Cavaliers Now

Virginia Baseball to Retire No. 11 on Ryan Zimmerman Day

No Cavalier will wear the No. 11 after the 2022 college baseball season

Matt Newton

Following the conclusion of the 2022 college baseball season, no Virginia baseball player will ever wear the No. 11 jersey again. UVA baseball announced on Tuesday that the No. 11 that Ryan Zimmerman wore in his time at Virginia will be officially retired in a ceremony prior to UVA's game against Virginia Tech on Saturday, April 30th. 

“Ryan Zimmerman embodies everything it means to be a Virginia baseball player,” Virginia head coach Brian O’Connor said. “He’s all class in everything he does, the way he played the game on the field, his leadership and professionalism makes him special."

Zimmerman was inducted to the Virginia Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018 in recognition of a fantastic career in Charlottesville. Named to the All-ACC First Team in 2004 and the All-ACC Second Team in 2005, Zimmerman set a UVA single-season record for hits with 90 in 2004 and then broke that record again with 92 hits in 2005. Phil Gosselin now holds that record with 100 hits in the 2010 season and Zimmerman’s record is third-best all-time. Zimmerman is also fifth in the UVA record books in career batting average with .355 and eighth in career hits with 250.

Zimmerman's No. 11 will be the second number to be retired in UVA baseball history, joining Jim West's No. 24, which was retired in 1992 in commemoration of the 33 years West devoted to Virginia Athletics, including 19 years as the head coach of the Cavaliers. 

Zimmerman retired from professional baseball in February as the Washington Nationals franchise leader in total games played, home runs, runs scored, hits, RBIs, and total bases. He was a two-time MLB All-Star (2009 and 2017), won the NL Gold Glove in 2009 and the NL Silver Slugger in 2009 and 2010. 

"Mr. National" played a pivotal role in the 2019 postseason run that ended with the Nationals winning their first ever World Series title. In his first career World Series at-bat in Game 1, Zimmerman hit the first World Series home run in the history of the franchise. The Nationals took down the Houston Astros in seven games to win the title.

April 30th will be "Ryan Zimmerman Day" at Disharoon Park, with every fan receiving a Ryan Zimmerman jersey t-shirt and the first 500 fans to arrive will receive a Ryan Zimmerman UVA bobblehead. Zimmerman will be in attendance for the game and will throw out the first pitch. 

See more Virginia baseball news and content: Virginia Baseball on Sports Illustrated

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Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.

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