Pro Perspective: Bruce Kimm

Pro Perspective: Bruce Kimm

Teams

• Detroit Tigers, 1976 - 1977; Chicago Cubs, 1979; Chicago White Sox, 1980.

Midwest Roots 

Bruce Kimm was born on June 29, 1951 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He grew up in a tiny town in eastern Iowa called Norway.

Bruce played in the local rec leagues, American Legion ball, and eventually at Norway High School. He only started playing catcher at age 14 when he was asked to fill in behind the dish because the team’s normal catcher wasn’t available to play.

A strong high school athlete who played Baseball and Basketball, Bruce was drafted in the seventh round of the 1969 draft by the Chicago White Sox.  

He would spend the next seven-plus years in the minors working for his shot at the big leagues. In that time he played for many different minor league teams including the Appleton Foxes, Tucson Toros, Montgomery Rebels, and Evansville Triplets.

In September of 1972, Bruce was traded from the White Sox to the California Angels. Just a few months later, during spring training of 73, he was traded again - this time to the Detroit Tigers.

After toiling in the minors for three more seasons in the Tigers organization, Bruce would finally earn his major league call-up in 1976.

The Big Leagues and The Big Bird

Bruce Kimm made his MLB debut on May 4, 1976 at Tiger Stadium in a night game against the Minnesota Twins.

He entered the game in the ninth inning as a defensive replacement behind the plate and got his first at bat in the tenth inning, lining out to left field. The Twins went on to win by one run in the tenth. 

He would go on to play in 63 games for the Tigers that year, in what proved to be a notable season for Detroit. 

What was so notable about that season? It was the introduction of Mark “The Bird” Fidrych. He got the nickname The Bird because he resembled Big Bird from Sesame Street.

Fidrych was a sensation in 1976, not only for his great pitching (he started the All Star game and won the AL Rookie of the Year award) but because he would do eccentric things like talk to the ball and pat down the pitcher's mound dirt with his hands. 

Bruce and Mark played together in the minors, and he caught Mark’s first major league start. He would go on to become Mark’s personal catcher during that famous 76 season.

1977, however, wasn't a great year for either Fidrych or Bruce. Fidrych was placed on the DL due to injuries, and Bruce had a terrible year at the plate and was sent back to the minors. 

He spent all of 1978 and most of 1979 in the minors. In August of 79 Bruce's contract was sold to the Chicago Cubs, and he made it back to the big leagues for 9 games that season. 

The White Sox claimed him in the Rule 5 draft in 1979, and he would go on to appear in a career-high 100 MLB games for Chicago in 1980.

Unfortunately, Bruce hurt his shoulder playing winter ball in 1980. The injury was bad enough that he didn't make the White Sox roster in 1981, so he decided to retire.

In a four year MLB career, Bruce Kimm appeared in 186 big league games, hit .241 and collected 104 hits with 1 home run, 35 runs and 26 RBIs.

Defensively he maintained a .977 fielding average as a catcher and he gunned down 58 would be base runners. 

Bruce’s Post-Playing Career

Like many former pro catchers, Bruce Kimm got into coaching after his playing career ended. His first job was as manager of the single A Lakeland Tigers in 1982. The next season, he managed the Cedar Rapids Reds. Then, he was promoted to the big leagues as the Cincinnati Reds bullpen coach, followed by a two year stint as the third base coach.  

He moved to the Pirates for the 1989 and 90 seasons, then went to the coaching staff on the San Diego Padres.

He went back to a manager job in the minors from 1993 - 1996, then went back to the majors in 1997 to join the eventual World Series champion Florida Marlins. 

Between 1999 and 2000, Bruce spent time as a bench coach and a scout for the Colorado Rockies. In 2001, he went back to the minors to manage the AAA Iowa Cubs, and in mid 2002 he was promoted to take over the manager job for the Cubs. 

Bruce went 33 - 45 as the Cubs' manager in 2002, and he was let go after the season. He then went across town in 2003 to become the third base coach for the White Sox. After the 03 season, he decided to retire.

Q&A with Bruce Kimm

Bruce Kimm is a former big league catcher with over 1,200 innings spent behind the plate in MLB games. He has played with Hall of Famers (Bruce Sutter, Alan Trammel and Harold Baines), for a Hall of Fame manager (Tony La Russa), and coached Baseball superstars (Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa, for example).  

I wrote to Bruce a while ago looking for his input on my questions for MLB catchers. He signed my 1981 Topps card, and he kindly responded to my questions.

Like all the others in this Pro Perspective series, I wanted to share Bruce’s feedback with readers in the hope that his perspective will help catchers who want to improve their game.

Here are Bruce’s responses to my questions, as you can also read in the image below.

Question 1: What is your favorite memory from playing in the majors?

Answer: Catching Mark "The Bird" Fidrych

Question 2: What do you think is the most important skill that a catcher should have?

Answer: Knowledge of the Game

Question 3: If you could give only one piece of advice to catchers hoping to make it to the next level, what would it be?

Answer: Be in great physical condition and work as hard as you can. Give it your all.

In his playing days, Bruce Kimm was known for his competitive nature and for working his tail off. It's not at all surprising then that he encourages young catchers to work as hard as they can. Good advice!

Remember, only certain people have natural talent. However, anyone can work hard, and you can outwork everyone else if you really set your mind to it. 

Thanks for Reading

We have a few Pro Perspectives left to share, so keep an eye out for them! 

We hope you enjoyed this post and learned something from it. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact us.