Nationals Opinions: Best Third Baseman In Team History

4 of 4

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.