Jerry Zimmerman

[Al from SoDak]

Gerald Robert Zimmerman was born in Omaha, Nebraska on September 21, 1934. His family would move during his childhood to Oregon where Jerry went to high school.

After high school, Zimmerman signed with the Boston Red Sox before the 1952 season.

Zimmerman played eight long years in Boston’s minor league system at all levels. From there he bounced around, first to the Baltimore organization, then to Cincinnati where he performed well enough in minor league Seattle to earn a shot with the big club in 1961.

He debuted in the Major Leagues on April 14, 1961. That Reds team was particularly good, ending with a 93-61 record, winning the National League, and making the World Series. The Reds moved on and traded him to the Twins before the 1962 season for outfielder Dan Dobbek.

Zimmerman came to the Twins in 1962 and immediately settled into a back-up role for Earl Battey. 1967 was the one season when the excellent defensive catcher Zimmerman garnered most of the playing time. But after the 1967 season and Battey’s retirement, the Twins did not turn to Zimmerman. They quickly traded for John Roseboro again relegating Zimmerman to back up duties for 1968.

For his MLB career, Zimmerman batted .204/.269/.239. He had three home runs and 72 RBI in 994 at bats. Baseball Reference calculates his career WAR as -2.7.

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[Dave Mona]

More good work, Al. Jerry was the backup shortstop to John Roseboro when I covered the Twins for The Minneapolis Tribune. He had what I thought was the best player quote of the year. It happened in the game in Chicago when Halsey Hall started a fire in the broadcast booth that brought all the players out of the dugout. Hearing that it started with the ashes from Halsey's cigar falling onto his clothes, Zimmerman said, "What a guy that Halsey Hall. He's the only person I know who can turn an ordinary sportcoat into a blazer in nothing flat."