Age of enlightenment

VIERA, Fla. — Ryan Zimmerman walks into the clubhouse with the presence of an established star.

It’s not that the Washington Nationals third baseman tries to draw attention to himself or has an ounce of conceit in his 200-pound body. He just carries himself the way a 10-time All-Star would be expected to: with poise, character and the desire to be a veteran clubhouse leader.

Zimmerman, though, is just 22 years old, the second-youngest player on the Nationals’ 71-man spring-training roster (only a month ahead of rookie catcher Jesus Flores). By all accounts, he should be the one looking up to others, not vice versa.

But as Zimmerman points out, “Age is just a number.” And on a club that is embarking on a long-term rebuilding project, a 22-year-old with one full major league season under his belt is capable of being a leader.

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“Yeah. I mean, I’m going to have to be,” he said. “There’s so many things that we don’t know about [on this team], but some people are going to have to be the veteran guys, and I’m going to have to be one of them.”

It’s an unusual situation, and perhaps it says more about the current state of the Nationals franchise than it does about the young third baseman. But it takes a certain kind of ballplayer, even on a team like this, to be both willing and able to handle the immense pressure now being placed on Zimmerman’s shoulders.

And make no mistake: The Nationals are putting plenty of pressure on him, having all but anointed him the face of the franchise for the next decade.

Not that he doesn’t deserve the title.

“I’m shocked at how mature [for] his age he is,” said manager Manny Acta, who got to know Zimmerman a little bit last year as the New York Mets’ third base coach. “That’s why he’s respected all around the league. Because he respects the game and he respects everybody and plays the game. He’s a pro, on and off the field. He’s a unique guy.”

Nationals fans don’t need to be reminded of that. They saw all those qualities during Zimmerman’s fabulous rookie season, in which he hit .287, hit 20 homers, led the club with 47 doubles and 110 RBI, played sparkling defense and constantly came through in the clutch.

That impressive resume nearly earned Zimmerman National League Rookie of the Year honors. He wound up losing to Florida Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez by four points in the closest race since the Baseball Writers’ Association of America adopted the current voting method in 1980.

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