Top 5 Cards; Ryan Zimmerman

Just a couple of hours ago, the Washington Nationals' 2005 first-round draft pick and mainstay of the franchise, Ryan Zimmerman, hit the first World Series home run in club history.

The team was just coming off a move from Montreal to the U.S. capitol and, for a long time, their win-loss reflected their inexperienced roster. They didn't have a winning record until 2012 when the next big Nationals rookie, Bryce Harper, made his MLB debut.

Nonetheless, Zimmerman has stuck with Washington through the good and bad for well over a decade. He's had his ups, like hitting .303 and making the NL All-Star team in 2017, as well as his low points such as his injury-plagued 2016 campaign.

He's spent his entire MLB career so far with a single team, something that has become increasingly rare in today's game. It's whether this feat will continue that's still up in the air.

Zimmerman had just 171 at-bats during the 2019 regular season, the fewest in his career since his September call-up back in 2005. Though he's come up big in the playoffs, I don't foresee the Nationals exercising the 35-year old's $18 million option.

That said, I've heard Zimmerman state that money isn't on his radar this offseason. Whether Washington wins the Fall Classic or not, this team and these players have a bright future ahead of them.

Whether he earns $18 million or $1.8 million in 2020, I expect the 2-time All-Star to remain with the Nationals until he retires.

One of my largest active player collections, I've amassed 77 Ryan Zimmerman cards since I started collecting him a few years back. Behold, my favorite 5.

#5 2009 Topps Heritage

I promise, my love of the 1960 Topps design was not the only thing that influenced my decision to include this card in the top 5, though it certainly helped.

Rather, the card shows how much Zimmerman has changed over the last decade and a half. Both he, as well as the Nationals' logo and uniform, have evolved since this card was made back in 2009.

Thus, I suppose the card can make one nostalgic for 2 different eras, 1960 and the late 2000s, which is a pretty neat thing about Heritage.

#4 2018 Topps Stadium Club

No matter how many star players continue to emerge from the Nationals' organization (Harper, Rendon, Soto), Zimmerman will forever remain the first superstar in franchise history, and he'll always be a fan favorite in D.C.

Look no further than the "ZIM!" sign in the background of his 2018 Topps Stadium Club card. Given the crowd's reaction in the background, I can only assume that he's just hit a walk-off.

#3 2018 Panini Donruss Holo Green Parallel

The combination of the green parallel with the red color of Zimmerman's 2018 Panini Donruss card makes me think of Christmas time, but there's more to this card than those 2 colors.

For some reason, this card stands out to me among the average design of most Panini Donruss sets. The holo green parallel certainly helps with this, but so does Zimmerman's alternate uniform and the timing of this photograph.

I'm sure that most collectors if they looked through my Zimmerman PC, could find a couple of other cards to put at #3 instead of this Donruss parallel, but there's just something unique about this card that influenced my decision.

#2 2015 Topps Gold Parallel

The more polished the Topps Flagship set, the more polished the parallels, particularly the golds, will appear. Because 2015 Topps remains the greatest base design of the century, the product's gold parallels pair excellently with the base design.

The photo of Zimmerman in his 2015 card is an action shot just like the 2018 Panini Donruss card. As much as I try to look past logoless cards, I'll admit that the MLB licensing helps this card out a ton and picks up where the Donruss card is lacking.

#1 2007 Upper Deck Masterpieces Ryan Zimmerman

I don't think I've ever seen the Nationals play in this uniform, but after seeing this card, I really want to. Sets like Upper Deck Masterpieces and Topps Archives are perfect for special and unusual jerseys, and this D.C. uniform certainly fits the bill.

Plus, the attention to detail in regards to this card is just unreal. The photo, which features Zimmerman in the on-deck circle, is taken from quite a unique angle, something that we rarely see on Baseball cards.

Currrently, the Nats are on top of the Astros 5-3 at the top of the 8th inning. I'm not necessarily rooting for either team. I just want to watch an action packed World Series.

Whatever happens, I know an insanely talented team is going to win it all.