Jeffrey Ross Zimmerman (born August 9, 1972) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in Major League Baseball from 1999 to 2001 for the Texas Rangers.

Baseball career

Independent baseball

Zimmerman played baseball in the French Elite League for one season with the

Barracudas de Montpellier The Barracudas de Montpellier are a French baseball team in French Division 1 Baseball Championship based in Montpellier, Hérault. They were founded in 1985. The team plays its home games at Veyrassi Sports Complex on the northern edge of the ci ...

. In 1996, he pitched for the Canadian national baseball team; they failed to qualify for the Olympics. After taking some time off from baseball to earn his Master of Business Administration degree at Simon Fraser University, he played with the independent

Northern League Northern League may refer to: Sport Baseball * Northern League (baseball, 1902–71), a name used by several minor leagues that operated in the upper midwestern U.S. and Manitoba from 1902 to 1971 * Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010), an indep ...

's Winnipeg Goldeyes in 1997.

Texas Rangers

Zimmerman was purchased from Winnipeg by the Texas Rangers in 1998 and played at both the A and AA

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

levels. In 1999, he made his way onto the Rangers Major League squad after a short stint at the AAA minor league level. He became a very successful middle relief pitcher in the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...

and even became an All-Star that season (his only All-Star appearance). Zimmerman tied the record for most consecutive winning decisions to start a career with nine wins. In 2001, he became the Rangers' closer and amassed 28 saves in a season that culminated in the Rangers naming him the club's Pitcher of the Year. Over the three years from 1999 through 2001, he totaled 17

wins WINS may refer to: *WINS (AM), an all-news radio station in New York City *WINS-FM, a radio station in New York City *World Institute for Nuclear Security *Windows Internet Name Service *WINS (solution stack), a set of software subsystems *Wireles ...

, 32 saves, and a 3.27 ERA in 228 IP in 196 games. In the 2001 offseason, the Rangers signed Zimmerman to a three-year contract worth over $10 million. Before the start of the season, Zimmerman suffered a series of injuries that prevented him from throwing another pitch in MLB beginning with a

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

injury and continuing through three major surgeries on his elbow, including two Tommy John surgeries. He did pitch in a handful of minor league and Arizona League games, but never close to a full season and never at the major league level. Following the end of this contract, which covered 2002 through 2004, the Rangers reinvested in Zimmerman with a minor league contract for the 2005 season. Again Zimmerman suffered injuries that prevented his return to the field of play for the course of the entire season. Zimmerman elected to take the 2006 season off in hopes that his arm would naturally heal over the course of the season. T. R. Sullivan, the Rangers' beat writer on MLB.com, called this decision "his last, best hope" for returning to playing baseball. Having not competed in a game since 2003, Zimmerman retired in 2006 and moved back to Vancouver, British Columbia. In 2008, The Sports Network listed Zimmerman as retired and gives his career potential as, "After four years out with injuries, he may be done." On January 18, 2006 Lone Star Ball, a Texas Rangers blog, named Zimmerman 46 on "The 50 Greatest Rangers of All Time" list.

Seattle Mariners

On April 7, 2009, Zimmerman came out of retirement, signing a minor league deal with the Seattle Mariners. He spent the first several weeks of the season in

extended spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

. Zimmerman, who had been plagued with injuries for most of his career, said this about his baseball abilities after sitting out for so long: Zimmerman appeared in one game for the Arizona League Mariners, pitching two innings and giving up one run. He has not pitched professionally since.

Personal

Zimmerman was born in

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna derives from the Okanagan word ''ki� ...

, British Columbia. He attended Texas Christian University. Jeff's brother,

Jordan Zimmerman Jordan William Zimmerman (born April 28, 1975) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher. He played part of one season in Major League Baseball for the Seattle Mariners in 1999, then later also pitched for the Long Island Ducks of the ...

, also played in the major leagues as a pitcher for the Seattle Mariners. Jeff recorded a victory against his brother on July 2, 1999.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zimmerman, Jeff 1972 births American League All-Stars Arizona League Rangers players Arizona League Mariners players Baseball people from Alberta Baseball people from British Columbia Canadian expatriate baseball players in the United States Canadian people of German descent Charlotte Rangers players Living people Major League Baseball pitchers Texas Rangers players Winnipeg Goldeyes players Tulsa Drillers players Oklahoma RedHawks players TCU Horned Frogs baseball players Major League Baseball players from Canada Sportspeople from Kelowna Simon Fraser University alumni Canadian expatriate sportspeople in France