WASHINGTON, DC (WTKR)- In an era where stars rarely stay with the same team, Ryan Zimmerman swam against the current.
The Virginia Beach native spent his entire 16-year career with the Washington Nationals and announced his retirement from baseball on Tuesday afternoon on social media.
Zimmerman was drafted with the fourth overall pick in 2005, the first pick by the Nationals after moving to the nation's capital from Montreal. He walks away as the Nationals' all-time leader in games played (1,799), runs scored (963), hits (1,846), total bases (3,159), doubles (417), home runs (284) and RBIs (1,061). Zimmerman was an All-Star in 2009 and 2017, won a Gold Glove award in 2009 and was a Silver Slugger in 2009 and 2010. He helped the Nationals to their first World Series championship in 2019, as Washington topped the Astros in seven games.
"We have won together, lost together and, honestly, grown up together," Zimmerman said in an open letter to Washington on his social media pages. "We lost 100 games (twice), we won 90 games (four times), we failed to get out of the first round of the playoffs (four grueling times), and, of course, we experienced the magical World Series run of 2019 that no one will ever forget. Through all of the achievements and the failures, you supported me, and for that I will forever be grateful."
He starred at third base at the University of Virginia, where he was an All-American and is in the program's Hall of Fame.
Zimmerman attended Kellam High School and starred on the AAU and travel scenes prior to his college days.
"Mr. National" walks away with a career .277 batting average. He hit a walk-off home run on Opening Day in 2008 to beat the Braves, 3-2, in the first ever game at Nationals Park, just one of his many clutch hits over his storied career.
