Ryan Zimmerman

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 helped him earn the World University Championship tournament MVP.

Ryan Wallace Zimmerman (born September 28, 1984) is an American former professional baseball infielder who played 16 seasons for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Zimmerman graduated from Kellam High School in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and played college baseball at the University of Virginia.

As a high schooler in 2000, he played on a "showcase team" with Wright, Mark Reynolds, and B.J. and Justin Upton.

Zimmerman played high school baseball as a shortstop at Floyd E. Kellam High School in Virginia Beach.

Until late in his senior year, James Madison, Charlotte, and UNC Wilmington were the only Division I programs to show interest in him.

He later received a scholarship offer from Virginia.

The Virginia native spent his 2003 summer with the Peninsula Pilots.

He batted a team-best .331 with 47 hits, including eight doubles, a triple and a homer.

He finished with 19 RBIs, 12 runs scored, 60 total bases, and 16 walks.

Zimmerman's hits, total bases, and slugging percentage (.423) were Pilots team-highs that season.

He was later named to the North CPL All-Star team, where he went 1-for-2.

Zimmerman established the school record of hits in a season with 90 in 2004, then broke his 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 struck out just 14 times in the full season.

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 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.

He won the USA Baseball Richard W. "Dick" Case Player of the Year Award in 2004.

Nicknamed "Mr. National", he was selected in the first round as the fourth overall pick by the Nationals in the 2005 Major League Baseball draft, then played for the team from its 2005 inaugural season in Washington, D.C., through 2021.

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.

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-level affiliate and then quickly moved up to the Harrisburg Senators, the AA affiliate.

Zimmerman was called up to the majors when rosters expanded in September 2005.

He first played shortstop for two games, taking over for an injured Cristian Guzman.

Zimmerman also 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 left 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.

In 2006, the Coastal Plain League honored Zimmerman as a member of its All-Decade Team.

A three-year starting third baseman 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).

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.

Through August 2011, he was one of 29 former UVA players to have made it to the major leagues, along with Michael Schwimer, Javier López, and Mark Reynolds.

Known for his clutch hitting and walk-off hits, Zimmerman was primarily a third baseman before moving to first base in 2015.

He was twice selected as an MLB All-Star, won one Gold Glove and two Silver Slugger awards, and was a World Series champion with the 2019 Nationals.

Before college, Zimmerman played on an AAU team with B.J. Upton and David Wright.