Nationals Opinions: Best Third Baseman In Team History

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Oct 3, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; A general view during the National Anthem before game one of the 2014 NLDS playoff baseball game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Detroit Tigers at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: David Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Last week, we began our All-Decade Team series here on District On Deck. We have been going position-by-position, giving what we think have been the best Washington Nationals players at certain positions as the team will be playing its 10^th season since moving from Montreal to Washington D.C this season. We’ve already focused on catcher, second base, and shortstop. Today, we stay in the infield and take a look at third base.

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With Anthony Rendon moving to the hot corner, there have only been eight players that have manned the position for Washington DC over the last nine seasons. Out of those eight players, half of them are currently active. The two players that did not make this list that are still active are Alberto Gonzalez (2008-2011) and Chad Tracy (2011-2013), but these two were mainly contributors off the bench. Tony Batista came to Washington D.C in 2007 after playing for the Expos in their final season (2004).

Rendon makes the position change to allow Ryan Zimmermann to move over to first base. However, Zimmermann is still one of the best third baseman in the history of the franchise and is still seen as one of the main leaders on the 2015 Nationals as they aim for a World Series Championship.

There seems to be one obvious player that stands out as number one on this list, but that doesn’t mean we can’t recognize some of the other players who have played third base for the Nationals. With that being said, here are my top three players at third base in the history of the Washington Nationals.

Next: Number Three

(Photo Credit: Nats320.blogspot.com)

3. Vinny Castilla

When the Nationals signed Vinny Castilla in November 2005, they thought they were getting a player that was going to be one of the key power hitters in their lineup. He was coming off of a stellar season in Colorado, where he hit .271 with 35 home runs and 131 RBI’s, which was the most in the National League. He was a player that had hit 20+ home runs in three of the last four seasons.

In 2005, Castilla’s only season with the Nats, he did put up some power numbers, but they weren’t the same as they were at Coors Field. He hit .253 with 12 home runs and 66 RBI’s. Those numbers were third on the team in both categories.

One of the oddities about Castilla’s season was that he hit .253 and had six home runs in both the first and second halves of the season. He did play 142 games at the position, which was his fourth straight year of 100+ games played and the last season of his career in which he would play that amount of games. At the end of the 2005 season, the Nationals traded Castilla to the San Diego Padres for pitcher Brian Lawrence and cash. Lawrence would not pitch one game in the Washington organization.

All in all, Castilla was still one of the better power hitters on that 2005 Nats squad and he was a very good fielder. He has the most putouts of any third baseman in the NL in ’05 and had the second best fielding percentage.While Castilla’s departure paved the way for Ryan Zimmermann, tough to ignore a player that chose to sign with Washington and be one of their key offensive bats in the inaugural season.

Next: Number Two

Oct 4, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon (6) hits a single in the eighth inning against the San Francisco Giants in game two of the 2014 NLDS playoff baseball game at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: H. Darr Beiser-USA TODAY Sports

2. Anthony Rendon

As I said earlier, the sample size in terms of third baseman are very small to choose from. Even wit that being said, Rendon is heading into the 2015 season on a great note after his stellar 2014 season. Last year, Rendon hit .287 with 21 home runs and 84 RBI’s in 153 games. His 111 runs scored were the most by any player in the National League.

As far as the fielding goes, the now 24-year old had some solid numbers at the position last year. He had the most putouts at third base and led all National League third baseman in total zone runs with ten.

The player that the Nationals took with the sixth pick in the 2011 MLB Draft doesn’t get as much accolades as top picks of years past such as Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg, but he still is going to be expected to be one of the key offensive players in 2015 after finishing top five in the MVP vote a year ago. One of the things Rendon showed last season was his ability to hit in clutch moments. He was one of he very few players in that Nats lineup who were able to have success at the plate in the NLDS loss to the eventual World Champion San Francisco Giants (7-for-19 with one RBI).

If we are able to do this list ten years from now and Rendon is able to stay on this path, maybe he could supplant the player that we have at number one. But, for now, he is just behind one of his current teammates who is still one of the faces of the Washington organization.

Next: And The Number One Third Baseman Is...

1. Ryan Zimmerman

Yes, Ryan Zimmermann is our number one third baseman in the history of the Nationals franchise and he has set the bar high for someone like a Anthony Rendon, who we mentioned in the previous slide. While the fourth pick in the 2005 MLB Draft left a lot to be desired in terms of his throwing accuracy, he makes up for it with his bat when he is able to stay healthy. Out of his ten years in the league, he has hit 20 or more homers in six of those seasons.

One of the knocks on Zimmerman in his career is that he hasn’t been able to stay healthy. However, when you look at the games played per season, the now 30-year old has played in 100 games or more in eight seasons. The only exceptions were last season and in his rookie year (In 2005, he played 20 games).

Zimmerman has 184 home runs and 710 RBI’s in his career, which is fifth and fourth respectively in the history of the Expos/Nationals franchise. Only Tim Wallach has more home runs and RBI’s at the position. He has four seasons of 90+ RBI’s, including two 100+ RBI seasons in 2006 and 2009. While the errors did mount up for him on third base, Zimmerman still made the most putouts at third base in the National League back in 2013.

So far, this spring has seen some good plays by Zimmerman at first base, but Nationals fans will remember Zimmerman for being the leader at third base since he got regular playing time in 2006. He is a core member of the Washington organization both on and off the field, which makes him the best third baseman in the history of the Washington Nationals.

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