Nationals to retire Ryan Zimmerman's No. 11 in June originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
It's official: No National will wear No. 11 ever again.
Washington Nationals owner Mark Lerner announced during Monday's spring-training MASN broadcast that the team will retire Ryan Zimmerman's No. 11 as part of a two-day celebration June 17-18.
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"Ryan Zimmerman weekend" begins on Friday, June 17, with a special giveaway at Nationals Park. The official jersey retirement will be one day later on Saturday, June 18.
June 18 will always be a special day for the longtime Nationals infielder. On that date in 2006, Zimmerman hit the first walk-off home run of his career against the Yankees. Now, 16 years later, Zimmerman and his family will get to witness his number etched into Nationals history books.
Zimmerman's No. 11 is the first number the Nationals have retired since relocating to Washington in 2005. The team did not adopt the retired numbers from the Montreal Expos -- Gary Carter's No. 8, Rusty Staub and Andre Dawson's No. 10 and Tim Raines' No. 30 have all remained in circulation from Washington. It's worth noting that the Nationals do have Jackie Robinson's No. 42 retired, as do all 30 MLB clubs.
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Zimmerman, who earned the nickname Mr. National for his longevity and overall impact on the franchise, retired earlier this year after 16 Major League seasons -- all with Washington. For his career, Zimmerman slashed .277/.341/.475 with 284 home runs and 1,061 RBI. He was named an All-Star twice and played a pivotal part in Washington's 2019 World Series run.
