“Honestly, he’s the kind of kid you want to take care of because you know how good he can be.”
—Teammate Brian Schneider

“Special. Well mature beyond his age. Just a pro. If you put him in another country or another planet, nobody would know how long this guy has been up here.”
—Nationals manager Manny Acta

“He’s special. He’s got a special kind of makeup, and none of that goes to his head, whether it’s struggles, success, or being the marquee guy on every billboard. He’s made to handle all this.”
—Acta

“Everybody knows he’s a power guy, and pitchers are adjusting to him.”
—Acta

“Who wouldn’t want to be Ryan Zimmerman right now? You’d have to be crazy not to want to be in his position. I’d like to play on the same team with him for many years.”
—Former teammate Jamey Carroll

“This guy is special, man. You can just feel it as his teammate. He’s well beyond his years in the clubhouse and on the field.”
—Veteran Robert Fick

“A lot of pitchers are staying away from him. They know not to leave anything over the plate, because he can do a lot of damage with that.”
—–Nationals hitting coach Lenny Harris

“Kids would come into the dugout, and they’d be uptight. Ryan always had this presence about him to where he never panicked. Time upon time, you’d hear him say stuff to the entire team to where it’s calming: ‘Relax. Just play the game. It’s the third inning.’ It really rubbed off on his teammates.”
—Former UVA coach Brian O’Connor

“The presence he carries himself with, the humility he has, that’s what really makes him.”
—O'Connor

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