Rays' good-luck charm having fun with World Series run

He has been the most uncommon denominator of the playoffs -- friends with Joe Torre, once managed the Red Sox, coached under Lou Piniella and is now the senior adviser for the Tampa Bay Rays. He wears No. 60, a tribute to his 60 years in baseball, but most times he's in the clubhouse instead of the dugout. Once he even tried sitting in the stands.

"For the first game of the playoffs, I sat with my wife, Soot, in about the fifth row," said Don Zimmer, the huggable curmudgeon who'll be in uniform Wednesday night for Game 1 of the World Series. "I couldn't stand it. People getting up and down, strike two, up and down, ball three, up and down -- I went to the clubhouse and said, 'Never again.'"

Don Zimmer is one of the most easily recognizable individuals in baseball. (Getty Images)

He sits in the clubhouse with former Mets and Dodgers pitcher Tim Bogar, who's now a coach for the Rays.

"We talk about everything," said Zimmer, "every pitch, every at bat, every comment made by the announcers. We talk about the minor leagues -- heck, David Price started the year in Class A of the Florida State League."

Zimmer is particularly proud of Price, who pitched in only five games this year, then shut down the Red Sox with the bases loaded in the eighth inning of Game 7.

"Kids are fearless these days," said Zimmer, who played in a time when players watched and waited. When Zimmer signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1954, he was the sixth shortstop at spring training in Vero Beach. "We have five No. 1 draft picks and they all contribute."

Zimmer especially noted the play of Matt Garza, outfielder B.J. Upton and Price, who all have been part of the best story in sports. The Rays have been around for 10 years, but no one knew their names. This year's bunch ignored the pressure of the Sox and Yankees during the regular season, dispatched the White Sox 3-1 in the first round of the playoffs, then beat the defending world champions in seven games in the ALCS. The pitching rotation -- James Shields, Garza, Andy Sonnanstine and Scott Kazmir -- is young and capable, and the hitters show discipline at the plate.

"I was at a funeral in New York for Johnny Podres in January," said Zimmer of the former Dodgers pitcher and hero of 1955 World Series. "Standing outside, in the frigid cold, I told some friends that the worst team in baseball (2007) would win 90 games this year. I wasn't off by much."

The Rays won 97, up from 66, and nothing has pleased Zimmer more.

"I have never been in a clubhouse where every single player has been responsible for at least one win," he said. "It all boils down to pitching and defense, and we have both."

Derek Jeter used to rub Zimmer's head for good luck. The Rays, with the same good fortune in mind, asked Zimmer to throw out the first pitch before Game 7. Manager Joe Maddon said the 77-year-old's evaluation of players has influenced his game management.

"It was a wonderful idea to have him throw out the first pitch," said Maddon. "Next time, we'll rub his belly."

All his friends will be rooting for the man writer Dave Barry once described as "an ill-conceived genetic experiment between W.C. Fields and a manatee."

Zimmer spent eight seasons sitting next to Joe Torre on the Yankees bench while New York was winning four World Series. If the Rays had been eliminated, he would have been with Torre this week. The two had plans to attend the Breeder's Cup at Santa Anita.

"I talked to Joe today," Zimmer said. "I told him to bet on anything named 'Winner.'"