The bobblehead curse of 2008?

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Maybe there is some kind of curse going around. Because I’m still on the disabled list with my shoulder injury, I didn’t get a chance to play last Thursday when the Nationals gave out my very first bobblehead doll to our fans.

The same thing happened to my teammate Dmitri Young earlier this year. He was hurt, too, when they gave out his doll. But at least on my night there was a walk-off home run. Even though I didn’t get to play I’ll take a little bit of credit for that.

I guess it’s kind of cool just to have a bobblehead. I think it’s better for my family, though, especially my mom. She likes that kind of stuff more than I do — so I sent a bunch back home.

When I was a kid it was all about baseball cards. But bobbleheads can serve a purpose, too. A lot of us will have them signed by teammates and then auction them off at our different charity events because they’re so popular. For my teammates and my friends it’s been comedy gold. It’s pretty much just another excuse to give me a hard time and the same thing happened last year to the guys who had them. No one is ever going to tell you your bobblehead looks good.

It’s kind of over the top to have 15,000 mini versions of yourself bouncing around the stadium, especially when they put your face on the big scoreboard in HD next to your bobblehead to promote it. I’d have to say that was definitely one of the weirder days of my life. But a lot of fun, too.

As told to The Examiner’s Brian McNally.

Nats third baseman Ryan Zimmerman is one of baseball’s rising stars and, at 23, the face of the franchise. Now he’ll share his thoughts with The Examiner’s readers each week throughout the baseball season.

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