| Ryan Zimmerman | |
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Zimmerman with the Nationals |
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| Washington Nationals – No. 11 | |
| Third baseman | |
| Born: September 28, 1984 Washington, North Carolina |
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| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| September 1, 2005 for the Washington Nationals | |
| Career statistics (through 2011 Season) |
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| Batting average | .288 |
| Home runs | 128 |
| Hits | 947 |
| Teams | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Medal record | ||
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| Men’s baseball | ||
| Competitor for United States | ||
| World University Championship | ||
| Gold | 2004 Tainan | Team |
Ryan Wallace Zimmerman (born September 28, 1984) is a Major League Baseball third baseman with the Washington Nationals. A 6-foot 3-inch player from the University of Virginia and Kellam High School, Zimmerman has been a member of the Nationals since his debut on September 1, 2005. Zimmerman now has a five-year, $45 million contract, the largest guaranteed deal in franchise history of the Nationals until Jayson Werth was signed in 2010.
Zimmerman's mother Cheryl was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1995, and has needed to use a wheelchair since 2000.[1] Zimmerman has cited his mother's condition as a substantial formative influence on his development, saying that it forced him to grow up and assume responsibilities at an earlier age than most children.[2] He also founded the ziMS Foundation.[3]
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A three-year starting shortstop for the Virginia Cavaliers in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Zimmerman started in all 174 games he appeared in, and his collegiate career statistics include 250 hits, 140 RBIs, 128 runs, 47 doubles, seven triples and nine home runs. He was successful on 32 of 39 stolen base attempts. His career totals are among the top ten in Virginia statistical categories for doubles (5th), hits (6th) and RBI (7th). Zimmerman established the school record of hits in a season with 90 in 2004, breaking his own record with 92 in 2005.
In his final collegiate season, Zimmerman led the Cavaliers with a .393 average, .581 slugging percentage, 136 total bases, 92 hits, 59 RBIs, and 51 runs. He coupled his high batting average with striking out just 14 times in the full season. Through August 2011, he was one of 29 former UVA players to have made it to the major leagues, along with among others former Cavaliers Michael Schwimer, Javier López, and Mark Reynolds.[4]
Zimmerman’s collegiate awards and honors include 2005 All-American by Baseball America, 2005 All-American by National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, 2005 All-ACC selection, 2005 ACC All-Tournament Team and 2005 Virginia College Sports Information Directors (VaSID) Player of the Year. He was also a 2004 First Team All-ACC selection, 2004 VaSID All-State Team selection and named to the 2004 Charlottesville NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team. Zimmerman played alongside current Orioles third baseman and notorious home run threat, Mark Reynolds.
Zimmerman started at third base for the 2004 USA Baseball National Team that won the gold medal in the FISU II World University Baseball Championship. Zimmerman’s summer with Team USA included starting 18 of 24 games and leading the team in batting average (.468), hits (36), RBI (27), runs (25), doubles (12), home runs (4), slugging percentage (.805) and total bases (62). He also posted a .933 fielding percentage and won the team Triple Crown. In his sophomore year in college he batted over .400 in the 9th inning with 2 runners on base.
Zimmerman’s .468 batting average set a national team single-season record and was a factor in his earning the World University Championship tournament MVP.
Zimmerman's performance with Team USA led to him being named the 2004 "Dick Case" Athlete of the Year by USA Baseball.
Zimmerman also played on the same AAU team as B.J. Upton and David Wright.[5]
Zimmerman was drafted in the first round as the fourth overall pick by the Washington Nationals in the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft. After being signed on the day he was drafted, he was sent to the Savannah Sand Gnats – the Nationals minor league A affiliate and then quickly moved up to the Harrisburg Senators – the Nationals' AA minor league baseball affiliate.
Zimmerman was called up to the majors when rosters expanded in September 2005, and shared third base duties with Vinny Castilla, taking over the position on a more permanent basis between the time the Nationals were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention and the end of the season. In his first major league at bat at RFK Stadium he muscled a double to right center. Over the course of 20 games, he posted a .397 batting average, 10 doubles, and 6 RBIs in 58 at bats. He was the only member of the 2005 team to hit over .300 in at least 50 at bats.
He remained with the Major League club to start the 2006 campaign, taking over third base duties from Castilla, who was traded to the San Diego Padres.[6] Prior to 2006 Spring Training, Zimmerman changed his jersey number from #25 (2005) to #11, his former college number.
On April 5, 2006, he hit his first Major League home run off a 93-mph fastball in the ninth inning against Mets' closer Billy Wagner. It sailed into the second deck in Shea Stadium, tied the game in the top of the ninth inning, and allowed the Nationals to go on to win their first game of the 2006 season by a score of 9–5 in extra innings.
On June 18, 2006, Father's Day, with his father in the stands, Zimmerman hit his tenth Major League home run and his first walk-off home run when he hit a 2-run shot in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat the New York Yankees 3–2. The usually stoic Zimmerman gleefully tossed his batting helmet in the air while rounding third and leaped onto home plate as his teammates crowded around him. He later took a curtain call and tossed his batting gloves into the stands.[7]
On July 4, 2006, he hit a 3-run home run against Florida closer Joe Borowski on a two-strike pitch with two outs in the 9th inning of a game Washington was losing 4–3; the walk-off home run carried Washington to a 6–4 victory. This was Zimmerman's 12th career home run and his second walk-off. Two days later he delivered a walk-off single against the Marlins to win the game 8–7 in the 11th inning.
On September 27, 2006, against the Philadelphia Phillies, Zimmerman hit his 20th home run of the season and tied the Expos/Nationals franchise record for home runs by a rookie; in 2002, Brad Wilkerson hit 20 home runs for the Montreal Expos.
During his first season as the Nationals' third baseman, Zimmerman became a hometown hero and a fan favorite through his defense and ability to come through in late-inning situations. Frank Robinson once compared Zimmerman's defense to that of Brooks Robinson, a former teammate of Frank Robinson's. During the 2006 spring training, Frank Robinson said that he thought 12 homers and 60 RBIs would be a realistic goal for his rookie infielder; Zimmerman exceeded those expectations and finished with 20 home runs and 110 RBIs. Along with those two figures, he finished the 2006 season with 156 games played, 612 at-bats, .288 batting average, .352 OBP, 84 runs scored, 176 hits, 47 doubles, 3 triples, and 11 steals. He led all Major Leaguers with 10 or more bunts in bunt hit percentage, at 83.3% with 10 bunt hits.[8] Although he was named on more ballots (29–27), Zimmerman finished second in the 2006 NL Rookie of the Year voting to Florida Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez in the closest Rookie Of the Year vote ever.
On a game that began on May 12, 2007, but ended at 1:42 am the next day (Mother's Day), Zimmerman hit a two-out bottom-of-the-ninth grand slam to rally the Nationals past the Florida Marlins, 7–3.
On June 22, 2007, Zimmerman fielded a routine ground ball that ended up in his jersey. As he bent over to underhand the ball at his stomach level, his jersey top opened and hung down in front of his glove, causing the ball to go into his jersey instead of his positioned glove.
On July 4, 2007, Zimmerman hit a two-out go-ahead home run in the first inning against the Chicago Cubs. The one-run home run would have been considered routine had it not continued a trend that led to Zimmerman being declared a "human fireworks" show by an ESPN.com article.[9] The Independence Day home run marked Zimmerman's fifth game-ending or go-ahead home run on a holiday. Zimmerman hit home runs on Father's Day in 2006 and 2007, Independence Day in 2006 and 2007, and Mother's Day in 2007. Per ESPN.com, Zimmerman was quoted as saying, "I wish every day was a holiday."[9]
On August 3, 2007, Zimmerman delivered his sixth walk-off game-winner in his first two seasons with a single to left, giving the Nationals a 3–2 win over the visiting St. Louis Cardinals. With another walk-off in September, Zimmerman produced seven walk-offs with three via home run, three via singles, and one via bases-loaded walk, in less than two seasons. Manager Manny Acta stated, "He has done some dramatic stuff since he's been up here…he doesn't get rattled when that situation comes up, and I think that's what he has shown here the last two years."[10] Subsequent to the game, Zimmerman was presented the 2006 Larry Doby Legacy Award for his achievements during his rookie season.[11]
On August 4, 2007, Zimmerman had his first career multi-homer day, hitting a solo shot in the fourth and a two-run homer in the sixth in a 12–1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.
On March 30, the Washington Nationals played the Atlanta Braves in the first regular season major league baseball game in the new Nationals Park. In that game, with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Zimmerman hit a walk-off home run off of the Braves' Peter Moylan, giving the Nationals a 3–2 win.[12] It was the first home run hit by a Nationals player in the history of their new ballpark. Zimmerman was placed on the disabled list on June 3, 2008 with a small labral tear in his left shoulder. He rejoined the team July 22, 2008 after a short minor league assignment. On February 20, 2009, Zimmerman agreed to a $3.325 million, one-year deal for 2009, avoiding arbitration.[13]
On April 20, 2009, Zimmerman signed a five year, $45 million contract with the Nationals through the 2013 season, replacing the one year, $3.325 million contract he had agreed to in February in order to avoid arbitration. He hit safely in 30 consecutive games, the longest such streak by any player since 2006. That streak was broken May 13 against the Giants, going 0-for-3 with two walks in five plate appearances; he hit into a fielder's choice in his last at-bat.[14] His streak of reaching base (via hit or walk) in 43 consecutive games ended on May 26.[15] On July 5, 2009, he was selected to his first All-Star Game. On September 6, 2009, he hit a walk-off two run homer against the Florida Marlins to give the Nationals a 5–4 win. On November 11, 2009, he won a Gold Glove Award as the best defensive third baseman in the National League, and on November 12, 2009 he won a Silver Slugger Award as the best offensive third baseman in the league.[16] Zimmerman also won a Fielding Bible Award as Major League Baseball's best fielding third baseman.[17]
Zimmerman hit his 100th career home run on May 30, 2010 at Petco Park, he became the second player to reach this milestone in the '05 draft class. He would later homer again to have his 7th multi-homer game of his career. Zimmerman hit 25 home runs, 85 RBI's, and had his first .300 batting average with .307. On November 11, 2010, Zimmerman won his second Silver Slugger Award at third base.
Zimmerman started off the season hot batting .357 through April 9. On that day is when Zimmerman got injured and was placed on the 15-Day DL on April 11 with an abdominal strain. It wasn't until June 14 that the Nationals star 3rd baseman came back to play against the Cardinals. As of July 9, Zimmerman is hitting .252, with 4 homers and 15 RBI's, with 15 runs scored and 1 stolen base. During the next few seasons with the Nationals moving in all their big name prospects such as Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper, Zimmerman will be an important leader in the clubhouse, and on and off the field with his veteran knowledge and leadership. On August 19, 2011, Zimmerman hit a walk-off grand slam to give the Nationals an 8–4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
| Preceded by Garrett Atkins |
Topps Rookie All-Star Third Baseman 2006 |
Succeeded by Ryan Braun |
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