Don Zimmer, coach for the Colorado Rockies, do you promise to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
“I do.”
This is your 46th year in baseball. Can you recognize anything about the game from your youth?
“Geez, how old do you think I am, 120? But I know what you’re getting at. Yeah, baseball is a lot different, starting right with bowling.”
Bowling?
`Bowling. When I played with the Dodgers and we traveled to Milwaukee, Pee Wee Reese and I would bowl every day at noon. Five or six of our teammates would come to watch; then we’d head to the stadium. I don’t know what these guys do now, but I don’t think they go bowling. They might get hurt.”
But they’re all supposed to be healthier than ever, right?
“Until they get a chest cold. Then they go on the disabled list for five or six days.”
You mean they’re actually more fragile?
“Don’t know how they could be, but they are. They’ve got stretching instructors, eating instructors, body-building instructors, instructors on how to get out of bed in the morning. But they keep breaking down. Stan Musial, you think he ever lifted weights?”
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What’s the problem?
“Could be the money. More than that, the multiyear contract. In the old days, you were afraid to miss a game. Heck, you were afraid to miss a bus. For fear that somebody else would take your place. Now, they take time off for mental stress.”
Mental stress. Is that why you bowled?
“I bowled because it was fun. Being with the guys was fun. Every day was an adventure. We laughed together, ate together, played hard together. Now, it’s planes instead of trains, single rooms instead of roommates, and some guys bring wives on the road, which is fine. In my day, I could barely afford to take myself on a road trip.”
How does that affect the game?
“I’m managing Texas in the early ’80s. We got a guy, Bump Wills, who can steal bases. I tell him he’s on his own. After a month, he hasn’t run from here to there. I wonder why. Turns out he’s on the last year of his contract and he doesn’t want to get hurt. Meanwhile, he’s taking away his best weapon. Could have stolen 50 bases. Winds up playing in Tokyo.”
Anywhere else?
“Pitching. You think Bob Gibson or Don Drysdale or Warren Spahn needed pitch counts or speed guns? They wanted to finish what they started. If I’m an owner now, paying a pitcher $4 million, I sure don’t want him in a five-man rotation and lasting only six innings for a `quality start.’ Everybody’s got five-man rotations, but nobody’s got five men who can pitch. They get hurt because they don’t throw enough, not because they throw too much.”
And nobody has any fun anymore.
“If they have fun, I don’t see it. What I see is too many guys who treat this like a job. They’re set for life. We played day-to-day, but we enjoyed it more. You figure it out. I can’t.”
Did Ryne Sandberg’s retirement shock you?
“Yes and no. I’ve heard the same stories, that he had personal problems. I believe he just couldn’t perform like he wanted to anymore and decided not to hang around.”
How do you feel returning to Chicago?
“The years I managed and coached the Cubs were the best. This is the best city with the best fans, no question. But they didn’t want me here anymore. The Cubs didn’t want a lot of people here anymore. Look at all the good people they’ve lost, on and off the field. I don’t know what they’re thinking.”
And the fans?
“I’ve been here three days. I’ve seen a lot of empty seats, I don’t care what they announce as paid attendance. And I’ve talked to a lot of people who are disgusted. It hurts me. Leaving here hurt me. But I’m with a great franchise in Colorado. We all move on. It’s still a great game, baseball. And bowling ain’t bad, either.”