Hall of Fame friendship

Well, you're gonna like this story. In just a few days, the greatest player in the history of the Tampa Bay Rays will take his place among franchise legends. We're talking about Evan Longoria. Of course, he will have his number three retired by the franchise, meaning no ray will ever wear that number again. Accompanying him out to the field will be a 95 year old great grandmother who became his lifelong friend and the moment he stepped onto the turf at Tropicana Field. FOX 13's Evan Axelbank reports on their Hall of Fame Sut Zimmer lives among legends. I'm proud of all of it for good reason. Cut out things out of the paper and people would send me things that were in their paper. She is one. Bring back memories. That's for sure. Bats, balls and helmets of all kinds line the walls of her home in Seminole. He got hit in the head. And so as a joke, the next day, I don't know who did it. They had that for him to wear. You're looking at 95 years of evidence that suit Zimmer and her husband, Don, weren't just part of the game. Look at this house. Look at this. You can't hardly pick it up. They were the game. Baseballs have been our life, you know, our whole life. So it's high school sweetheart, baseball player, coach, manager and baseball advisor Don Zimmer passed away in 2014 across 60 years of marriage. They didn't just collect memorabilia from the ballpark. They collected friends at the ballpark. There's Jackie Robinson. There's Joe Torrey. And there's number three, Evan Longoria. Who are you in the picture with? Evan Longoria. Is he your friend? He's my friend. Way back. You know, I'm an old lady. Don was well into his tenure as a raised coach when Longoria played his first game in 2008. Don and so it's son, Tom, himself a baseball scout, says his dad helped Longoria mature from draft pick to team leader. The grandfather teaching the grandson how to be a ballplayer in the big league level. So it whose lifelong nickname is a play on a German word that means sweetie was part of it to providing a calming presence at team functions, a caring voice and a backbone for an approach to life. On sunday, when long goes number goes to the rafters, soot will be there very nice that I get invited with on gone to these different affairs. He's a class person and he deserves what he's getting. This is Don Zimmer's Rays Hall of Fame jacket. He got it in 2023 and now Evan Longoria is going to have his own. So it's house full of memorabilia is a tribute, not just to Don Zimmer, but to his career that he spent in baseball and to her dedication to him. Not only are there dozens of scrapbooks, I've got a scrapbook for every year Don played. There's enough baseball memorabilia to make any fans head spin autographed balls galore. Bats signed by entire teams, including the 1959 Dodgers lifetime passes, Hall of Fame plaques, awards, baseball cards, one of a kind paintings and even a fruit bowl filled with game use balls. And still soot Zimmer can't let go all the time. I always have a ball game on you watch every night. Oh yeah. Yeah. In fact, but because of this, they were out in L. A. And then come on till 10. I did cheat a little bit and go to bed. That's all right. One of her prized possessions will have new significance. Come Sunday, a wine bottle from her husband's new Hall of Fame colleague them. I can't express how much you have given me and how much I have learned. Best wishes. Evan Longoria. I think that's precious. She can give one of her baseball grandsons something to one more piece of advice. Enjoy life and go ball game once in a while. And when he does, he'll see his number alongside Zim's and know that soot will always be right beside them. Both Evan Axelbank FOX 13 news.