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Zimmerman Aims for Change in D.C.

Bt DAVE HOLLANDER,
AOL
Posted: 2008-04-25 15:05:27
Filed Under: MLB
Will making the cover of Sports Illustrated jinx Ryan Zimmerman? The up and coming Washington Nationals third baseman tell us why his hometown plays the best baseball in America, why losing is a just state of mind and how a pizza with his name on it can help cure Multiple Sclerosis.

DAVE HOLLANDER: Your hometown newspaper, The Virginian-Pilot, tracks daily the results several MLB players from the Tidewater area: Michael Cuddyer, Mark Reynolds, Justin and B.J. Upton, David Wright and you. You don’t see something like that too often, do you?
RYAN ZIMMERMAN:It’s probably pretty rare. Over the last six or seven years we’ve probably been one of the most baseball-rich cities in the country. For the amount of people we have compared to a Texas or a California, I think we can argue that over the past 10 years we’ve proportionally had the most talent in the whole country come out of our one area. It think it’s fun. It’s fun to compete against people you grew up with and have some friendly wagers. We talk to each other quite a bit.

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Harry E. Walker, MCT

Stepping Up
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Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman says the Nationals can't afford to be satisfied with not losing as much as had been expected or playing close games if they are going to break out of the losing mode.


DH: Why don’t you guys field your own team for the World Baseball Classic?
RZ: I guess we could (laughs) but there’s too many other good players we’d miss out on. But’s it’s pretty impressive. Me, Dave and B.J. were all on a high school all-star team that played together in the fall. So we’ve played on a team together before. We didn’t lose too many games on that team.

DH: Who would play third base on an All-Tidewater team?
RZ: Interview over. Nah, just kidding. Dave’s got to play third. He’s the more accomplished player in the group, as much as I hate to say it. It’s a friendly rivalry. Us being in the same division and playing against each other so many times pushes both of us to be better than the other person. It’s a good thing.

DH: What are they putting in the water down there?
RZ: I’m not sure. Even after we’ve been drafted there’s been more high draft picks. I think it’s just good baseball at a young age. There’s so many baseball teams around that area playing at such a high level. When you start playing at that level of baseball when you’re young you mature a little bit quicker on the field. It makes you a better player sooner.

DH: Washington drafted you, but it seems like the 2008 Nationals are like the Oakland Raiders of ‘70s and 80’s.-- a place where fallen MLB stars like Elijah Dukes, Lastings Milledge, Paul LoDuca, Dmitri Young take refuge. How much does this Nationals team revel in the outlaw status?
RZ: I think that’s just a bunch of hype. Obviously Elijah’s had some problems. Lastings is harmless. He hasn’t done anything wrong. Everyone gets on his case because he hit a home run and gave some people high fives. He’s never done anything to be put in the same group as people who get in trouble off field or cause problems in the clubhouse. He’s been great ever since he got here. These two guys are 22 and 23 years old. It’s hard to say it’s their second chapter. Maybe it’s a new beginning or a fresh surrounding that will help them out. Those two are fine; they’ve got a lot of baseball ahead of them.



As far as Paul and Dmitri, Dmitri had a great baseball career going and then had some stuff happen off the field but made a great comeback last year. Paul was caught up in the stuff that a lot of people got up in, that was in the past, and like I said he’s ready to start over. I think we need all four of those guys on our team to make us successful this year. We don’t really look at what they’ve done in the past or what everyone says about them. We look at how they are in the clubhouse and how they fit in this team. All of them have been nothing but great since they got here.


DH: You’ve publicly stated you’re, “Tired of losing.” Is that what it takes, a flip of the attitude switch?
RZ: I think so. I think everything is sports is a lot about attitude. Obviously you have to have a certain amount of talent to be able to field a team that can compete. But I think everyone here was merely happy with competing and “Oh, we didn’t lose as many as they said we were going to lose” or “Hey, we almost won that game.” You know, it’s time for us to change that. We have a core group of guys here that we realize we can have something special here. Got a brand new stadium, new owners that are willing to spend money to make it nice here and in the future are willing to spend money to bring big time players here to help us be better. It’s a great time to a part of this organization. Everything is on the rise. It just takes a few of us to step up and change the attitude -- say we’re tired of losing. When you lose those one run games and somebody says it’s okay, you’ve got to step up and say it’s not okay. We have to win. That’s the first part of turning the page to the next chapter and learning how to be a winning franchise.

DH: Does anyone ever bring up the Expos anymore?
RZ: To tell you truth, not really.

DH: Your Mom contracted Multiple Sclerosis in 1995 when you were 11. You’ve said that forced you to grow up. What are some of the moments you remember that made you realize you weren’t like other high school kids?
RZ: Me and my brother had to do a bunch of stuff. My dad had a job. When my mother first got it, it didn’t really hinder her too bad. She was a teacher and kept teaching for two or three years. We got lucky there because it eased us into having more responsibilities around the house as far as learning how to cook dinners -- not that I’m a master chef -- and doing your own laundry. And as it got worse, if she were home alone, every now and then, me and my brother would have to go home and not be able to stay at a friend’s house and not do some things other kids were doing. It definitely taught us life was fragile and you can’t take anything for granted. But she never let is affect the way we grew up. She let us be kids. She still lets us be kids. She doesn't expect anything more out of us than she did when she didn’t have MS. As much as it made us grow up and made us not take anything for granted, I think she’s done a great job of not really making me and my brother not grow up too fast. We love her for that.

DH: With the game on the line, etc. you must have a perspective that others don’t -- like what real pressure is?
RZ: I think pressure is just something some people don’t enjoy and some people do. I think [her MS] helped me deal with failure a lot better. You can have a horrible day – go 0-4, with three strikeouts and make an error -- but you can think about what’s really going on and you think things could be a lot worse. It kind of makes you deal with that more than the pressure. I wouldn’t say the her having the disease put me and my brother under any more pressure because she was so good at handling her situation. But it definitely helps me deal with the failure.


DH: Your ziMS Foundation. http://www.zimsfoundation.org/ funds comprehensive MS support and education in the D.C. and Virginia Beach area. As a competitive person, do you get frustrated that cure isn’t happening fast enough?
RZ: I think so, but I feel that way about every disease. MS hits close to home because my mother has it but there’s so much money and research that goes in to so many labs and places where they’re tryng to find cures. It’s obviously frustrating when no one can find a cure. At the same time you gotta realize people are trying as hard as they can and so you gotta keep doing all you can to help the cause. It keeps you motivated to continue on and keep the faith that one day they will find a cure.

DH: Papa John’s makes a Zimmerman Pizza. What’s on it?
RZ: It started it last year. They donate a portion of all the sales to my foundation. That’s very nice of them. I think it’s a five-topping pizza. I don’t know if they came up with that because third base is #5 or what.

DH: Maybe it’s because you’re a five-tool player?
RZ: (laughs) I don’t know if I have the speed to be a five-tool player.

DH: You sure have the defense. Frank Robinson has compared you to defensive genius, Brooks Robinson. As a fielder, do you visualize it before it happens, or is more reaction?
RZ: I think you definitely have to visualize before it happens. That’s the biggest part of baseball that I think the common fan doesn’t really understand. If there’s men on first and second, you’re thinking “Well, if the ball’s hit hard to my backhand I can step on third and throw to first. If it’s hit softer, I can throw to second.” You’re running through every single situation in between every single pitch. So when it does happen it looks like second nature. But I’m a big believer in the mental side of the game and thinking about what you’re going to do is something that happens before it happens. That’s what I try to tell younger kids when I do camps. Everyone sees these players on TV who are obviously physically very gifted but they don’t understand how much of the game is mental.

DH: Every kid has that World Series fantasy. What’s yours?
RZ: My favorite part is when they go in the clubhouse after they win and you see everyone with the goggles and they’re spraying the champagne all over the place. It’s just such a team-oriented moment. To get that ultimate culmination of winning the whole thing -- 162 game season and all the way through the playoffs. I mean, you become pretty close with the guys in the clubhouse. To be able to celebrate as a group like that is the ultimate goal and the highlight of anyone’s career. I think A-Rod said it: he can win as many MVPs and be the best player for as many years as he can but if doesn’t win a World Series he feels like his career won’t be complete.

Dave Hollander is the author of 52 WEEKS: Interviews with Champions! Info at: www.davehollander.com

2008 AOL LLC. All Rights Reserved.
2008-04-25 11:41:22


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thundermist04167 05:00:41 PM Apr 25 2008

Report This!

Yeah! Why CAN'T Washington win more often? Their players aren't that bad.

What you guys need to do is PLAY AGGRESSIVELY! hit-and-run, steal, bunt for hits. But at the plate, be patient, work the count, wear down the pitcher.

There's no way this team should lose.

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