Chris Kline's AFL Road Trip: Q&A With Ryan Zimmerman

By Chris Kline
October 21, 2005

PEORIA, Ariz.—Don’t blame Ryan Zimmerman if he just showed up in Arizona.

After a whirlwind season that started at Virginia way back in February, Zimmerman finished the college season, was drafted by his “hometown” team in Washington with the No. 4 overall pick and was one of the initial first-rounders to sign, for $2.975 million. He then quickly made short work of the minors and debuted at RFK Stadium—all in his first taste of pro ball.

Now Zimmerman is in the fall league, but has yet to play a position. He was the Peoria Saguaros’ DH the past two days and went hitless in seven at-bats.

The Nats toyed with moving Zimmerman, who played the majority of his college career at third, to shortstop earlier this summer. But that experiment was short-lived, and when Zimmerman made it to the big leagues, manager Frank Robinson played him sparingly because he didn’t want to mess with team chemistry.

We caught up with Zimmerman to find out where he’s been, what the busiest year of his life has been like, and how it was making his big league debut three months after signing a contract.

Baseball America: First question is where have you been?

Ryan Zimmerman: I just went home for a couple weeks to rest and really just relax and catch my breath for a little while. I mean, I started playing games in February and didn’t get much time off after the draft because I signed so quickly. It’s been a long year for me, so I took some time off to let my body recover a little bit before coming out here trying to get better.

BA: Your head must have been spinning this year. After Virginia it was Savannah, then Harrisburg, then D.C., and now Arizona. What’s that been like?

RZ: It’s been a ride. The reason I signed so quick was to start playing. I went out and played well, and they kept their word about moving me up if I played well and everything worked out great.

BA: There’s a lot of excitement in the Washington area because of the Nats. Was it being so close to your family part of the equation in signing so quickly?

RZ: Absolutely. It’s close and so nice—a perfect situation for me. I got on their plan and they talked about moving me up really fast, and to me, that was worth so much more than money.

BA: In your opinion, how’d the “experiment” go when they asked you to move from third to short?

RZ: It was a lot different, just in terms of the game being a lot faster than it was in college. I tried it for a little while because they asked me to, and I think I could do it full-time if that’s what they wanted me to do. I’m more comfortable at third, just because that’s where I have the most experience. I’ll be playing third out here; they might get me in some at short, but I’ll mostly be splitting up games with (White Sox third baseman Josh) Fields.

BA: Do anything cool with your bonus?

RZ: No, I mean I haven’t done much with it yet. Heck, I haven’t had time to do anything with it. I’m going on a vacation to the Bahamas, but that’s about it. I haven’t had time to chill out and buy anything. I don’t think I will anyway. I mean, it’s there if I need it.

BA: So meal money is enough for you to get by?

RZ: Well, no . . . but meal money would have been awesome in college. I’m not going to just go out and drop a lot of money on something just for the sake of doing it, just because I have it. That’s just not me. It’s not something I’d do.

BA: How was the big league experience?

RZ: It was great. The guys there treated me real well and I learned a lot. Even when I wasn’t playing and they were in the playoff race, just the knowledge I got out of that whole experience of watching those veteran guys play day in and day out when it really counted can only help me in the long run.

BA: One day you’re in college and the next day you’re a millionaire in the big leagues. Ever really stop and analyze that?

RZ: It was wild. Once you get there and have been up for a couple days, you wake up one day and think to yourself, ‘It’s time to go to work.’ And then you realize that you’re going to play Major League Baseball and you’re 20 years old. It was crazy. But you have to take everything in stride and keep thinking of all the work that got you there. That keeps you grounded.

BA: So what’s the biggest challenge for you this fall?

RZ: The biggest thing for me is learning how to play this deep into the season. I mean, I’ve never played this much in my life. It’s harder to play when you’re tired, but in reality, if you want to play a major league season and go to the playoffs, this is what you’re going to have to do. It’s learning how to play when I’m not as fresh as I have been—that’s the key to this fall for me.