A couple days after nabbing National League player of the week honors, Ryan Zimmerman can add another award to his résumé. The Nationals first baseman was named the NL player of the month for his exploits in April, MLB announced Wednesday. It is the first time Zimmerman, the longest-tenured National, has won the award.
The 32-year-old Zimmerman was a predictable choice after leading baseball in batting average (.420), slugging (.886), OPS (1.345), hits (37) and extra-base hits (19) for the month. He also tied for first with 11 home runs and was tied for second with 12 multi-hit games. To top it off, his league-leading 29 RBI set the Nationals record for RBI in a calendar month.
It was a remarkable revival for Zimmerman, who was one of the least productive regulars in baseball last season. His performance led to Nationals Manager Dusty Baker moving him up to the cleanup spot in his batting order between Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy, which Baker prefers because it allows him to split up the lefties.
With Wednesday’s news, Washington has had seven players win the award in its history and Nationals have claimed four of the past seven awards. Harper won it for April 2016. Murphy received it for May and July 2016.
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