Page 240 - 1975 BoSox

’75—THE RED SOX TEAM THAT SAVED BASEBALL 233
Roberto Clemente (who played only once a week). e team clinched a playo berth. Zimmer clashed with Ramón Hernández, one of his pitchers. Management sided with Hernández, a Puerto Rican, and red Zimmer after the team clinched a playo spot.
In 1968 Zimmer managed the Reds’ new top a liate, Indianapolis. e team included several talented players but many of Zimmer’s starters were called up to Cincinnati, and the team nished the season in fth place with a record of 66-78 and Zimmer lost his job.
Buzzie Bavasi, who had left the Dodgers for the expan- sion San Diego Padres, came to the rescue. e Padres had only two minor-league teams, one at Elmira and the other in Key West. Zimmer agreed to manage Key West because it was in Florida, where he lived, but but it was far from home. Zimmer was paid only $7,500 for the season. Not only had he taken a pay cut but the clubhouse had no air-conditioning, the team’s bus driver had a drinking problem, and the bus was a rattletrap. e Key West Padres team lasted a single season, but still managed to nish in third place with a 66-64 record in the Florida State League.
e Padres promoted Zimmer to Triple-A Salt Lake City in 1970. e club lacked talent except for Fred Kendall and Walt Hriniak, and nished 521⁄2 games behind the PCL South Division leader, Hawaii. Zimmer resigned after the season.
Gene Mauch, who was now managing the Montreal Expos, asked Zimmer to be his third-base coach for 1971, and Zimmer accepted. Before Zimmer worked with the Yankees’ Joe Torre, he felt that Mauch was the best manager for whom he ever coached.
Once again Bavasi called Zimmer during the o season, to o er him the third-base coaching job with the Padres in 1972. Zimmer took the job, and when the Padres started 4-7, Bavasi red manager Preston Gomez, and Zimmer became a big-league manager for the rst time. Roger Craig, another old Brooklyn teammate, was the pitching coach. e Padres lacked talent, nishing with a record of 58-95 in the strike-
shortened season. As it turned out, the 1973 season in San Diego was Zimmer’s toughest ever as a manager. Not only did the club have di culties on the playing eld, nishing at 60-102, owner C. Arnholt Smith was having nancial di culties and began trading players to dump salaries. e re sale became too much and Zimmer informed Bavasi that he was quitting. San Diego red Zimmer after the season. Zimmer took a job as the third-base coach for the Boston Red Sox,
Zimmer enjoyed coaching in Boston, especially working with veterans like Carl Yastrzemski, Luis Tiant, Bill Lee, and Rico Petrocelli. e 1974 team was in rst place as late as September 2, but faded down the stretch. Its o ense became sluggish, which might have been because the older players were becom- ing worn out. It did not help that Carlton Fisk missed the second half of the year after knee surgery.
Still, the future in Boston showed promise. Two young players, Rick Burleson and Dwight Evans, joined the Red Sox in 1974. Rookie stars Fred Lynn and Jim Rice emerged the following year. e 1975 team led the American League Eastern Division, then swept Oakland in the Championship Series to advance to the World Series against the Reds. e Red Sox lost the dramatic Series in seven games.
Many consider Game Six the best and/or most exciting World Series game ever. It was won by Carlton Fisk’s home run in the bottom of the 12th. But the Red Sox almost won it earlier. ey had the bases loaded with nobody out in the ninth. Fred Lynn lofted a y ball to shallow left eld and Denny Doyle was thrown out at the plate trying to score from third. Doyle later said that when Zimmer, the third-base coach, yelled, “No, no, no,” he thought he was saying, “Go, go, go.”
In 1976 the Red Sox red manager Darrell Johnson and replaced him with Zimmer. He was asked if he wanted to name a new coaching sta but decided to wait until after the season. e Red Sox nished third at 83-79, 151⁄2 games behind the Yankees.
Zimmer guided the 1977 Red Sox to second place with a 97-64 record. Pitching was not the team’s strength,