one. I remember a game versus the Mets in the days when Zim managed the Cubs where he started the runners on a 3-2 count with the bases loaded and less than two outs. (Haven't seen that before or since.) I thought that was pretty cool. I don't even remember the result; I think it was a grounder that would have been a DP. Anyone else recall that day?

Jimrat
January 7, 2009
Yes, Witz, I do! I was there. The game was in 1988. I think it was in the 10th inning. The Cubs had the bases loaded, one out. The batter struck out on the pitch and the runner coming from third was caught in a rundown and tagged out to end the inning. Zimmer's move, which he had used in a few games before that, backfired on him. The Mets went on to win the game.
Don has had a lifetime in baseball, but not much luck as a manager. Perhaps using this kind of strategy could be the reason.

Shickhaus Franks
June 8, 2014
Don Zimmer-RIP. Never had a paycheck outside of baseball considering back in the 1950's etc that many players had jobs in the off-season like working in clothing stores and such. When the Mets traded him to the Reds after his 0 for 34 streak ended, he just said in true Zim fashion: "I'm going home".

Flitgun Frankie
September 28, 2021
Some baseball card trivia about Zimmer: he was on two baseball cards in a Met uniform, but on neither card was identified as a Met. In 1962, he's in full Mets regalia but is named as a Cincinnati Red, because of his sudden trade. His 1963 card, he's still in a Met uniform (with the "NY" on the cap painted out) and he's listed as a Dodger. An even more interesting Zimmer card would have been when he was manager of the Padres. Zimmer would have been quite a sight in those all-mustard colored Padres uniforms of the time, but his baseball card that year was just a mug shot.

Alex
October 11, 2022
My primary memory of Don Zimmer is Pedro Martinez grabbing him by the head and throwing him to the ground during a brouhaha back in the day. People criticized Pedro for hurting an old man but to my knowledge it was Zimmer who went after Pedro in the first place. I mean, don't write a check and all that...
I *think* I've also read Zimmer's book "The Zen of Zim." Either that or I have it and it's still on my pile of books to read. Clearly it wasn't too memorable if I can't remember reading it or not.
In terms of through-the-mail autographs, his wife signed all his mail so if you ever received Don Zimmer through-the-mail, you actually received Mrs. Zimmer's signature.
My image of Zimmer is almost entirely as a Yankee. I barely remember him being with the Devil Rays/Rays, yet he was with them in one capacity or another for 11 seasons (!), longer than any other team. Crazy.
I'd love to say something positive about his Mets career to wrap up this post, but I'm having a hard time finding anything. The team was 1-13 in the games in which he played. When they traded him, all they received were Cliff Cook (.142 BA for NY in 1963) and Bob Miller (7.08 ERA in 1962). In the single game the Mets won, he scored one of the runs, so there's that.
And ain't this just how it goes for the Mets: Once they traded him to the Reds, he hit .500 over his next 20 at-bats and .391 through the rest of the month of May. He carried a .350+ average through June 6 and maintained a .300 average through his first 83 at-bats with the club.