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Ryan Zimmerman
From BR Bullpen
Ryan Wallace Zimmerman
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 3", Weight 210 lb.
- School University of Virginia
- High School Floyd Kellam High School
- Debut September 1, 2005
- Born September 28, 1984 in Washington, NC USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Ryan Zimmerman hit .308/.340/.376 as a college freshman at the University of Virginia. He improved to .361/.395/.454 the next year and was fifth in the Atlantic Coast Conference in average, making the All-Conference team at third base. In 2005, Ryan hit .393/.469/.581 to finish 5th in the ACC again in average. Ryan Braun beat him out for the All-Conference team though Zimmerman was picked 4th in the 2005 amateur draft, one spot ahead of Braun. Scouted by Alex Smith, he signed for $2,975,000. He was anmed as a second-team All-American by Baseball America, as Alex Gordon was picked as the top third baseman and Braun was a first-team DH.
While playing for a Virginia traveling team, Zimmerman wasn't able to start at his natural positions, shortstop and third base. This was because those positions were occupied by third basemen David Wright and shortstop B.J. Upton. Zimmerman had to play first and second base instead.
The Washington Nationals started Ryan with the mid-A Savannah Sand Gnats and he hit .471/.471/1.059 in 4 games, producing 9 runs. He was called up to the Harrisburg Senators, where he batted .326/.371/.528 in 63 games despite being at only .247 as of July 21. He then was a September call-up and hit .397/.419/.569 in his first 20 games in the majors, becoming the first Nationals draft pick in the major leagues. Baseball America named him the #5 prospect in the Eastern League, between Jon Lester and Nick Markakis.
In 2006, Zimmerman became only the third National League rookie in the last 50 years with 100 RBIs, joining Albert Pujols (130 in 2001) and Mike Piazza (112 in 1993). Overall, Zimmerman hit .287/.351/.471 for the 2006 Nationals with 47 doubles, 20 homers and 110 RBI. In 2007, he played in all 162 games for the Nats, hitting .266 with 43 doubles and 24 homers, scoring 99 runs and driving in 91.
Zimmerman opened Nationals Park with a bang. On Opening Day, 2008, he hit a 2-out, bottom-of-the-9th homer off of Peter Moylan to give Washington a 3-2 win over Atlanta. He hit .283 in 106 games that year, then had his best season in 2009, posting a batting line of .292/.364/.525 in 157 games, with 37 doubles, a career-high 33 homers, and 106 RBI. He made the All-Star team for the first time that summer.
Zimmerman caught Barack Obama's first pitch during the 2010 Opening Day ceremony. He went on to have another very productive season, hitting .307/.388/.510 in 142 games, with 32 doubles and 25 homers. He missed 58 games at the start of the 2011 season after going on the disabled list on April 10th with an abdominal strain, and only coming back on June 14th. He was off to a great start, hitting .357 in 8 games before the injury. He still managed to play 101 games, hitting .289 but with only 12 homers and 49 RBI. Still, the Nationals were no too worried by the fall in production as on February 26, 2012, as spring training was getting under way, they announced that they had signed Ryan to a contract extension worth $100 million that would keep him with the team until 2019.
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 2006 Topps All-Star Rookie Team
- NL All-Star (2009)
- NL Gold Glove Winner (2009)
- 2-time NL Silver Slugger Award Winner (2009 & 2010)
- 20-Home Run Seasons: 5 (2006, 2007, 2009, 2010 & 2012)
- 30-Home Run Seasons: 1 (2009)
- 100 RBI Seasons: 2 (2006 & 2009)
- 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 1 (2009)
