Rays to retire Don Zimmer's No. 66 on Opening Day

The Tampa Bay Rays will honor the late Don Zimmer by retiring his No. 66 during a pregame ceremony at Tropicana Field on April 6 against the Baltimore Orioles.

This year marks baseball's first Opening Day without Zimmer since 1971. Zimmer, who either played, coached or managed for nine different organizations during his career, spent his most time (2004-2014) with the Rays, who hired him following an eight-year run with the New York Yankees.

"Don Zimmer enriched the lives of everyone in the Rays family, and he played a significant part in the growth of our organization," Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg said in a statement released by the team. "Zim's presence has been a gift to the game of baseball, and his influence will be felt for years to come.

"It has been a true privilege of my stewardship of the Rays to have had Don as such an important part of our organization. It is with great pride that we honor him and the game by retiring his number."

Zimmer, who passed away June 4, 2014, will be the third person in franchise history to have their number retired above the left-field wall, joining Wade Boggs (No. 12) and Jackie Robinson (No. 42). Zimmer won six World Series rings and made the playoffs 19 times during his 66-year career.