Mr. National. Face of the franchise.
First Nationals draft pick. First Nationals World Series home run.
Ryan freaking Zimmerman.
Ryan Zimmerman: first Nationals draft pick, first Nationals World Series homer.
— Chase Hughes (@ChaseHughesNBCS) October 23, 2019
The longtime D.C. star has spent 14 long seasons in the nation’s capital, all building toward the organization’s first-ever World Series berth.
Zimmerman didn’t wait long to make his impact felt, jumping on the second pitch he ever saw in the Fall Classic and sending it a long, long way.
🗣️ RYAN ZIMMERMAN HAS A 1.000 CAREER #WORLDSERIES BATTING AVERAGE BECAUSE HE JUST WENT YARD!
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) October 23, 2019
And now ... WE DANCE!
TOP 2 // Astros 2, #Nats 1 pic.twitter.com/Aqst7vZL4l
What made this home run even more impressive was who it came against. Gerrit Cole was the best pitcher in baseball this season and had taken his game to another level in the postseason. Zimmerman’s home run was just the second run allowed by the Astros’ ace in October. And home runs have not been flying this postseason, with rumors of MLB’s ball being de-juiced.
This was a special moment for both Zimmerman and Nationals fans everywhere who have followed his journey with the team since 2005.
Zimmerman entered this postseason as the active player with the most career games played without having made a World Series appearance. Now he has one, and has already shown he was meant to be here.
Ryan Zimmerman is the first player to be the first draft pick in club history and hit their first ever #WorldSeries HR. pic.twitter.com/qiTjSnsJqS
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) October 23, 2019
It was only fitting. The first run, RBI and home run always had to come from Mr. National himself.
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