Popular, productive Zimmerman retires, set many Nats marks

Known to many as Mr. National, Ryan Zimmerman was there for it all with the baseball club in D.C.

The first draft pick in Washington Nationals history, and the public face of the franchise, he lived through 100-loss seasons, playoff heartache and, finally, a World Series championship. And now, at age 37, he’s ready to move on.

In many ways an old-school player, Zimmerman announced his retirement via the new-school method of a Twitter post on Tuesday, ending a decorated playing career in which he became the Nationals’ leader in most major hitting categories and boosted his only major league club to its only title.

“When we first met I was a 20-year-old kid fresh out of the University of Virginia,” he wrote. “I had no idea how unbelievable the next 17 years of my life were going to be.”

Zimmerman was picked fourth overall in the June 2005 draft during the Nationals' first season after moving from Montreal to Washington. He made his major league debut that September and hit .397 in 20 games, giving a glimpse of what was to come.

“Ryan will forever be Mr. National. From the walk-off home runs, to carrying the World Series trophy down Constitution Avenue, to the final day of the 2021 regular season when our fans gave him an ovation that none of us will soon forget, Ryan gave us all 17 years of amazing memories,” team owner Mark Lerner said in a statement.

Popular and productive, Zimmerman was a two-time All-Star, won a Gold Glove at third base and helped the Nationals reach the postseason five times, capped by their run to the 2019 title.

In the NL wild-card game that year, Zimmerman’s two-out, pinch-hit single off Milwaukee relief ace Josh Hader keyed a three-run rally in the eighth inning for a 4-3 victory. He later hit the first World Series homer in franchise history,...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Popular-productive-Zimmerman-retires-set-many-16921763.php