Bruce Edward Kimm (born June 29, 1951) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

. He played all or part of four seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

between 1976 until 1980. Born in

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County, Iowa, Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River (Iowa River), Cedar River, north of Iowa City, Iowa, Iowa City and north ...

, Kimm grew up in nearby

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and was a star player on the celebrated Norway High School baseball teams, all of which played in state championships during his high school days. He was a three-time all-state player in baseball and selected in the seventh round of the 1969 amateur draft by the White Sox, signing in his senior year of high school. Kimm made his major league debut in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

with the Detroit Tigers on May 4, where he was

Mark Fidrych Mark Steven Fidrych ( ; August 14, 1954 – April 13, 2009), nicknamed "The Bird", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) baseball pitcher. He pitched his entire career for the Detroit Tigers (1976–1980). Known for his quirky antics ...

's personal catcher in 1976 and 1977. They had been teammates in 1975 at Triple-A

Evansville Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...

and won the

Junior World Series The Junior World Series was a postseason championship series between champions of two of the three highest minor league baseball leagues modeled on the World Series of Major League Baseball. It was called the Little World Series (no relation to ...

. He played his final major league game on September 19, 1980.

Managerial career

Kimm began his managerial career in the Tigers organization in 1982. In 1995, he won Manager of the Year honors in the AA Southern League, compiling a 76–67 record with the Orlando Cubs en route to a playoff appearance. Kimm has also managed within the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

organization. He managed in the minor leagues for five and a half seasons from 1982 to 2002, compiling a record. After the 2002 Chicago Cubs started the season with a record, manager

Don Baylor Don Edward Baylor (June 28, 1949 – August 7, 2017) was an American professional baseball player and manager. During his 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), Baylor was a power hitter known for standing very close to home plate (" crowding ...

was fired and replaced on an interim basis by Kimm (though bench coach

Rene Lachemann Rene George Lachemann (born May 4, 1945) is a retired American professional baseball coach, catcher and manager. He spent 33 years in Major League Baseball, including service as the manager of the Seattle Mariners (1981–83), Milwaukee Brewers (1 ...

managed one game on July 5 prior to Kimm's arrival), who had been managing the Cubs' AAA affiliate. This caused some controversy, as former

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home ve ...

manager and then Cubs pitching coach

Larry Rothschild Lawrence Lee Rothschild (born March 12, 1954) is an American professional baseball pitcher, coach, and manager. Rothschild played for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB) in 1981 and 1982. He has coached for the Cincinnati Reds, A ...

was seen by some as a better choice. Kimm did not fare much better than Baylor, as the Cubs went for the rest of the season. His departure was announced before the final game of the season; he was replaced by

Dusty Baker Johnnie B. "Dusty" Baker Jr. (born June 15, 1949) is an American baseball manager and former player who is the manager of the Houston Astros in Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in the MLB for 19 seasons, most notably with the Lo ...

. In 2003, Kimm was a third base coach for Chicago's other MLB team, the White Sox. Kimm has also been a coach for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

, and

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

External links

Bruce Kimm
at SABR (Baseball BioProject) : {{DEFAULTSORT:Kimm, Bruce 1951 births Living people Appleton Foxes players Baseball players from Iowa Chicago Cubs managers Chicago Cubs players Chicago White Sox coaches Chicago White Sox players Cincinnati Reds coaches Colorado Rockies (baseball) coaches Detroit Tigers players Duluth-Superior Dukes players Evansville Triplets players Florida Marlins coaches Gulf Coast White Sox players Iowa Cubs managers Knoxville Sox players Lakeland Flying Tigers managers Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball third base coaches Montgomery Rebels players Pittsburgh Pirates coaches Rochester Red Wings players San Diego Padres coaches Sportspeople from Cedar Rapids, Iowa Toledo Mud Hens players Tucson Toros players