Stadiums, fans keep Zim on his toes

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - In my two-plus years, I’ve gotten a chance to play in many stadiums. A few of them stick out.

I like Wrigley Field the best. It’s by no means the nicest park and the field is not the best. But it’s the atmosphere and the fans, and it’s a cool place to play. You get excited to go out there; it’s always sold out and the fans are there early for batting practice. I’d grown up watching the Cubs on TV and then to play there was crazy, a little surreal.

One time last year, some people sitting above the dugout there were wearing me out. I caught the last out one inning and I gave them the ball. But they kept wearing me out. We won and I had a couple hits and they were like, “Good game, we’re just messing around.” That’s what makes it fun.

I also like San Diego’s new field. There’s really no other field like it; in left field there’s no foul pole, there’s a building that has the foul line drawn on it. It’s not just a bowl-shaped stadium. It’s right in the middle of the city, so you look around and there are buildings everywhere. The weather is always real nice.

Houston is fun with the train track up top. That one’s a little different, there’s a big left field and it has the hill in center field that you can hit it up there on the train track.

Cincinnati, where we just played four games, I wouldn’t say is special. There’s nothing unique about it. But the lights are good. You see the ball real well and you just feel comfortable in the box, so that’s one of the ones where I really like to hit.

One that I don’t like is Florida’s. You’re still excited to play, but it’s a different adrenaline than you have when playing in Chicago. In Chicago, you feel the pressure because you don’t want to mess up, but in Florida there’s a tendency to relax. You have to grind and make sure you’re ready every pitch.

It would be awesome to play in Yankee Stadium. The All Star Game is there next year so that might be my only chance to play there before they build a new one.

New York’s fans get on players the most and say some funny things. But I enjoy that. To be honest, they’re never really that clever; it’s the typical, “You [stink].” Or, “My grandma has a better arm than that.”

But they make you laugh and sometimes I like to look over and laugh to let them know I heard them. They get a kick out of that.

As told to The Examiner’s John Keim.

Nats third baseman Ryan Zimmerman is one of baseball’s rising stars and, at 22, 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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