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Gerald Robert Zimmerman
Minnesota Twins
Catcher
Born: September 21, 1934, Omaha, NE
Signed: Signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent before 1952 season
Major League Teams: Cincinnati Reds 1961; Minnesota Twins 1962-1968
Died: September 9, 1998, Neskowin, OR (age 63)
Jerry Zimmerman spent eight seasons in the majors, with seven of those seasons in Minnesota as the primary back-up to catcher Earl Battey (#490) in the early to mid-1960s. Zimmerman never played an inning in the field anywhere other than catcher throughout his big league career. He began his career with the Reds, and was their primary catcher during their pennant-winning season of 1961. Dealt to the Twins in January 1962 for outfielder Dan Dobbek, Zimmerman settled in as Battey's back-up. He'd appear in 83 games during the 1965 season, in which the Twins won the American League pennant. Serving as a player-bullpen coach to begin the 1967 season, Zimmerman was forced into service that season when Battey missed time due to injuries and lengthy slumps. Zimmerman appeared in a career-high 104 games in 1967, but batted just .167 with 12 RBIs. He'd retire as a player following the 1968 season to begin his career as a full-time coach. Zimmerman had a career average of .204 with three home runs and 72 RBIs in 483 games.
In 1969, he became the first bullpen coach in Expos' history, serving in that role until 1975. He followed manager Gene Mauch (#489) back to Minnesota in 1976, working as a Twins coach through the 1980 season. On August 25, 1978, during a strike by the umpires, Zimmerman served as the third base umpire in a game between the Twins and Blue Jays. Following his coaching career, he scouted for the Yankees and Orioles during the 1980s.
Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (America's Pastime - Fair Lawn, NJ) - Card #488
This is the fourth of 102 cards acquired for our set from the Baseball Card Sports Memorabilia Show, affectionately known as The Philly Show, held in the basement of the Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia in early March. We went nuts and left the show needing only 12 more cards to complete our 1965 Topps set, and I wrote about the show in detail over at The Phillies Room. This Zimmerman card was a little over $4 and was one of 13 cards purchased from the dealer America's Pastime from Fair Lawn, New Jersey.
The Card / Twins Team Set
I'm a big fan of a posed photo of a catcher showing him with his hat backwards. On June 6, 1952, the 17-year-old Zimmerman was originally signed by the Red Sox, earning a reported $80,000 signing bonus, hence the cartoon money bag on the back of the card. His role as back-up to Battey is mentioned in the write-up below the cartoon.
1965 Season
Zimmerman appeared in 83 games for the Twins, batting .214 and making 44 starts behind the plate. He was the team's opening day catcher. Zimmerman appeared twice in the 1965 World Series, as a late-inning defensive replacement for Battey. In his lone plate appearance, he grounded into a double play to end Game 3.
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (America's Pastime - Fair Lawn, NJ) - Card #488
This is the fourth of 102 cards acquired for our set from the Baseball Card Sports Memorabilia Show, affectionately known as The Philly Show, held in the basement of the Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia in early March. We went nuts and left the show needing only 12 more cards to complete our 1965 Topps set, and I wrote about the show in detail over at The Phillies Room. This Zimmerman card was a little over $4 and was one of 13 cards purchased from the dealer America's Pastime from Fair Lawn, New Jersey.
Depending on my ability to compose five posts a week on the cards acquired at this show, I should be completely caught up by mid-October. So get used to seeing this passage on the blog! It's entirely feasible we complete our 1965 Topps set by the end of 2022, although nine of the remaining 12 cards needed are fairly expensive.
The Card / Twins Team Set
I'm a big fan of a posed photo of a catcher showing him with his hat backwards. On June 6, 1952, the 17-year-old Zimmerman was originally signed by the Red Sox, earning a reported $80,000 signing bonus, hence the cartoon money bag on the back of the card. His role as back-up to Battey is mentioned in the write-up below the cartoon.
1965 Season
Zimmerman appeared in 83 games for the Twins, batting .214 and making 44 starts behind the plate. He was the team's opening day catcher. Zimmerman appeared twice in the 1965 World Series, as a late-inning defensive replacement for Battey. In his lone plate appearance, he grounded into a double play to end Game 3.
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First Mainstream Card: 1959 Topps #146
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (10): 1959, 1962-1968, 1973-1974
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2005 Donruss Minnesota Twins 1965 American League Champions #22
44 - Zimmerman non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 4/3/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
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