The tears already had been welling up in his eyes before Ryan Zimmerman stepped to the microphone to deliver his speech to an adoring crowd at Nationals Park this afternoon. From the in-person tributes from 10 former teammates, to the taped tributes from a host of others, to a surprise video narrated by family members including his mother Cheryl, to the official unveiling of his name and No. 11 all alone on the façade of the third deck along the first-base line, Zimmerman had already run through the full gamut of emotions.

“This is by far the most nervous I’ve ever felt on this field,” he said as he began his remarks.

There would be plenty more tears and moments where Zimmerman needed to compose himself during a lengthy, but heartfelt, speech in which he made a point to thank everyone who made his career possible, from his childhood in Virginia Beach to his college days in Charlottesville to his big league debut in Atlanta to his final game in D.C. last fall.

“We all pretend to be this person when you’re little,” he said during a press conference prior to the ceremony. “But nobody ever believes it’s going to happen.”

He may never have believed it, but let’s be honest: From the moment he was drafted in June 2005, plenty of others around the Nationals did. For better or worse, he was preordained for greatness as the first star of the franchise. That he actually lived up to the billing is all the more impressive.

MASN will provide live coverage of the Washington Nationals news conference scheduled for Friday afternoon introducing first baseman Adam LaRoche to local media. The news conference is scheduled for Friday at 1:30 p.m. and will be televised live on MASN and hosted by Nats Xtra broadcaster Johnny Holliday. Last week, the Nationals signed LaRoche to a two year contract. A career .271 hitter, he's played for Arizona, Atlanta, Boston and Pittsburgh. LaRoche is one of just five big leaguers to...