A look back at a legend: Zim's top 10 moments

WASHINGTON – Anecdotes and accounts highlighting Ryan Zimmerman’s 16-year career could fill pages in Nationals lore. With 11 career walk-off homers, nearly 1,000 runs, 1,846 hits and a long list of other franchise records, Zimmerman left behind a legacy after 1,799 games played, all with the Nats. Take a look at some of Zimmerman’s top moments (in chronological order), with plenty more to remember.

1) June 7, 2005: Start of the Zimmerman era
With their first Draft pick since relocating, the Nationals selected Virginia Beach native Zimmerman fourth overall out of the University of Virginia. He played only 67 games in the Minors before jumping from Double-A to make his Major League debut on Sept. 1, 2005 -- one pinch-hit appearance (a strikeout) against the Braves at Turner Field. Zimmerman played 20 games for the Nationals through the remainder of the season.

2) June 18, 2006: “Mr. Walk-Off” begins to emerge
Zimmerman belted his first of 11 career walk-off home runs as a rookie in front of the home crowd at RFK Stadium on Father’s Day. Trailing the Yankees, 2-1, Zimmerman drove in Marlon Anderson and scored the winning run with a deep fly ball to left field off Chien-Ming Wang. Fireworks went off, fans erupted and teammates swarmed Zimmerman at home plate to celebrate his early milestone.

3) Nov. 13, 2006: Close Rookie of the Year race
Zimmerman earned the starting third baseman role in his age-21 season. He slashed .287/.351/.471 with 20 home runs, 47 doubles (sixth in the National League), 110 RBIs and 176 hits over 157 contests, including a 17-game hitting streak. Defensively, Zimmerman led all NL third basemen in putouts (152) and ranked third at the position in fielding percentage (.965). His production propelled him into contention for the 2006 NL Rookie of the Year Award voting. Zimmerman finished second in a close race, 101 points to Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez's 105.

4) March 30, 2008: Welcome to Nationals Park
Washington opened Nationals Park on a Sunday night against Atlanta, and Zimmerman sent the fans home happy. Locked in a 2-2 tie with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Zimmerman rocked a game-winning solo home run off Peter Moylan out of left-center field. He became the third player in Major League history to connect for a game-ending homer in the inaugural game at a big league ballpark.

5) Feb. 26, 2012: In it for the long run

Zimmerman had played seven seasons for the Nationals when he furthered his long-term relationship with the organization by signing a six-year contract extension during Spring Training. “It's where I want to be. It's where I've always wanted to be,” Zimmerman told reporters at the time. That season, the Nats earned their first playoff berth, the first of five postseason runs in which Zimmerman would compete. He later signed a pair of one-year deals with Washington.

6) June 24, 2014: Time to go home

When Zimmerman stepped up to the plate for his seventh at-bat in the 16th inning at Miller Park, he turned the five-hour-and-22-minute showdown into a victory over the Brewers. Zimmerman broke a long-standing 2-2 tie by going yard against Mike Fiers to drive in Adam LaRoche for the win, icing the victory with his first career extra-innings home run.

7) July 29, 2016: Triple terrific

A list of Zimmerman’s top moments could easily be filled with offensive heroics. But the Gold Glove Award winner stood out in the field, too, including his initiation of the first triple play in Nationals history and the first 3-3-5 triple play in Major League history. The head-turning trifecta transpired in the bottom of the eighth inning against the Giants at AT&T Park. Playing first base, Zimmerman nabbed Brandon Crawford’s line drive, doubled off Buster Posey at first and threw out Denard Span at third.

8) Oct. 7, 2017: Clutch in a career year

In a season in which he earned his second All-Star nod and posted career numbers, Zimmerman saved clutch performances for the playoffs, too. In Game 2 of the National League Division Series against the Cubs, he put an exclamation mark on the Nats’ five-run, eighth-inning rally. Zimmerman pummeled a go-ahead, three-run blast off Mike Montgomery to even the series and avoid an 0-2 deficit.

9) Oct. 22, 2019: Out-of-this-World home run

Zimmerman’s journey to the biggest stage in baseball was worth the wait. In his and the Nationals’ first game in the World Series, Zimmerman blasted a solo dinger to center field off Gerrit Cole with two outs in the second inning. He described the moment as “kind of floating around the bases.” Zimmerman set the tone for the Nats’ Game 1 win en route to their first title in franchise history.

10) Oct. 3, 2021: A deserved farewell

Zimmerman wasn’t sure if the 2021 regular season finale at Nationals Park against the Red Sox was going to mark the end of his career, but he didn’t want to let the opportunity to recognize the fans pass him by if it did. When he came to manager Dave Martinez with his idea, the Nationals already had plans in place. The entire stadium rose to its feet, as did players from both teams, while Zimmerman was honored with an emotional ovation between the seventh and eighth innings before he walked off the field for what turned out to be his final game.