ST. Gareon Conley Raiders Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Don Zimmer wasnt a fixture in baseball forever. It just seemed that way. He played alongside Jackie Robinson on the only Brooklyn Dodgers team to win the World Series. He coached Derek Jeter on the New York Yankees latest dynasty. And his manager once was the illustrious Casey Stengel. For 66 years, Zimmer was a most popular presence at ballparks all over, a huge chaw often filling his cheek. Everyone in the game seemed to know him, and love him. Zimmer was still working for the Tampa Bay Rays as a senior adviser when he died Wednesday at a hospital in nearby Dunedin. He had been in a rehabilitation centre since having seven hours of heart surgery in mid-April. "Today we all lost a national treasure and a wonderful man," Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg said in a statement. Zimmer started out as a minor league infielder in 1949, hitting powerful shots that earned him the nickname "Popeye." He went on to enjoy one of the longest-lasting careers in baseball history. And oh, the stories he could tell. "I loved listening to him every day," Billy Connors, a coach under Zimmer with the Chicago Cubs, told The Associated Press. Zimmer played on the original New York Mets, saw his Boston Red Sox beaten by Bucky Dents playoff homer, got tossed to the ground by Pedro Martinez during a brawl and was Joe Torres right-hand man as the bench coach with the Yankees. "I hired him as a coach, and he became like a family member to me. He has certainly been a terrific credit to the game," Torre said in a statement. "The game was his life. And his passing is going to create a void in my life and my wife Alis. We loved him. The game of baseball lost a special person tonight. He was a good man," he said. A career .235 hitter in the big leagues, numbers could never define all that Zimmer meant to the game. He did have tremendous success, too -- his teams won six World Series rings and went to the post-season 19 times. Zimmers No. 66 Rays jersey had been worn recently by longtime Tampa Bay third base coach Tom Foley in tribute. The Rays hosted the Miami Marlins on Wednesday night, and Foley was crying in the dugout. Earlier this season, the Rays hung a banner in the front of the press box at Tropicana Field that simply read "ZIM." There was a moment of silence at Dodger Stadium for Zimmer before Los Angeles played the Chicago White Sox. "On behalf of Major League Baseball and the many clubs that Popeye served in a distinguished baseball life, I extend my deepest condolences to Dons family, friends and his many admirers throughout our game," Commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement. Zimmers biggest admirer was his wife "Soot" -- they were married at home plate during a minor league game in 1951. Two years later in the minors, Zimmers path took a frightening turn -- he was beaned by a fastball and left in a coma, and doctors had to put metal screws in his head. He recovered well enough to wear a lot of uniforms during his 56 years in the majors. He played for the Dodgers, Mets, Cubs, Cincinnati and Washington. He managed San Diego, Boston, Texas and the Cubs. "Probably the best baseball man I knew," Connors said. Yankees executive Hank Steinbrenner echoed that sentiment. "I loved Zim. I loved his passion. He was a great, great guy. He was a great baseball guy," he told the AP. "Everybody loved him." Steinbrenner, son of late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, said Torre and Zimmer were the "perfect team" during New Yorks run that brought four titles in a five-year span. "Joe was low-keyed. Zim would get fired up. He was a bench coach for real," Steinbrenner said. "He was an extremely important part of the 1990s success." Zimmer hit 91 home runs and had 352 RBIs in 12 seasons. He started Game 7 when Brooklyn beat the Yankees for the 1955 crown and was an All-Star in 1961. The next year, he played under Stengel on the 1962 expansion Mets, who famously went 40-120. "Dont blame them all on me," Zimmer once said. "I got traded after the first 30 days." Zimmer was the 1989 NL Manager of the Year with the Cubs and was at Yankee Stadium for three perfect games, by Don Larsen in the 1956 World Series and by David Cone and David Wells in the late 1990s. "Its a sad day for the game of baseball," Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said after a 3-2 loss at San Diego. "Don impacted lives from the time he put a uniform on in the minor leagues until today." Zimmer is survived by his wife; son Thomas, a scout with the San Francisco Giants; daughter Donna, and four grandchildren. Doug Martin Jersey . Particularly when speaking in the stadium of Tuesdays opponent: Manchester City. "Maybe they dont fear us as before," Pique said on Monday, "because in the last two years we didnt win the Champions League. Arden Key Jersey . - Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard has signed with WME-IMG, saying the sports management powerhouse will help maximize the value of my brand. http://www.officialauthenticraidersstore.com/authentic-kolton-miller-jersey.html . Anor had not scored since getting his first two goals of the season vs. Philadelphia on March 22 but struck with laser precision from distance in the 56th and 75th minutes. Montreal (3-10-5) lost its third straight and Impact coach Frank Klopas said it literally was a case of his players not stepping up.LOS ANGELES -- A.J. Burnett made a couple of mistakes with his pitches and gave up the lead in the seventh inning. That was nothing compared to the huge error Carl Crawford committed for the Dodgers in the 10th. Domonic Brown doubled home the go-ahead run after Crawfords miscue in left field, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat Los Angeles 3-2 Tuesday night. One night after Philadelphias Cliff Lee held the defending NL West champions to four hits through eight scoreless innings, Burnett took a four-hitter and a 2-1 lead into the seventh. But birthday boy Dee Gordon legged out a double to short right-centre with one out, stole third and scored when pinch-hitter Justin Turner singled to left on Burnetts 105th and final pitch. "I gave Gordon a little bit too much of the plate on that pitch and he put a good swing on it and hit it up the middle," Burnett said. "When he gets on base, he makes things happen. Hes an exciting player to watch, and I think him getting to third right there helped them was a big for them to tie it up." The right-hander allowed six hits, struck out four of his first eight batters and finished with five Ks in 6 2-3 innings. He also had a career-high three hits in three at-bats -- all singles against lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu, who allowed two runs and nine hits in six innings. "Im not here for my individual numbers. Im here to keep my team in it until skip takes me out," Burnett said. "If I win, thats fine. If I dont, thats fine. I just go about my job." Carlos Ruiz reached second base when his flyball to short left field glanced off Crawfords glove as shortstop Hanley Ramirez nearly collided with him. Brown followed with a drive to the fence in left-centre on a 1-1 pitch from J.P. Howell (1-2). "We both were coming hard and came up short," Crawford said. "Neither of us called for it. I didnt think it was clearly my ball. I was in no-doubles (mode), so thats a long run for me. But I still got to it. I just didnt catch it. It was one of those things where it didnt do our way that time." The error was the Dodgers 22nd in their first 21 games. &qquot;Its tough because were not hitting the way we want to right now, so defence is one of the things you have to do every day to help the pitchers out," said Crawford, who drove in the Dodgers first run with a sacrifice fly in the fifth. Brandon Parker Jersey. "Things like that definitely make the errors more obvious, and you could see that it looks worse when it happens -- like tonight. Were not doing it right now in defence, so its something we definitely need to address." Antonio Bastardo (3-1) pitched a scoreless inning for the victory and Jonathan Papelbon got three outs for his sixth save, putting him within eight of 300. Burnett lined a single to right field leading off the third, and Yasiel Puig tried to throw the pitcher out without success. After Adrian Gonzalez took the throw, the 37-year-old pitcher stood on the bag and looked out at Puig with the palms of both hands facing downward as if to say: "Whoa, take it easy." "I knew he was going to do it," Burnett said. "I know how he plays the game. He plays the game hard and he looks for outs in the outfield when he can get them." Burnett didnt take it easy on Ryu, hitting another leadoff single in the fifth. He scored the games first run on a double by Marlon Byrd, and Ryan Howard followed with a sacrifice fly that drove in Ben Revere. Burnett got his third single of the game with two out in the sixth. Ramirez got some good news Tuesday, when Major League Baseball rescinded an error he was charged with April 13 on a grounder to shortstop by Arizonas Chris Owings and credited Owings with a hit. But Ramirez gave it right back in the Phillies second inning when he misplayed Browns grounder after a single by Howard. NOTES: Burnetts multihit game was his fifth in the majors -- all on the road. The other four came with the Marlins, most recently on Sept. 25, 2005, against Atlantas Jorge Sosa. ... Revere tied a career high with four hits, three of them against Ryu. ... Gonzalez was 0 for 3 with a walk, ending his 16-game hitting streak. ... Burnett was 0-4 with a 4.87 ERA in his previous four starts at Dodger Stadium. Wholesale Hoodies NFL Shirts Outlet Jerseys NFL Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '