Bradley Zimmer

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Bradley Clarke Zimmer

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Biographical Information[edit]

Outfielder Bradley Zimmer was taken by the Chicago Cubs in the 23rd round of the 2011 amateur draft but did not sign, opting to attend the University of San Francisco instead. He was then selected by the Cleveland Indians in the first round of the 2014 amateur draft with the 21st overall pick. He soon signed, the scout being Don Lyle, and began his pro career with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.

He was called up to the majors by the Indians on May 16, 2017 and immediately inserted into the starting line-up against the Tampa Bay Rays. He was batting .294 with 5 homers and 14 RBIs for the AAA Columbus Clippers at the time. The call-up was a bit of a surprise, as he was replacing a pitcher, Carlos Carrasco, who was placed on the disabled list because of a strained pectoral muscle; however, OF Abraham Almonte was also unavailable, prompting the need for an additional position player. In his debut, he batted 9th and played centerfield but struck out in all three of his plate appearances in a 6-4 loss. He played well enough over the next while to claim the starting center field job, however, and on July 25th, he hit his first career grand slam as part of a seven-run 2nd inning by the Indians against the Los Angeles Angels. It was a wild game, though, as the Angels eventually tied the score to send the game into extra innings. He stole a base later in the game, then made a super running catch to rob Ben Revere of potential extra bases in the 10th, and led off the bottom of the 11th by drawing a lead-off walk and came to score when Edwin Encarnacion ended the game with a walk-off grand slammer. It was not all roses for Bradley, though, as he also got picked off first base during the game and in the 6th, tried to make a diving catch on a sinking liner by Yunel Escobar, allowing the ball to get past him all the way to the wall while Kaleb Cowart scored the tying run from first base. He hit .241 in 101 games, with 8 homers and 31 RBIs. However, he did not play in the postseason.

In 2018, he hit .226 in 34 games for Cleveland. He was the opening day centerfielder but was sent down to the minors in early June. However, he soon began to experience discomfort in his right shoulder and last appeared in a game on June 10th. On July 20th, he underwent surgery, putting him out of action for 8 to 12 months. As a result he played just 9 games in the majors in 2019, going 0 for 13. He also played with four minor league teams at three levels that year (he lined up with two separate Indians affiliates in the Arizona League), for a total of 15 games, and hit .372. More playing time issues followed in 2020, this time due to the Coronavirus pandemic which shortened the major league season to 60 games and wiped out the minor league one. As a result, he appeared in 20 games and batted .162 with 1 homer.

After what was basically three lost seasons, Zimmer was finally able to play regularly again in 2021, taking part in 99 games and batting .227 in 299 at-bats, with 8 homers and 35 RBIs. He split his time between center field and right field and put up an OPS+ of 85 as part of an outfield that was among the least productive in the majors. Just as the 2022 season was starting, on April 7th, the now re-named Guardians traded him to the Toronto Blue Jays in return for P Anthony Castro. He served as a defensive outfielder for the Jays, but hit just .101 in 100 games; he also spent a week with the Philadelphia Phillies, filling in during an injury and batting .250 in 9 games. After being let go by the Phillies, the Blue Jays took him again as he was filling a needed role with some defensively weak outfielders on the roster; anything he hit was basically a bonus.

Zimmer's brother, pitcher Kyle Zimmer, was also a first rounder, selected with the fifth overall pick in the 2012 amateur draft. On September 27, 2021, Bradley homered off Kyle, who was pitching for the Kansas City Royals, the first time a player had homered off his brother since Joe Niekro had done so against his brother Phil in 1975. There were only two other instances of this happening in major league history, with Rick Ferrell homering off Wes Ferrell in 1933 and George Stovall off Jesse Stovall in 1904.

Further Reading[edit]

  • "Oh, brother! Zimmer homers off Zimmer", mlb.com, September 27, 2021. [1]
  • Jordan Bastian: "Statcast metrics show Zimmer's dynamic talent: Tribe outfielder ranked among elite players in Sprint Speed, Exit Velocity, Arm Strength", mlb.com, January 4, 2018. [2]
  • Jorge L. Ortiz: "Brothers Kyle and Bradley Zimmer could pull off rare MLB feat", USA Today Sports, March 8, 2016. [3]

Related Sites[edit]

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