Wait, the first member is... Don Zimmer? And it's not out of some desire to honor him while he's still with us, because he died nine years ago?

I have to admit, I have zero memory of Don Zimmer being affiliated in any way with the Rays. I think of him first with the Yankees, because of the Pedro fight. Then the Dodgers, because he came west with them. Then Cubs, he actually managed them to a playoff appearance. Then... Red Sox I guess, he managed them for several years. Then maybe... Mets because he was on the '62 team?

R-ing-TFA, I see that Boggs and Crawford are also getting inducted this year. Fair enough. David Price isn't willing to admit he's retired quite yet, but I imagine he's in soon along with McGriff and Shields. Jonah Keri won't be covering the ceremonies.

I'm sure there are other people in the sport we could name like this, but a look at Don Zimmer's career makes you wonder if he was sort of the Forrest Gump of baseball from about 1949 until 2014.

He was Jackie Robinson's teammate, and he managed the 1978 all-time collapse Red Sox. He came within an inch of dying from getting hit by a pitch in the head, and was thrown on his head by Pedro Martinez in a brawl 50 years later. He met Babe Ruth when his team won the national American Legion championship...then had a private tryout with George Sisler...then was in a negotiation with Branch Rickey...then was Pee Wee Reese's backup...then played for the legendary 1962 Mets, so he was managed by Casey Stengal...eventually he played for the Reds, who thought he was a little pricey when they had a cheaper option in the minors ready to replace him, Pete Rose...then Al Campanis calls him about playing in Japan...then he gets to be a player/manager for a Cincinnati farm team, managing Johnny Bench...he managed in the Puerto Rican winter league to get experience, and managed Roberto Clemente for a winter...he was the third base cocach for the 1975 Red Sox when Denny Doyle unwisely tagged up for home, claiming after the game that he head Zimmer yelling "go, go, go!" when Zimmer said he was yelling, "no, no, no!"...and all that just gets you to 1975, when he was in his mid-40s!

One thing that strikes you when you read his bio is how many times he left or got let go of a job in baseball, and then was immediately pursued by another team. If you read the SABR profile of Zimmer, there is always this thread of, "And then his old buddy gave him a call to see if he'd like to come to [fill in the blank baseball city]. Who is most like that today, the guy who for your whole life always just seems to be coaching third for another team, everybody loves him, etc.?

Zimmer's not a Hall of Famer by any traditional standard, but it seems like there'd be a place for him in some way at the Museum. I don't know if you can write the history of baseball from the 1950s until about 2010 without mentioning Zimmer somewhere, but if you are reading a history of baseball in the second half of the 20th century, he would probably uniquely be around the story more than any single person.

Zimmer left the Yankees in 2003 after the Pedro incident, intending to (finally) retire. But Vince Naimoli, the Rays' original owner, approached Zimmer and said, "You live on Treasure Island; you're 15 minutes away from the Trop." Naimoli offered him a deal: attend spring training in uniform as a roving instructor, sit in a suite for all the home games, and share his observations with the rest of the organization.

The Rays did very well from 2004-2014. I would've loved to overhear the conversations between Zimmer and Joe Maddon.

Wait, the first member is... Don Zimmer?

They already retired his number, which seems backward to me.

Two guys who come to mind are Joe Torre and Don Mattingly. Torres done a little bit of everything and been a lot of places. Mattingly seems to be a dugout somewhere every year.

Zimmer had the moniker of third base coach to the world

Don Zimmer had a rich baseball life, but really, him being the *first* honoree of the Rays' HoF speaks volumes about the franchise's lack of identifiable stars throughout its history.

The only good player I picture in a Rays uniform by default is Evan Longoria.

The only good player I picture in a Rays uniform by default is Evan Longoria.

Crawford was quite good there. Price should be remembered as a Ray first. Kiermaier and Zobrist are also sneaky good players who were far more Ray than any other team.

Kiermaier was definitely far more Ray than any other team, so far he has 916 games played with the Rays and 2 games played elsewhere.

he was sort of the Forrest Gump of baseball from about 1949 until 2014.

Coach with the Yankees for 1983 - Pine Tar Game.

Two guys who come to mind are Joe Torre and Don Mattingly. Torres done a little bit of everything and been a lot of places. Mattingly seems to be a dugout somewhere every year.

Frank Robinson is an obvious one to me. But unlike Zimmer, who was more of a supporting actor, Robinson (like Torre and Mattingly) was more of a main character.

Zimmer left the Yankees in 2003 after the Pedro incident, intending to (finally) retire.

He also "retired" mid-game from the Rockies in 1995, before his return to the Yankees.

Rays All-time WAR leaders:

Evan Longoria 51.2
Carl Crawford 35.6
Ben Zobrist 35.3
Kevin Kiermaier 31.7
David Price 21.3
James Shields 19.7
Carlos Pena 18.1
Scott Kazmir 16.5
BJ Upton 15.6
Julio Lugo 13.5

Highest active player is Randy Arozarena at 7.6

Gotta think Arozarena gets dealt while his value is sky high. They'd get a ton for him

So Zimmer lived on Treasure Island with his wife Soot? Are we sure he was real and not some whimsical character we all dreamed up?

Like everyone else, I'm stumped about this selection. If they wanted to go with a coach, why not Maddon?

-Boggs? Again, a weird choice. All time, inner circle HOF, but not very good in his 2 years in TB.
-Crawford: an excellent choice and probably should have been the first inductee. He was the face of the team, a star with a long tenure, and was there when the team first turned good. Bonus points for being awful in Boston.

Others obvious choices:

Longoria, Zobrist, Price, Shields, Friedman. And about 100 others I'd go with before Zimmer.

Pedro, on hearing of the Zimmer election:

Don Zimmer?
I know him.
That can't be.
He's that little guy who charged at me.
All those years ago, what was it, 2003?
I thought that was the last of him we'd see.

Like everyone else, I'm stumped about this selection. If they wanted to go with a coach, why not Maddon?

-Boggs? Again, a weird choice. All time, inner circle HOF, but not very good in his 2 years in TB.
-Crawford: an excellent choice and probably should have been the first inductee. He was the face of the team, a star with a long tenure, and was there when the team first turned good. Bonus points for being awful in Boston.

Others obvious choices:

Longoria, Zobrist, Price, Shields, Friedman. And about 100 others I'd go with before Zimmer.

They also retired Boggs' number (he's the only other Ray with that distinction), perhaps part of their HoF cap bribery scheme.

Boggs grew up in Tampa, hit the first HR in franchise history, and had his 3,000th hit (also a HR) there. It was certainly the least important part of his career but I take it he means something to the franchise beyond just his on-field value.

I mean, there's a guy that played for the Rays that is getting inducted into the Baseball HOF this year, you'd think Fred McGriff would be getting in this year.

I forgot how good he was with them. I assumed he was at the end of his career with them like Boggs (who was below average offensively in TB), but McGriff played three seasons there and hit .291/.380/.484 - a 122 OPS+ before being traded to the Cubs

before being traded to the Cubs

Kicking and screaming, if I recall.

Top 10 Rays Hitters by BWAR

1. Evan Longoria 51.2
2. Carl Crawford 35.6
3. Ben Zobrist 35.3
4. Kevin Kiermaier 31.7
5. Carlos Pena 18.1
6. B.J. Upton 15.6
7. Julio Lugo 13.5
8. Desmond Jennings 13.4
9. Aubrey Huff 11.9
10. Brandon Lowe 11.6

Boggs grew up in Tampa, hit the first HR in franchise history, and had his 3,000th hit (also a HR) there. It was certainly the least important part of his career but I take it he means something to the franchise beyond just his on-field value.

Yeah, I figured that was why. I just don't see it as a great reason when they have some really great Rays players they could honor. Is he still affiliated with the team as a coach or advisor at least?

eventually he played for the Reds, who thought he was a little pricey when they had a cheaper option in the minors ready to replace him, Pete Rose...

And oddly enough, he and Rose went to the same high school.

As someone born in 1969 and grew up in CT, I definitely associate Zimm with the BoSox.

Zobrist certainly had the best value of his career as a Ray, but he won 2 rings and a WS MVP with other teams. Much like Schilling and the Phillies.