After a game in 2013 where Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman was charged with an error, he voiced his displeasure on the scoring. “I would never complain about a play, but that’s not an error,” he told reporters. “I don’t know if they have Brooks Robinson as a scorekeeper here or what.”
I reminded Zimmerman of that during a time when the baseball world was mourning the loss of Robinson, the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame third baseman who passed away Sept. 26 at the age of 86 and celebrating his legendary career. “I vaguely remember that,” he said, chuckling. “Sometimes after a loss you’re angry and say stuff and you guys leave and then 10 minutes later you’re thinking that was the dumbest thing I ever said. Why would I say that? The poor official scorer was just sitting up there trying to score the game.
“But that was the standard,” Zimmerman said. “When you think of amazing plays at third, you think of Brooks Robinson. It shows you what baseball players thought of him. He was the gold standard.”
He was that and more. The Brooks Robinson legacy will likely be one of the storylines of the American League Division Series starting Saturday in Baltimore, with the Orioles facing the Texas Rangers. That same day, just a few blocks away from Camden Yards, the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum will open a new exhibit to commemorate the career and legacy of the Hall of Fame third baseman.
It’s a story Zimmerman grew up with in Virginia Beach as a young standout third baseman. “Growing up in the Virginia Beach area, the Orioles were the team,” he said. “Me and my buddies heard a lot about Brooks Robinson from our parents and coaches. My best friend from home that I grew up with, his father, who was our AAU coach, his middle name was Brooks, named after Brooks Robinson.
“As a third baseman, I always looked up to him.”
When Zimmerman was drafted out of the University of Virginia in the first round by Washington in 2005 — their first draft choice after the franchise moved from Montreal and became the Nationals — general manager Jim Bowden compared Zimmerman to Robinson. “That was a tough comparison,” he said.
Zimmerman, who met Robinson several times, would be playing for Robinson’s former teammate and close friend, Nationals manager Frank Robinson, and a few years later another former Robinson teammate, Davey Johnson. He heard his share of Brooks Robinson stories from both managers.
“You heard how consistent he was and how good of a teammate he was,” Zimmerman said. “They would talk about how normal he made ridiculous plays at third base look. Sixteen Gold Gloves — to do something at that high a level for so long and to be respected by your peers, I don’t know if there will ever be anyone who will get close to that again.
“As these younger kids come up, they may talk about (third basemen) Nolan Arenado or Manny Machado,” he said. But I think baseball does a pretty good job of keeping the history alive. I hope people don’t forget. I don’t think they will. He was such a larger-than-life figure. I hope people continue to watch the videos of him at third base. If you watch some of those plays, they are amazing.”
Zimmerman laughs when he tells the story of the time near the end of his career, one of his Nationals teammates had no idea he had once played third base. “When Tres Barrera and Gerardo Parra were on the team, one night after a game, Parra said to me, ‘Hey Tres doesn’t know you ever played third base.’”
If you were a young baseball fan in Washington in the early days of the franchise, you knew very well about Ryan Zimmerman. He didn’t embarrass himself over the Bowden comparison, becoming an All-Star third baseman who won a Gold Glove at the position in 2009. “That’s one of the things I’m most proud of,” he said.
But after 10 years, Zimmerman had to make the move to first base because of arm problems. He wouldn’t have the gift of playing his entire career at third base like his idol, who was the Orioles third baseman for 23 seasons.
“With the arm injury and not being able to throw the ball from first to third base, that was the toughest part of my career,” he said. “That was who I was. It was my identity.
“I moved over to first and got better and better there to the point where I was a pretty good first baseman,” Zimmerman said.” But to be honest, to wonder what if I had played 15 or 20 years at third base and see what happened, of course I think of that. I loved playing third base and took a lot of pride in it. … I really loved playing that position.”
He was, and though injuries cost him chunks of playing time over his 16 years in a Washington uniform, Zimmerman still had a tremendous career at the plate, with 284 home runs, 1,061 RBI and a career batting average of .277. He was a two-time Silver Slugger award winner and turned in his best season in 2017, when he hit 36 home runs, drove in 108 runs and batted .303.
“I think about what could have happened had I continued to play at third at an elite level,” he said. “But that’s not the way my career went.”
Zimmerman, 39, said he was not around the Nationals much this season after spending a week with them in spring training. He liked what he saw from the club. “Some of their guys took a step forward,” he said. “I think (manager) Davey (Martinez) did a good job. I think those guys did a good job of teaching them how to be professionals. Now it’s a matter of whether or not they can take the next step and become impact big leaguers.”
He hopes to get a chance to help them do that next year. “Our youngest will be two in January, so I think next year I’ll finally be able to hopefully commit to maybe doing something a couple of days each homestand and being around,” Zimmerman said. “You can’t really talk to these guys and make an impact unless you are around regularly. You can’t just show up once a month. I’m hoping next year I can get there a little more and try to figure out what kind of role or what I want to do. I miss it and it gives me a baseball fix to be around without having to be away from my family all the time.”
After all, there is a whole new generation that should hear Brooks Robinson tales — and Ryan Zimmerman stories as well.
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• Thom Loverro can be reached at tloverro@washingtontimes.com.
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