Nationals Opinions: Best Catcher in Nats History

Aug 16, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals catcher

(40) hits a single against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the fifth inning at Nationals Park. The Nationals won 4-3. Mandatory Credit:

-USA TODAY Sports

The 2015 season will be special for the Nationals for many reasons. Not only will the team enter the season with one of the deepest rosters in baseball and World Series aspirations, but the 2015 season will also mark the 10th anniversary of the team playing baseball in DC.

While the team, formerly known as the Montreal Expos, has only played in Washington for a decade, a lot has happened over those 10 years. Nationals fans saw the team fall to the very bottom of the National League and stay there for quite some time. After hitting rock-bottom just a few years ago, the team started to grow by drafting superstars like Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper and signing big-name free agents such as Jayson Werth.

The rest, as they say, is history. Young, talented players started making their mark at the big league level, big-name draft picks started to live up to their hype, and the years of the Nationals being at the very bottom of the NL food chain were over.

Under the guidance of manager Davey Johnson, the team won its first NL East title and made its first ever postseason appearance in 2012. After a minor slip-up in 2013, the team returned to dominance last season, winning yet another NL East title and an NL-best 96 games. As we know, the Nationals are once again expected to succeed this season and continue to grow their history as a ballclub.

Of course, there are many reasons for the Nationals’ rise from the deepest depths of the standings to one of the best teams in baseball, not the least of which being the fact that the team has seen some great players don the Curly W. For this reason, District on Deck is assembling our ‘All-Decade’ team, recognizing the best Nationals players at each position over the last 10 years.

Yesterday we began our series by ranking the Nationals’ all-time best second basemen. Today we will continue with our top-5 catchers in team history. While these are my picks for the best catchers in team history, we’d love to hear who you think should be on top so feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Next: Number 5