"He rips one! See...you...later...!" That was MASN's Bob Carpenter's call when Ryan Zimmerman launched his 25th HR of the 2010 season in an August 30th game against the Florida Marlins. Zimmerman destroyed what was either a hanging slider or changeup (change according to MLB.com's Gameday) from Marlins' right-hander Alex Sanabia and drove it out to left and off the facade in front of the upper deck and actually broke the M in (what is now) the "Sun Life Stadiu_" sign above left field. "That ball is crushed...deep...oh my goodness it knocks out a bank of lights up there, like "The Natural'", the Florida Marlins announcer said. "Ryan Zimmerman almost knocked the Stadium off the Sun Life Stadium sign. He took out the 'M'!!" Zim's blast was a 3-run HR which put the Nationals up 4-1 in what ended up a 9-3 D.C. win. The left field wall in Sun Life Stadium is 385ft from home in straight left. When this one landed, or more accurately, collided with the sign, the Marlins' announcers guesstimated it had probably traveled about 450ft+.
It would be Ryan Zimmerman's last HR in 2010. Though he hit .361 in September with 26 hits, 5 doubles and 9 RBI's in 72 at bats, Zimmerman didn't leave the yard again, and his season ended rather abruptly when a rib injury forced him from the lineup in late September and caused to miss the final ten games on the Nats' schedule. Zimmerman finished with a Silver-Slugger-worthy .307/.388/.510 slash line (that's an .899 OPS, 8th best in the NL) with 32 doubles, 25 home runs, 85 RBI, 69 walks and 4 stolen bases in 142 games played. Zim's 2010 OBP and OPS were career highs. He hit over .300 "against left- (.331) and right-handed (.300) pitching," according to the Nats, which makes him the "first qualified Washington National (2005-present)" to do so. Zimmerman hit two more walk-off HR's this year as well, taking Padres' right-hander Luke Gregerson deep to center to win a July 7th game in PETCO Park and putting one on the batter's eye grass in Nationals Park off Brad Lidge to win a July 31st game in D.C. But his monster HR in Florida in late August was the most impressive one I saw him hit all year.
• Watch it one more time HERE.