The best month of Ryan Zimmerman's professional life has ended, and he may be sad to see April go. The Nationals first baseman leads the Major Leagues in nearly every major offensive category on the heels of a torrid month that helped raise Washington to the best record in baseball.
Zimmerman was awarded on Monday, earning National League Player of the Week honors for the final -- and most productive -- seven days of his white-hot month. The 32-year-old enters May as baseball's leader in hits (37), homers (11) and RBIs (29). Thirteen of those hits came last week, along with five homers and 13 RBIs, in a seven-game span during which the Nationals went 4-3.
In doing so, Zimmerman shined brightest within a relentless lineup full of sluggers, and became the second consecutive Nationals player to take home the weekly award. Bryce Harper, hitting in front of Zimmerman in Washington's high-power lineup, won it a week prior while on his way to setting a Major League record for runs scored in the month of April.
• 2017 NL Players of the Week
So often he scored on one of Zimmerman's 19 April extra-base hits. Zimmerman hit seven last week, including a 470-foot home run against the Mets on Saturday, which at the time tied for the longest in the Majors this season, as tracked by Statcast™. He added two homers -- both to the opposite field -- the night before, and went 8-for-13 overall in the weekend series against New York.
All of which has made Zimmerman an early favorite in the race for the NL Comeback Player of the Year Award, as he's nearly matched most of his production from last season in more than 90 fewer games. He's hitting .420/.458/.886 with an MLB-best 243 OPS+ and 78 total bases. The Player of the Week honor is the fourth of Zimmerman's career, his first since July 2012.
"It's hard to describe," Zimmerman said about his feeling at the plate. "You don't want it to go away. Just keep doing the same stuff you've been doing, keep doing your routine and your work and hope it somehow lasts for six months."