After spending parts of 13 seasons in the Major Leagues, veteran right-hander Jordan Zimmermann has announced his retirement, via a statement released by the Brewers. The two-time All-Star and Wisconsin native made it back to the big leagues this year for a brief run with his home state’s team, but he’ll now call it a career after 1614 innings and 279 appearances in the Majors.
“I have had the joy of playing the game that I love for the past 15 years,” Zimmermann said. “I will forever be thankful to the Washington Nationals and Detroit Tigers for allowing me to live out this dream. It has been particularly special to be able to end it all playing for my hometown team, the Milwaukee Brewers. Thank you to all of my friends, teammates and family members who have been by my side throughout this incredible journey. I will miss the game greatly, but I’m ready for the new phase of my life.”
A second-round pick out of Division-III University of Wisconsin Steven’s Point back in 2007, Zimmermann was in the big leagues not even two years later. He cracked the Nationals’ rotation early that year despite limited minor league experience and held his own through 16 starts, pitching to a 4.63 ERA in 91 1/3 frames. Unfortunately, Zimmermann’s elbow began barking early that summer, and by August he’d undergone Tommy John surgery that wiped out his next year. He returned late in 2010 and tossed 31 innings.
It was the 2011 season, however, where Zimmermann truly cemented his place in the Nationals’ plans. He broke out with 161 2/3 innings of 3.18 ERA ball and was a fixture in the club’s rotation for the next half decade. Zimmermann made the All-Star team in both 2013 and 2014 and finished among the top seven in Cy Young voting during both seasons. In his final five seasons with the Nats, Zimmermann was a durable workhorse who averaged 194 innings per year while pitching to a combined 3.14 ERA and 3.30 FIP with some of the best command of any pitcher in the game.
Zimmermann’s highlight with the Nationals was undoubtedly a 2014 no-hitter in his final appearance of the season — a 10-strikeout, one-walk masterpiece that will go down as one of the best performances in franchise history. He nearly went the distance in his next start, too: a National League Division Series showdown with the eventual World Champion Giants. Zimmermann had thrown 8 2/3 shutout innings before walking Joe Panik — at which point then-manager Matt Williams hooked him for Drew Storen. Storen famously served up back-to-back hits, blowing the Nationals’ 1-0 lead in a game that would turn into an 18-inning marathon which the Giants won.
That excellent showing unsurprisingly made him one of the market’s top free-agent starting pitchers as he headed into his age-30 season. The five-year, $110MM contract he eventually signed with the Tigers actually came in a bit lighter than some prognosticators expected — including our prediction here at MLBTR (six years, $126MM). For a pitcher with Zimmermann’s durability and consistency, it seemed like an eminently reasonable contract that would help stabilize the Tigers’ rotation for the foreseeable future.
As we all know, that isn’t how things panned out. Zimmermann was slowed by a neck injury in his first season with Detroit and struggled to a 4.87 ERA in 19 appearances. Zimmermann made 29 starts the following year but was clobbered for a 6.08 ERA, and the 4.52 mark he managed through 25 starts in 2018 wound up being the best of any of his five years in Detroit.
It was a constant struggle to stay healthy in Detroit for Zimmermann, who spent time on the injured list not only due to the previously mentioned neck strain but also with a lat strain, a shoulder impingement, a UCL sprain, cervical spasms in his back, and a forearm strain. That mountain of injuries clearly took its toll on the former All in all, Zimmermann spent a half decade with the Tigers and mustered just a 5.63 ERA in 514 frames.
This offseason, Zimmermann inked a minor league deal with his hometown club. He headed to the Brewers’ alternate training site when he didn’t win a roster spot in Spring Training, and the righty rather candidly acknowledged that he was in the process of retiring when the Brewers called him to the big leagues. Zimmermann jokingly told reporters earlier this month that he was retired “for about two hours” before getting the call. He tossed 5 2/3 innings in a Brewers jersey to put a bow on what was overall a very fine career, even if injuries derailed the second half of his Major League tenure.
Few Division-III hurlers even get noticed by big league scouts — let alone second-round draft status and an accelerated, 18-month skyrocket journey through the minors and up to the big leagues. Zimmermann did just that, however, and as the dust now settles, he heads into retirement with a career 4.07 ERA through 1614 Major League innings. The righty posted a 95-91 record, struck out 1271 hitters in the Majors and tallied more than $143MM in earnings over the course of a career valued at 20.3 wins above replacement at Baseball-Reference and 25.5 WAR at FanGraphs.
Great last few days to be a brewers fan. First Godley dumped, then this?
Trash is gone.
Judging by this comment folks will probably say the same about you when you retire
@mcdusty49
What a savage comment lol
I agree. It is ridiculous to insult a person that spent the majority of his adult life entertaining people just like you. Either celebrate his career or just remain silent.
And what does it say about you when you think the great days of being a fan is when the team gets rid of people? Sadist.
Ouch…. lol!
Another beer-belly expressing his jealousy of a pro athlete.
wow dude really, way to be classy bro. i get it he didn’t play great in mil (or last few years) least give the man some respect 15 years in the mlb and many of them he was outstanding. anyhow enjoy retirement zimmerman and whatever you decide to do next
This is the second time this season that a player on an active roster has retired. I wonder what that’s about? I wish Jordan a good time in retirement.
Probably was told he was going to get DFA’d and just said aight imma head out.
Writing was on the wall. He’s about to be DFA’d and said he was going to retire before Brewers activated him. Got a little more service time and got to play for hometown team. Ride off into the sunset on your terms!
Thanks for pitching eight and two-thirds in one of the greatest Giants games in franchise history.
Will never forget that game.
As with so many people, after spending a few days in Milwaukee, he lost the will to keep going.
Ouch. I was born and raised in Milwaukee and I still believe that I have all of my faculties. On another note, I sure hope them so called “automobiles” don’t replace all of those horse-drawn wagons soon. What am I going to do with my two horses – Gorman and Vuke? Ay – technology!
Just wait until you see the lightbulb!
I kid. I got nothing against Milwaukee, just thought it was funny.
Harsh…but very funny.
One of the original nationals who helped point the ship into winning years. I will never forget the perfect game on the last game of the year in 2013.
That was a great moment but it was a no-no
JZimm didn’t come to the Nats until 2009. He wasn’t an original Nat.
Thats ryan Zimmerman
Was great in DC, got paid and the star faded quickly.
man, what happened when he left WSH?
He was just like most players. He had a short peak to his career . His was just perfectly timed with his free agency.
Neck. lat, shoulder, forearm and UCL injuries. Brutal sequence. Zimmermann was so good in DC. I remember thinking the Tigers got a nice deal on that contract, relative to some of the other pitching contracts we were seeing at the time. ($217M to Price, $210M to Scherzer, etc.). Whoops.
Injuries. By the way, it looks like some hackers stole your handle then paralyzed a pipeline…
Al
I just checked his service time on Fangraphs. He has 11.154 years. That puts him above the ten year threshold to get a full MLB pension.
He earned $113 million in his career. We probably don’t need to worry too much about his pension eligibility.
The man made $142 million dollars in his career and you are worried about whether or not he qualified for a $100,000 a year pension check?
If he cannot have a quality retirement off that $142 million, I don’t think a $100k pension is going to do much to move the needle.
If he made 142 mil take out taxes agent I’m guessing alot less but yes he should still be good
You are correct, but still going to be a lot more than $100,000 a year will ever add up to in a lifetime.
For that matter, he would probably earn more than his pension just by putting a large amount in a bank CD. At 4% interest, you can earn $100,000 a year just by putting $2.5 million in a CD.
These guys live-in Florida for a reason ..no state taxes.why do you think athletes and celebrities are down there..
That, and republican run, you have freedom and a safer living environment there too
Yep, the first thing I think of when I think Florida is “well run and safe”…
Hahaha! Wtf? Wow guy
Major bruh moment from abstract. There’s a reason why Miami is a hot place for start-ups right now…
You’re too nonsensical not to mute.
LOL @ that second part!
Zimmerman lives in WI
I will remember him as a Vermont Lake Monster and everyone in the stands saying he was on the fast track to stardom !! Hummmm
I’ll always remember him with the division rival Nationals. He was very successful with them and a guy I dreaded my favorite team to face. I hope Jordan enjoys his retirement, not many players make it 15 years that’s impressive in itself.
agreed there
“We’re all told we can no longer play the kid’s game. Some of us are told at 18, and some of us are told at 40, but we’re all told”. One of the most bittersweet quotes about this amazing game. These guys start playing little league when they are 4 or 5, and some of them get to do it for the next 30-35 years. Hard thing to walk away from after that long. The sad reality is, Zimm’s ending is about like 95 percent of the league’s. The game tells you.
A fine career. A major leaguer for 13 seasons, an All-Star, led the league in wins. Banked $140M. Did better than 99.9% of athletes whoever put in a pro uniform.
Never should’ve went to the AL.
He stole Detroit’s money. Overrated retire enjoy ! Will wait for hall of fame eligibility!
He had already accomplished more at age 23 than you will in your entire life.
It is okay to be annoyed at athletes that way under-perform their contracts. I’d be annoyed at my electrician if he reversed the polarities. Are we not allowed to be annoyed at athletes that under-perform? Am I supposed to be happy with Sandoval’s time in Boston?
Your opinion on Sandoval’s time in Boston is irrelevant. It’s not about you and your jealous feelings.
Its not the players fault that teams shell out money for people declining, no one holds a gun to their heads. They determine the risks and then they take a chance that it might not work out. Its not the players faults. Zimmerman’s body gave out on him, he clearly loved baseball enough to stick it out after the contract and try and keep playing. You should be annoyed with Pablo, but not as annoyed as you should be with the red sox for signing a morbidly obese guy to a 100 million dollar contract.
My point was that it is okay to be critical of athletes that substantially under-perform their contracts. Feel free to address my point if you want.
I am definitely more critical of the RS FO.
But I can still be critical of Panda. If you or I have a bad performance at work, we will likely be criticized.
But for some reason, some posters think that criticism should be directed only at commoners, and not millionaires athletes. Once you choose a career in the public eye, you take the criticism that comes with that.
You want him to give it back?
I don’t know what the Brewers’ motives were in bringing him up. They probably just needed the pitching help, but good on them for letting him end his career on the mound. In his last appearance on May 7 he went 2 innings, giving up 3 hits, no walks, no strike outs, and no runs. There are worse ways to close the curtain on a career.
“Hey rookie – you were good”
but good on them for letting him end his career on the mound.
=========================================================
If you want to end your career on the mound, end it when you can still pitch.
The second of the three contracts that destroyed the Tigers. Between him, Miggy, and VMart, they received 3 awful contracts that weighed down the Tigers for a long time.
The worst part was signing VMart to be the DH, and allowing JDM to leave. JDM was already a better hitter, and was 9 years younger.
The Tigers also payed on Justin Upton, Ian Kinsler, Anibakl Sanchez, Justin Verlander and Prince Fielder’s contracts.
He should be in jail for impersonating a pitcher in Det
Yeah, they’re getting on that guy for his negative comments, but I can’t think of a worse player for Detroit during his tenure. You just knew he was going to get shelled every time he started. Each and every time.
Pretty cool to get to end it playing for your childhood favorite team.
On to his next chapter in life.
See you in Cooperstown, Jordan.
Tickets are $24.99
I’d like to take this time to thank Tim once again for the mute button – this is the last time I will see you post same attention seeking hack joke.
Zimmermann will not be on the Tigers’ alumni event contact list.
His best stay lines are the last 2 seasons. Identical ERA, IP, ER, BB. That’s talent.
Solid career, including four or five years of excellent work. Kudos are deserved.
this man’s career went downhill so fast
Next stop is Cooperstown.
I’ll never forget that Jordan Zimmermann was the losing pitcher in Randy Johnson’s 300th Win as a rookie, but he turned things around and had a pretty nice career after that. It’s a shame that things went downhill after he left DC, especially after the promising April he had with the Tigers in 2016. Here’s hoping that he has a great rest of his life.
Zimmermann was never able to live up to his contract with the Tigers. Watching him his tank is empty and he was about to retire before the Brewers called him up. At least he got one last chance so he’ll never have to wonder what could have been
Hot career for an even hotter player.
D3 pride