Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman made history on Wednesday, becoming the first person in Nationals history to win the Gold Glove.

Zimmerman led NL third basemen in assists, total chances, total outs recorded and games started. Almost every game it seemed like Zimmerman put on a show at the hot corner — whether it was making a diving play or charging a ball to throw out a runner.

Zimmerman has been great with the glove ever since he entered the Major Leagues in September, 2005, but didn’t receive a lot of recognition until this year. Why? Zimmerman said he learned to play the position a lot better.

“I know what I need to do  — when to throw the ball, when not to throw the ball. That’s something I had to learn,” he said. “I feel like anytime I touch the ball, I can get the person out. A lot of times in the past, I might go down the line, dive, backhand the ball and not have a shot at the runner.”

“I’ve learned to hold on to the ball. That’s obviously better for the team. You don’t want to try to throw it everywhere and you have a runner on second and all that. I think it’s more of an understanding of the game and learning the position a little bit more.”        

While attending the University of Virginia, Ryan Zimmerman hit seven home runs.

After he was drafted by the Nationals in the 2005 First-Year Player Draft, Zimmerman warned he was not a home run hitter and indicated that he was going to hit a lot doubles.

Zimmerman has hit his share of doubles in the big leagues, all right, but he was wrong about not being a home-run hitter. In fact, on Friday, Zimmerman, took a Mike Pelfrey pitch for a two-run homer, giving Washington a 2-0 lead in the first inning.

It was Zimmerman’s 30th home run of the season and the first time he has put together a 30-homer season.

“I never hit home runs until I got to the big leagues,” Zimmerman said. “I guess I saved the home runs. I don’t know. That’s how it is. I just keep working hard and get better each year.”

How  does Zimmerman feel about reaching the 30-homer plateau?

“It means that I’m getting better. It’s proves that I’ve done it,” Zimmerman said. “It’s great. I’m excited and all that. It gives you a bench mark to shoot for each year. I have another reason to work even harder.”

Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman was not in the starting lineup against the Astros on Friday night because he is in North Carolina to attend the funeral of his grandmother, Ilene Zimmerman, who passed away on Wednesday. She was 82 years old.

Zimmerman is not going on the bereavement list because, according to manager Manny Acta, he will return to the team during Saturday’s game. Acta said Zimmerman will not start in that game either.

“He went to his grandmother’s funeral,” Acta said. “He is going to miss today’s game and probably tomorrow’s game. He is probably going to make it in time before [Saturday's game] is over, but he is not going to be able to start.”

In the meantime, Willie Harris started at third base in Zimmerman’s absence on Friday.

The month of June has not been a good one for Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman. Entering Tuesday’s action against the Red Sox, Zimmerman is 14-for-69 [.217] with one home run and eight RBIs.

Even worse, Zimmerman went 0-for-15 against the Blue Jays this weekend.

Manager Manny Acta said on Sunday that Zimmerman looks lost at the plate and is chasing breaking ball on the outside part of the plate.

“He is going out of the zone a little bit and [swinging at] some breaking balls that he was handling when he was hot,” Acta said. “When he was going through that [30-game hitting  streak], he was just locked in.

“But he will be back into it. He works very hard with [hitting coach] Rick [Eckstein]. Right now, Ryan has to go one at-bat at a time and try not to put the slump away with one swing.”

Zimmerman seems to believe that he is not in a serious slump.”

“Three bad games out of how many? I think that’s what’s going on,” Zimmerman said. “It happens to everybody. I will enjoy the day off, I’ll come back and get back to it.” 

Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman made a $250,000 contribution to the University of Virginia’s Athletics Foundation for improvements to benefit its baseball program. Zimmerman is a former All-America third baseman at Virginia. 

The gift from Zimmerman is designated for an expansion project at Davenport Field, home of Virginia baseball. The project includes construction of a team meeting room, weight room, indoor batting cages, training room, a Hall of Fame area, umpires’ locker room and visiting locker room.

The project will enhance the university’s ability to secure future NCAA events. A possible second phase of the project would include additional seats and suites and would require additional private gifts to fund it.

“The school help me get to where I am now. To be able to give back is nice,” Zimmerman said. 

Here are the details of Ryan Zimmerman’s new contract

2009 — $3.325 million. He also gets a $500,000 signing bonus and could get $175,000 in performance bonuses.

2010 — $6.25 million

2011 — $8.925 million

2012 — $12 million

2013 — $14 million  

The Nationals will hold a press conference at 4:00 p.m. ET to announce that third baseman Ryan Zimmerman has signed a five-year, $45 million extension. Zimmerman agreed to terms on Sunday, according to a high-ranking team official.

Team president Stan Kasten and agent Brodie Van Wagenen have been working on a new deal for Zimmerman since March 1, the day Jim Bowden resigned as the club’s general manager.