He was a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers and played for the first New York Mets team. He managed the Boston Red Sox during the epic 1978 season that ended in heartbreak. He was named NL Manager of the Year in 1989, when he took the Chicago Cubs to the NL Championship Series. He was a fixture on the Tampa Bay Rays bench. He was Don Zimmer, one of the most beloved figures in baseball history. Zimmer died on Wednesday at age 83.

Zimmer died in Florida at the BayCare Alliant Hospital, the MLB confirmed.

“Like everyone in Major League Baseball, I am deeply saddened by the loss of my friend Don Zimmer, one of our game's most universally beloved figures,” Commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement. “A memorable contributor to Baseball for more than 60 years, Don was the kind of person you could only find in the National Pastime.”

Zimmer spend six decades in baseball, making his major league debut for the Dodgers in 1954. The following year, the team won the World Series. He remained with the Dodgers when they moved to Los Angeles. After a tenure with the Cubs, he joined the first Mets team in 1962. He finished his playing career in 1965 with the Washington Senators.

But that was just the beginning of his life in the game. He managed for the Padres, Red Sox, Rangers and Cubs. He just couldn’t be kept away from the game. His last position was senior advisor for the Rays.

The Rays will have a moment of silence for Zimmer at the start of tonight’s game at Tropicana Field. A special ceremony is also planned for Saturday.

“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,” former Yankees manager and current MLB Executive Vice President Joe Torre said in a statement, notes the Daily News. “The game was his life. And his passing is going to create a void in my life and my wife Ali’s. We loved him. The game of baseball lost a special person tonight. He was a good man.”

Zimmer is survived by his wife, Jean and their children, Thomas and Donna. He is also survived by four grandchildren.