Sea Hawk Slugger: Redondo senior Danny Zimmerman is one of the area’s most feared power hitters.
Redondo senior Danny Zimmerman holds the school record for home runs with 11 set in 2016. Photo
Of the millions of kids play Little League baseball each year, the players who learn to hit the breaking ball become the top hitters. Redondo senior Danny Zimmerman fits that mold.
At 6-foot-four, 235 pounds, Zimmerman has the raw power to blast a fastball over the fence. But it’s his ability to hit an outside breaking ball with all that power that has made the right-handed first baseman/outfielder/pitcher one of the area’s most feared sluggers.
A four-year varsity player for head coach Jeff Baumback’s Sea Hawk’s, Zimmerman is a dual threat who helped lead Redondo to back-to back CIF-Southern Section Division 3 championships in 2015 and 2016 with his performance at the plate and on the mound.
Zimmerman came into his own during his sophomore year, batting .302 with 30 RBI and six home runs. In 2016, he posted a .443 batting average with 38 RBI, a school-record 11 home runs and nine doubles.
As a pitcher during the two-year span, he recorded a combined 14-3 record with a 1.49 ERA
Despite losing many standout players from last season’s senior-laden team, Zimmerman continues to thrive this season with young, inexperienced players. He’s batting. 500 with 24 RBI, 26 runs scored, nine home runs, five doubles and 19 walks – many intentional.
“My biggest improvement on the mound was throwing strikes with the same velocity,” Zimmerman said. “At the plate, it’s been hitting the outside curve ball.”
Baumback agrees.
“He’s improved across the board I would say and his ability to recognize the breaking ball and hit it with as much power as he does is really impressive,” Baumback said. “He’s also in better physical condition and his speed has increased quite a bit.”
Peninsula High School coach Brian Bowles learned that lesson in a recent two-game series with Redondo.
Redondo lost its first league game of the season with a heartbreaking 4-3, nine-inning loss at Peninsula.
After Zimmerman hit a solo home run to close the gap 3-1 in the sixth inning, the senior came to the plate in the top of the seventh inning with one out and a runner on first.
Peninsula opted to pitch to Zimmerman who blasted an outside breaking ball over the fence to even the score 3-3.
Zimmerman had one final plate appearance with two outs in the ninth inning but was intentionally walked.
Two days later, Redondo avenged the loss with a 7-4 home victory. Although Zimmerman was intentionally walked three times, his teammates stepped up to carry the load.
On the mound, Danny Zimmerman posted a combined 14-3 record with a 1.49 ERA during his sophomore and junior years. Photo
With Redondo’s success on the diamond over the last two years, the Sea Hawks moved up two divisions to CIF-SS Division 1 this season, so a three-peat would be nothing short of a miracle.
“We haven’t really experience playing teams in Division 1 yet,” Zimmerman explained. “This season was tough at first. We were very inexperienced but I told the young players to be comfortable at the plate because it takes awhile to hit varsity pitching. I reassured them to stay positive, it will come.
Zimmerman admits he’s not rah-rah type of teammate but leads by example and has worked hard to be the team leader this season.
“Danny always played with older guys who assumed the vocal leadership role until this season,” Baumback said. “He’s has been a vocal leader this year, along with improving his own work ethic and leading by example. He’s been really great about helping the new guys and trying to refocus them, both at practice and during the games.”
Although, at press time, Zimmerman was only one home run shy of tying his school record, his focus remains on winning the Bay League championship and making a deep run in the playoffs.
“I haven’t really thought about it (the record). I’ve just been concentrating on getting on top of the ball. The home runs will come,” Zimmerman said. “It’s harder this year because we’ve played fewer games plus I’ve had fewer at bats and more walks. Losing so many strong hitters from last year’s lineup makes it easier for teams to pitch around me.”
Whether he reaches the record or not, Baumback is appreciative of what Zimmerman has meant to his program.
“Having Danny in the program has been very special. He’ll go down as one of best players in the history of this baseball program,” Baumback said. “He has always been an excellent teammate and highly respected by his coaches. Being able to put his name in the lineup every game for the past four years definitely has been fortunate. I’m sure glad he came here.”
Zimmerman considers winning two CIF titles, both at San Manuel Stadium in San Bernardino, as the favorite moments in his prep career.
“The first championship was was great because it was the first in school history and came during the 100th-anniversary season of Sea hawk baseball,” Zimmerman recalled.”However, I was disappointed not to play in Dodger Stadium where the Division 3 finals were held up until that year. Reaching the semifinals in my sophomore year.was also very exciting because nobody expected us to go that far.”
Zimmerman chose another game as the most thrilling of his career.
“Beating Costa last year in the first game of the series to seal the (Bay League) title was great. My home run in the fifth inning put us up by two runs to give us a little insurance.”.
Zimmerman knew he loved baseball at an early age. He began playing organized ball at Redondo Sunset when he was four or five years old but had been hitting off the tee with his older brother James prior to that,
Zimmerman said he has always been bigger than most of his classmates and can’t remember ever having a growth spurt.
At the age of 12 he was was playing soccer with 16-year-olds. He also played club basketball and participated in flag football and basketball in the highly-competitive Catholic Youth Organization while attending St. Lawrence Martyr Elementary School in Redondo Beach.
In 7th grade, Zimmerman help St. Lawrence reach the Elite 8 in basketball with former Loyola High School and current Harvard University standout Henry Welsh.
Entering high school, Zimmerman played football and quickly became one of the Sea Hawks top lineman, being named to the All-CIF team as a junior before focusing solely on baseball his senior year.
But it was his skills on the diamond that turned heads of scouts and college coaches. He played in the Major League Baseball Scouting Bureau’s Second Annual Southern California Underclass Game at Cal State Fullerton, then traveled to Ft. Myers, Fla., for the Perfect Game National Showcase competing for Team 11-Vegas Gold.
University of Michigan-bound Danny Zimmerman hopes exposure at the NCAA Division 1 level will eventually land him a spot on a major league roster. Photo
He was one of 108 players invited to play in the USA Baseball Tournament of Stars in Cary, N.C. and wrapped up the summer of 2016 with his travel ball team, the West Coast Braves, and an appearance in the Area Code Games in Long Beach.
“I knew I wanted to pursue a career in baseball,” Zimmerman said of his decision to leave the gridiron. “The time was right. I would’ve missed too much football practice.”
Showcasing his talents across the country paid dividends. Zimmerman committed to play baseball at the University of Michigan after visits to Loyola Marymount, Long Beach State, Arizona, Arizona State and Oregon,
“I liked Michigan the best by far,” Zimmerman said. “The players were cool and the baseball program is hot. They also have a rigorous academic program. The alumni and boosters are strong so I’ll have good connections later on in life.”
He is undecided on a major but has plenty of ideas for a career off the field, including becoming a firefighter like his dad, economics, investment banking or becoming a sports agent.
He doesn’t know if he will be pitching and playing in the field but he hopes the exposure of playing for an NCAA top-20 ranked team will be a path to the major leagues.
“Danny is great hitter and that’s what I expect him to do in college,” Baumback said. “He is a very good pitcher, yet the upside of his bat really stands out. He has incredible raw power and I expect him to be a great college hitter. I look forward to seeing how he continues to improve once he gets into a Division I college program.”
Zimmerman credits the support — and athletic genes — of his parents for his success.
His father Joe played most sports through high school and his mother Carolyn was a three-sport star (soccer, track and field, volleyball) at West Torrance high School, being named the school’s Athlete of the /year in 1987 and 1988.
She played volleyball for Pepperdine University and later became head coach of Cal State Fullerton’ women’s volleyball team. During her 13 years there she became the winningest coach in the program’s history.
Zimmerman also acknowledges his travel ball coach Dylan Braggiotti as a major influence.
“He’d drive from Long Beach and pick me up when my parents were unavailable,” Zimmerman said. “He taught me a lot about the game.”
Although Zimmerman roots for the Dodgers, his favorite player is Jason Werth of the Washington Nationals.
“He’s an underdog who has flown under the radar but he plays the game the right way,” Zimmerman explained.
Zimmerman’s ultimate goal is a career in baseball and becoming a Major League All-Star, following in the footsteps of former Redondo standout Morgan Ensberg, who made the 2005 National League All-Star team as a member of the Houston Astros.
“I hope to play on the USA Collegiate team while at Michigan,” Zimmerman said. “But when I look at the banner on our outfield wall with Morgan Ensberg’s name I envision my name being up there someday.”