Ryan Zimmerman: Washington Nationals Third Baseman Having Huge Second Half

With media attention on Stephen Strasburg’s arm and Bryce Harper’s struggles, it can be easy for baseball fans to lose focus on positive news coming out of Washington DC.

Fresh off their 14-2 thrashing of the San Francisco Giants Monday, the Washington Nationals are 72-44.

Quietly leading the way for MLB’s best team is Ryan Zimmerman.

Zimmerman, the soft-spoken third baseman with tremendous talent, has stormed from the post-All-Star gates with a vengeance after an injury-shortened first half.

To provide evidence to this end, below is a split of Zimmerman’s two halves.

HALF	AB	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
1ST	280	68	16	8	40	26	51	.243	.308	.386	.694
2ND	124	46	11	8	26	16	25	.371	.441	.653	1.094

Talk about scorching hot, Zimmerman’s second-half stats are the best among MLB third basemen. His 46 hits lead Giants stud catcher Buster Posey for the most in baseball after the All-Star break (to be fair, Posey has batted an unworldly .450 (45-for-100) in this time frame).  

On the season, Zimmerman is batting .282 (114-for-404) with 16 home runs and 66 RBI. He also has 27 doubles to go with an OBP/SLG/OPS of .350/.468/.818.

Even scarier, Zimmerman is showing no signs of slowing. In the past 10 games, he is batting .333 (14-for-42) with one home run and 10 RBI.

And as usual, Zimmerman has been solid in the field. His .965 fielding percent at third base is third in the NL.

Like Boston Red Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, Zimmerman is a tremendous pro who carries himself with dignity and class regardless of what is unfolding around him.

With maturity far beyond his years, it is hard to believe Zimmerman is 27 years old.

Hopefully, Zimmerman can remain healthy throughout his career. If he can, the Nats will enjoy this fine ballplayer for years to come.