WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- “We missed you last year!” a fan yelled out from the stands as Ryan Zimmerman walked to the plate. It wasn’t just for his first at-bat of Spring Training -- it was his first at-bat in nearly a year since electing not to play last season.
“Just to see him on the field again, we were all excited to have him back and have him out there,” manager Dave Martinez said following the Nationals’ 7-6 loss to the Astros.
Zimmerman is back for his 16th Major League season. The Nationals' homegrown face of the franchise signed a one-year deal to be the backup first baseman to Josh Bell, and he got the start at the position in the team's first spring home game on Monday.
It didn’t take long for Zimmerman to show the power he can bring to the lineup. The team’s all-time leader in home runs belted one out of the park to left-center field off Steve Cishek as part of back-to-back-to-back solo homers by Josh Harrison and Yadiel Hernandez, who bookended the vet's big fly. Zimmerman also drew a walk.
“I was just happy to see some pitches, get into a couple good hitting counts,” he said. “Seeing a sidearm righty is good for me this early. Just simplify things. [I] got into a 3-2 count, and he hung a slider and I put a good swing on it.”
Zimmerman said the early stages of Spring Training are important to get back into a rhythm, physically and mentally. He expects to be sore after Monday’s game, but the real-time experience is needed to prepare for the season.
“You can’t mimic a sprint to first base, or there’s a couple foul balls near our dugout that I had to run full-speed over there for,” he said. “So that’s the good thing about this first week to 10 days -- you get that sort of soreness out. You can train as hard as you want, you can be in the best shape, whatever you want to say. Until you get a few of these four- or five-inning games under your belt, and until you stretch it out to like six or seven innings, that kind of goes away.”
The cheers from the crowd at the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches were a little louder for Zimmerman, and his teammates greeted him with enthusiasm when he returned to the dugout following his home run. It was obvious inside the stadium that his presence was missed last season, and the feeling was mutual.
“I think that's what I missed the most, not being around the guys,” he said. “The game is always fun, but I think the winning together, when someone does something, makes a mistake on the field or goofs up a little bit, the competition and being on the field, you against the pitcher, that sort of stuff -- just things that I don't want to say you took them for granted because you obviously appreciate it, but not having it for four months really made me realize how much I do love it. So I think just being back, joking around, just being around the game, I guess, has been the most fun.”