Nationals Opinions: Best Catcher in Nats History

Aug 7, 2014; Frisco, TX, USA; Former Texas Rangers catcher

watches the game between the Frisco Rough Riders and the Springfield Cardinals from the dugout at Dr Pepper Ballpark. Springfield beat Frisco 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

No. 3: Ivan Rodriguez

When discussing the best catchers in Nationals’ history, its impossible to leave out future Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez. While Rodriguez only spent a small potion of his iconic 21-year career with the Nationals, he certainly made some great contributions to the ball club. For this reason, Rodriguez is the third-best catcher in team history in our ranking.

The Nationals signed “Pudge” Rodriguez to a 2-year, $6 million contract after the 2009 season. While the team knew that Rodriguez’s best years were behind him, the team needed someone to help ease the transition to Wilson Ramos (whom they acquired later that year) while also guiding a young pitching staff at a time when the team was one of the worst in baseball. Rodriguez accomplished all of that, and then some.

His first year with the Nationals got off to a fantastic start. Rodriguez had several memorable games in the first couple of months of the season, including a 4-4 performance May 10 against the Mets in which he was also responsible for the game-winning RBI. Rodriguez was hitting .325 at the end of May, but was placed on the disabled list after spraining his back.

Overall, 2010 was Rodriguez’s best season with the Nationals. In 111 games, Rodriguez hit .266 with four home runs and 49 RBIs. Not only did Rodriguez do a fine job behind the plate for the Nationals all season long, but he also guided rookie Stephen Strasburg through his incredible big league debut in which he struck out 14 batters and walked none over seven innings of work.

Rodriguez appeared in 44 games for the Nationals in 2011, hitting .218 with two home runs and 19 RBIs.

Next: Number 2