ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Don Zimmer, a popular fixture in professional baseball for 66 years as a manager, player, coach and executive, died Wednesday. He was 83.
Zimmer was still working for the Tampa Bay Rays as a senior adviser. He had been in a rehabilitation center in Florida after having heart surgery in mid-April.
After starting as a minor league infielder in 1949, Zimmer went on to have one of the longest-lasting careers in baseball history.
Zimmer played for the only Brooklyn Dodgers team to win the World Series, played for the original New York Mets, nearly managed the Boston Red Sox to a championship in the 1970s and was Joe Torre's right-hand man with the New York Yankees' most recent dynasty.
Along the way, Zimmer played for Hall of Fame manager Casey Stengel and coached Derek Jeter — quite a span, by any major league measure.
Zimmer spent time in a lot of uniforms. He played for the Dodgers, Mets, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati and Washington. He managed San Diego, Boston, Texas and the Cubs.
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