‘Mr. National’ retires

Ryan Zimmerman in 2008 as he ends the first game at Nationals Park with a walk-off homer

Ryan Zimmerman, the onetime Harrisburg Senators’ third baseman who eventually becomes Washington’s “Mr. National,” announces his retirement four years ago today.

Zimmerman hits .326 in 63 games for Class AA Harrisburg in 2005 before joining the Washington Nationals at the end of that season – and staying there through the 2021 season.

Zimmerman ends up playing 16 seasons with Washington, where he hits a franchise-record 284 home runs to go along with 1,061 runs batted in over 1,799 games.

He also hits 11 walk-off home runs for the Nationals, including one that ends the first game at Nationals Park in 2008, and earns the nickname “Mr. National.”

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