Ryan Zimmerman vs. the Colorado Rockies: A look at the statistics

Ryan Zimmerman of the Washington Nationals announced his retirement on Tuesday after a 16-year career with the franchise. During those seasons, Zimmerman had plenty of chances to face Colorado Rockies pitching, so how did he do in his career against Colorado?

Spoiler alert: He did very, very well when facing the Rockies.

Let’s look at the statistics posted by Ryan Zimmerman during his career against the Colorado Rockies

Zimmerman, the first-ever draft pick by the Washington Nationals, taken with the fourth overall pick in the 2005 MLB draft, appeared in 85 games during his career against the Colorado Rockies, starting 80 of them. Interestingly, outside of games against teams in his own division (the National League East), only the Chicago Cubs (86 games) faced Zimmerman more than the Rockies.

While Zimmerman appeared in plenty of games against the Rockies, he also did plenty of damage when he squared off against them. He posted a slash line of .343/.415/.625 with 17 home runs and 70 RBI (the most against any non-NL East squad) in 354 plate appearances. Additionally, his 1.040 OPS was the highest he had against any National League team.

Looking specifically at Zimmerman’s statistics when he played in Denver, he logged a slash line of .365/.441/.667 with 10 home runs and 43 RBI at Coors Field in 41 games (179 plate appearances).

Last season was a microcosm of how Zimmerman had tormented the Rockies during his MLB career. He went 3-for-6 in a pair of home games against Colorado in mid-September, then went 2-for-5 in two games at Coors Field just over a week later.

While Zimmerman didn’t see the Rockies that often, he could certainly be considered a Rockies killer during his time with the Nationals. When his retirement announcement was made official, it likely didn’t draw too many tears from pitchers throughout the National League, including those who call Coors Field home.