Rendon’s 2014 5th place MVP result is the highest ever for a Nat. Photo Nats Official via espn.com
While we wait for the Rule-5 results, I thought i’d throw a fun little post out there. Inspired by James Wagner‘s blog post last week (and subsequent newspaper filler two days later), I decided to dive into the subject of Nats award-receiving seasons. Anthony Rendon just finished 5th in NL MVP voting, the highest ranking ever for a Nats player. And three of our five starters just got Cy Young votes.
Using baseball-reference.com’s award pages as a source, here’s the history of every Washington Nationals player who has received any voting whatsoever in MVP, Cy Young or Rookie of the Year races.
MVP Races
| year | Rank | Name | Tm | Vote Pts | 1st Place | Share | WAR |
| 2014 | 5 | Anthony Rendon | WSN | 155 | 0 | 37% | 6.5 |
| 2014 | 18 | Jayson Werth | WSN | 9 | 0 | 2% | 4 |
| 2014 | 19 | Denard Span | WSN | 8 | 0 | 2% | 3.6 |
| 2013 | 13 | Jayson Werth | WSN | 20 | 0 | 5% | 4.9 |
| 2012 | 6 | Adam LaRoche | WSN | 86 | 0 | 19% | 4.1 |
| 2012 | 16 | Ian Desmond | WSN | 15 | 0 | 3% | 3.4 |
| 2012 | 20 | Gio Gonzalez | WSN | 8 | 0 | 2% | 4.7 |
| 2012 | 24 | Ryan Zimmerman | WSN | 7 | 0 | 2% | 3.9 |
| 2012 | 30 | Bryce Harper | WSN | 2 | 0 | 0% | 5.1 |
| 2011 | 19 | Mike Morse | WSN | 5 | 0 | 1% | 3.4 |
| 2010 | 16 | Ryan Zimmerman | WSN | 18 | 0 | 4% | 6.2 |
| 2010 | 21 | Adam Dunn | WSN | 9 | 0 | 2% | 2.4 |
| 2009 | 25 | Ryan Zimmerman | WSN | 2 | 0 | 0% | 7.3 |
| 2006 | 6 | Alfonso Soriano | WSN | 106 | 0 | 24% | 6.1 |
| 2005 | 14 | Chad Cordero | WSN | 21 | 0 | 5% | 2 |
There’s only been three top-10 MVP performances in franchise history: Rendon’s sneaky good 2014, Adam LaRoche‘s 6th place 2012 finish, and Alfonso Soriano‘s 40-40 season in 2006 (also a 6th place finish). But it is kind of indicative of the balance on this team that *eight* different players have received MVP votes over the course of the last three years, and seven of them seem likely to suit up for the 2015 team. No, a 17th place MVP finish isn’t really that impressive … but it is recognition that someone thought you were a top 10 player in the league that year (the MVP ballot goes 10 deep), and that’s worth recognizing.
Cy Young Races
| year | Rank | Name | Tm | Vote Pts | 1st Place | Share | WAR | W | L | SV | ERA | WHIP |
| 2014 | 5 | Jordan Zimmermann | WSN | 25 | 0 | 12% | 4.9 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 2.66 | 1.07 |
| 2014 | 8 | Doug Fister | WSN | 5 | 0 | 2% | 4.5 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 2.41 | 1.08 |
| 2014 | 9 | Stephen Strasburg | WSN | 3 | 0 | 1% | 3.5 | 14 | 11 | 0 | 3.14 | 1.12 |
| 2013 | 7 | Jordan Zimmermann | WSN | 21 | 0 | 10% | 3.7 | 19 | 9 | 0 | 3.25 | 1.09 |
| 2012 | 3 | Gio Gonzalez | WSN | 93 | 1 | 42% | 4.9 | 21 | 8 | 0 | 2.89 | 1.13 |
| 2005 | 5 | Chad Cordero | WSN | 1 | 0 | 1% | 2 | 2 | 4 | 47 | 1.82 | 0.97 |
As we mostly know, Gio Gonzalez‘s 3rd place finish in 2012 (which included a first place vote amazingly) was our closest Cy Young candidate. Amazingly, the team didn’t have a pitcher even garner a Cy Young vote from 2006-2011. It was quite a dry stretch for hurlers.
Rookie of the Year Races
| RoY | |||||||
| year | Rank | Name | Tm | Vote Pts | 1st Place | Share | WAR |
| 2012 | 1 | Bryce Harper | WSN | 112 | 16 | 70% | 5.1 |
| 2011 | 4 | Wilson Ramos | WSN | 6 | 0 | 4% | 1.8 |
| 2011 | 6 | Danny Espinosa | WSN | 3 | 0 | 2% | 2.8 |
| 2006 | 2 | Ryan Zimmerman | WSN | 101 | 10 | 63% | 2.9 |
Finally we have a winner! Zimmerman was a justified 2nd place in 2006 (he lost to Hanley Ramirez).
Not much analysis here, just recognition of the balance of talent we have on this team and how hard it is to win one of these awards.