Both dugouts and bullpens emptied, with Zimmer coming all the way across the infield to the first-base side. Zimmer headed for Martinez and lunged at him. Martinez sidestepped him, grabbed him by the head with both hands and tossed him to the ground. Zimmer landed face down and rolled over on his back.
Zimmer remained on the ground and Yankees trainer Gene Monahan treated the coach for what appeared to be a cut on his head.
Sitting in the dugout, Zimmer had a small bandage on his nose. Later, he was smiling and laughing.
After the game Zimmer was taken away on a stretcher, placed in an ambulance and taken to the hospital for examination. He came away with only a cut on the bridge of his nose.
Zimmer, the Red Sox manager when they lost the famous 1978 AL East playoff to the Yankees, has a plate in his head, the result of a beaning in 1953. He is in his 54th season in professional baseball.
"I was more surprised to see Zim get across the field that fast," Jason Giambi said. "You don't spend as many years as he has in the game without getting involved."
Zimmer had nothing to say following the game -- except to note with satisfaction that, "We won the game."
Martinez told ESPN Radio after the game that he is "completely" shocked by what happened on the field Saturday. He said Zimmer tried to hit him, so he tried to push him away. Martinez emphasized that he would never hit Zimmer.