It was August 26th, 2004
that I got to spend one of the most remarkable days of my life with a
baseball legend. His name was Don Zimmer and he was truly a
wonderful man.
On the afternoon of Thursday August
26th, 2004 the featured horse race at Saratoga Race
Course was to be the Union Avenue Stakes. It was a small stakes race
for fillies and mares who had been bred in New York State, not an
important race in terms of status or purse money.
What gave that stakes race some flair
was that the favorite in the race, a filly named Sugar Punch, was
co-owned by the manager of the Yankees, Joe Torre.
Joe Torre and Don Zimmer shared a bond
that went beyond baseball, they both loved horse racing. The Yankees
were in Toronto that day so Torre could not attend the races at
Saratoga to see his filly run. Because he could not attend the race
he sent his former bench coach Don Zimmer to watch the filly run and
hopefully lead her into the winners circle.
My friend Rick Dutrow Jr. was the
trainer of Sugar Punch and he asked me to go the box seats where
Zimmer was going to sit all day at the races and entertain him and
talk horses with him. Rick was going to be busy saddling other
horses that day and couldn't spend the whole day up in the box seats.
I assured Rick it would be my great pleasure to spend the day with
Zimmer.
I eagerly arrived to the box seats to
meet this baseball legend who I found with his head buried in the
Daily Racing Form and sitting with another baseball legend who I
already knew, Mr. John Podres. John Podres lived right above
Saratoga Springs in Glens Falls,NY and was well known to everyone in
the area who had visited the racetrack, Mr. Podres loved the horses.
After saying hello to Mr. Podres I
introduced myself to Zim, whose response was a quick hello followed
by “Who do you like in this daily double?”.
The entire afternoon went just like
that! Three guys talking horses and reading the Daily Racing Form. I
stayed away from asking Yankee and baseball questions because it was
obvious that Zim had no interest in anything other than his passion,
the horse races.
When it was time for the stakes race
with Mr. Torre's horse, Zim went down to the paddock where the horses
are saddled and graciously shook hands and said hello to the many
people who walked up to him. He arrived back at the box with the
filly's trainer Rick. Rick was on a cell phone and with one minute
to post he told the person on the other end of the cellphone while
looking at me “Ok babe, I'm going to give you to Mike. He's going
to call the race for you.” Slightly annoyed, I mouthed the words
to Rick “who is it?” and Rick replied very casually “It's
Torre”. My eyes must have looked as wide as pie pans.
Having been in the horse business,
which is full of celebrities, I am not easily awed by anyone. This
was different. This was the manager of the my favorite thing in the
whole world, the New York Yankees. I took the phone from Rick and
said nervously, “hello Mr. Torre, I'm Michael and will call the
race for you.” He calmly said “Hi Mike, thanks”. The race went
off and Sugar Punch was in perfect position the whole way and made
her big move in the stretch, I called the race like a pro until the
last 100 yards when I excitedly exclaimed “You're going to win Mr.
Torre!! She's going to win”. Mr. Torre's response? He asked me who had ran
second because he had bet an exacta! He hit it.
After the races we all went to dinner at a great Italian place. It was then that I got to ask Zim
all of the questions I wanted to know about baseball, some of the
Yankees and Yankees execs, and also about George Steinbrenner. Zim
answered them all very candidly and had me laughing most of the
evening. Zim and Mr. Podres had been teammates in MLB with the
Brooklyn Dodgers, something I didn't realize until that evening. They recounted their days
as teammates, laughing as they recalled how many times their manager Walt Alston would be furious
with them for being late to practice because they stayed too long at
the track! With Mr. Podres sheepishly looking at the table and
roaring laughter, Zim told me his favorite story involving their time
with the Dodgers. One day they were very late to practice and Alston
asked to be informed when they arrived in the locker room. Shortly
after they arrived, Alston came storming in to the locker room,
tearing into them for being late again, certain they had come from
the track. Mr. Podres began to explain to Alston that they had been
caught in traffic and hadn't been to the track. Alston's face turned
red with anger, and he snatched the racing program that Zim had forgotten to take out of his back pocket and held it up in front of them before storming out of the
room.
I can't recount what Zim told me about
some of the players and execs because it wouldn't be right to do, but
I can assure you it was not only one of the greatest dinners I've
ever had but also one of the best and most remarkable days of my
life.
Zim signed a lovely note for my aunt and uncle before he left, who were big fans of his.
My life was enriched by spending just
one day with this man, who truly lived a wonderful life.
He's been reunited with his friend Mr. Podres in Heaven now, and I'm sure they'll hit every trifecta on Belmont Stakes Day.
