Zimmerman's number retired by Nationals
Seventeen years and 11 days after Ryan Zimmerman was the first player ever drafted by the new-totown Washington Nationals, and a little more than eight months after he appeared in his last game for the franchise, his No. 11 became the first jersey number retired by the club.
During a ceremony before Saturday's game between Washington and the Philadelphia Phillies, the man known as “Mr. National” removed a blue uniform shirt with “11” on the back and handed it to his father, who handed it off to clubhouse and equipment manager Mike Wallace.
Then a plaque with Zimmerman's name and number were unveiled on a façade of the upper deck in foul territory between home plate and right field at Nationals Park.
“The unique, kind of, story of my career is I was here from the very beginning,” Zimmerman said at a news conference where he was introduced as the team's special advisor for baseball and business operations, “and it's just sort of being lucky to be here in the first year and then staying here and being able to grow — with the fan base, with the organization.”
He grew up not far away in Virginia Beach and never left the area, going to the University of Virginia before playing his entire career with the Nationals.
Zimmerman, who began as a third baseman before shoulder injuries prompted a move to first base, retired after last season as the club's statistical leader in more than 10 offensive categories, including hits (1,846), home runs (284), RBIs (1,061) and game-ending homers (11).
He was a two-time NL All-Star. He was there when the ex-Expos lost 100 games — twice. And he was there to help the Nationals win the 2019 World Series.
Brewers designate Cain for assignment
On the same date that he reached 10 years of major league service, the Milwaukee Brewers designated for assignment twotime All-Star outfielder Lorenzo Cain.
Cain, 36, hit .179 with one homer and nine RBIs in 43 games this season.
He is in the last year of a five-year, $80 million contract he signed in January 2018 as a free agent. Milwaukee is responsible for the $10,897,121 remaining of this season's $18 million salary.
The center fielder played a key role for the 2015 World Series champion Kansas City Royals before signing with the Brewers, the team that originally drafted him before trading him in December 2010 to the Royals. He helped Milwaukee reach postseason play each of the past four seasons.
Cain, a 2019 Gold Glove winner, is a career .283 hitter with 87 home runs and 454 RBIs in 1,171 games.