While the World Series gets ready to get underway in the coming days, the Washington Nationals will clearly not be competing for anything except for room on the couch with the rest of the eliminated teams. However, in the history of the organization, there have been better days, and hopefully soon we will be able to look ahead to new happy times.
Back when the Nationals were a competitive team year in and year out, they were spearheaded by a handful of former stars that racked up hardware like nobody's business. Before this year's finalists get announced, let's take a look back at which former Nationals had the pleasure of taking home Louisville Silver Slugger Awards previously.
Alfonso Soriano - 2006
As part of 4 career Silver Slugger Awards, Alfonso Soriano recorded arguably the greatest season in Washington Nationals history back in 2006. In his lone year in the Nation's Capital, Soriano had a legendary campaign that was possibly the best of his highly successful career when all is said and done.
He accounted for 6.1 bWAR and slashed .277/.351/.560, good for a .911 OPS to go along with 46 homers, 95 RBIs, and 41 stolen bases.
Ryan Zimmerman - 2009, 2010
Mr. National, aka Ryan Zimmerman, turned in the 2 best seasons of his career in 2009 and 2010 before injuries began to take their toll on him physically. While playing an elite third base defensively, this was when we fully saw Zimmerman blossom into an elite hitter as well.
In 2009, when he made his first All-Star team, Zimmerman accounted for 7.3 bWAR, and slashed .292/.364/.525, good for an .888 OPS to go along with 33 homers and 106 RBIs. In 2010, Zimmerman slashed .307/.388/.510, good for an .899 OPS to go along with 25 homers and 85 RBIs.
Ian Desmond - 2012, 2013, 2014
If only Ian Desmond was a bit better of a defender at shortstop during his prime with the Nationals, he may have gotten even more recognition for how good of an all-around player he was.
In 2012, he had the first of 3 Silver Slugger campaigns with a .292/.335/.511 slash line, good for an .845 OPS to go along with 25 homers and 73 RBIs. In 2013, Desmond slashed .280/.331/.453, good for a .784 OPS to go along with 20 homers and 80 RBIs. In his final Silver Slugger year in 2014, Desmond slashed .255/.313/.430, good for a .743 OPS to go along with his 24 homers and 91 RBIs.
Adam LaRoche - 2012
In 2012, Adam LaRoche took home the only Silver Slugger Award of his career in what was an incredible season for the franchise overall.
He was the definition of consistent every time he came to the plate as the team made the postseason for the first time, and his play in the field was also stellar. LaRoche slashed .271/.343/.510, which was good for an .853 OPS, while swatting 33 homers and driving in an even 100 runs.
Stephen Strasburg - 2012
The 2019 World Series MVP really could do a little bit of everything back in his day. In 2012, during that magical regular season for the Nationals, Stephen Strasburg actually showed a lot of solid prowess at the plate.
He had an impressive .277/.333/.426 salsh line in just 53 total plate appearances, and tallied 13 hits. His .759 OPS, 1 homer and 7 RBIs was enough to bring home the only Silver Slugger Award for a pitcher in Nationals history.
Anthony Rendon - 2014, 2019
People forget about how good Anthony Rendon was before it became known that he hated baseball, but the man could flat out hit during his time with the Nationals.
In 2014, his first full season in the big leagues, Rendon slugged 21 homers and 83 RBIs with a .287/.351/.473 slash line good enough for an .824 OPS. During the magical 2019 season, Rendon had the best all-around season of his career, and one of the best in Nationals' history when you factor in everything that was accomplished. He had an absurd .319/.412/.598 slash line, good enough for an absurd 1.010 OPS with 34 homers, 126 RBIs, and a league-leading 44 doubles.
Bryce Harper - 2015
The MVP season for Bryce Harper back in 2015 was an incredible year to watch despite how poor the team played overall. His numbers reflect it, and just wait until you hear some of these figures.
Harper's slash line for the season was a ridiculous .330/.460/.649, good for a 1.109 OPS to go along with his 42 homers and 99 RBIs. Surprisingly enough, Harper only eclipsed the 100 RBI mark once in his Nationals tenure, which was in 2018.
Daniel Murphy - 2016, 2017
Given how good of a player he was for the NL East rival New York Mets for all those years, it is funny that the Nationals ended up getting the 2 best seasons of Daniel Murphy's career by a wide margin.
In 2016, Murphy slashed .347/.390/.595, good for a .985 OPS to go along with 25 homers, 104 RBIs, and a league-leading 47 doubles. He followed up that year with a .322/.384/.543 slash line and .928 OPS to go along with 23 homers, 93 RBIs, and another league-best mark in doubles with 43.
Wilson Ramos - 2016
Given how good he was offensively during his time with the Nationals, it is a bit surprising that Wilson Ramos only took home a single Silver Slugger Award.
Back in 2016, Ramos had the best season of his career as he clubbed 22 homers, drove in 80 runs, and slashed .307/.354/.496, good enough for an .850 OPS. His numbers might not pop off the page in some respects, but you have to remember that he was still a primary catcher as well. Hopefully, "The Buffalo" is enjoying his retirement so far.
Juan Soto - 2020, 2021, 2022
How many Silver Sluggers will Juan Soto have in his mancave before his playing days are over? Given the fact that he already has 5 and might be headed for a 6th in just 8 seasons, we might just see him double that by the time he retires.
Soto took home his first award back in the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season, where he clubbed 13 homers, drove in 37 runs, and had an absurd .351/.490/.695 slash line with a 1.185 OPS in just 47 games.
In 2021, Soto had a .313/.465/.534 slash line with an OPS of .999 to go along with his 29 homers and 95 RBIs. In his final season with the Nationals, which was also split with the Padres, Soto had a .242/.401/.452 slash line as his OPS fell to .853 while he clubbed 27 homers and 62 RBIs in what was the worst year of his career to date, which is hilarious to think about.
Which previous Silver Slugger winner of the Nationals was your favorite? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.