Last Updated on January 24, 2024 by Matt Musico
The Washington Nationals have been around as a franchise since the 1969 season. They were, of course, first known as the Montreal Expos before moving to the nation’s capital ahead of the 2005 season. Since their inception, there have been 25 different Expos/Nationals 100 RBI seasons in franchise history.
We go over the top five single-season performances below before listing out the remainder of this group.
Nationals 100 RBI Seasons: The Top 5
Vladimir Guerrero: 131 RBI in 1999
Fresh off a breakout season in 1998 as a 23-year-old, Vladimir Guerrero took another step forward in 1999. The outfielder set career-high marks with 38 home runs and 109 RBI in ’98. Those numbers only stood for one season since he slugged another 42 dingers with 131 RBI the following year. The ’99 season included his first of nine All-Star Game selections and his first of eight Silver Slugger Awards.
Guerrero finished the first half with 18 homers and 65 RBI through 365 plate appearances. He bested both of those numbers in just 318 second-half plate appearances, hitting 24 homers with 66 RBI. That mostly happened because of his final two months. Vladdy’s best single-month performances in both categories happened in August and September/October. He combined to slug 21 dingers with 59 RBI during that stretch.
Anthony Rendon: 126 RBI in 2019
Third baseman Anthony Rendon may not like playing baseball too much, but he put together some monster years for the Nationals during his tenure in DC. Rendon’s 2019 performance led to him finishing third in NL MVP Award voting while leading the league in RBI (126) and doubles (44). His campaign also included a career-high 34 home runs and a .319/.412/.598 triple slash. Of course, this was his final year before hitting free agency, and he put an exclamation point on the end of his time with Washington by winning a World Series.
Rendon produced at a high level when the score was tied or the Nats were staring at a deficit. With a lead up for grabs, the right-handed hitter posted a 1.062 OPS with 11 homers and 34 RBI. When Washington was behind on the scoreboard, those numbers settled in at 1.099, 15, and 44 respectively. It’s not like he was bad when the club was winning, though. He produced a .906 OPS in that situation.
Tim Wallach: 123 RBI in 1987
Tim Wallach enjoyed a 17-year MLB career with the Montreal Expos, Los Angeles Dodgers, and California Angels. There was just one time he finished within the top five of MVP Award voting. As you might’ve guessed, it happened in 1987 with Montreal. He hit .298/.343/.514 with 26 homers, 123 RBI, and a league-leading 42 doubles. There were a couple of other close calls, but this was the only time Wallach surpassed the 100-RBI plateau in a single season.
The infielder’s home OPS (.901) was much better than what he produced on the road (.816), but his power/run production was nearly identical in each scenario. He hit 13 homers with 64 RBI and 47 runs scored at home, compared to 13 homers, 59 RBI, and 42 runs on the road. The biggest difference was the number of doubles he hit (26 at home, 16 on the road).
Vladimir Guerrero: 123 RBI in 2000
How do you follow up a career year like Guerrero produced in 1999? Well, you do it again, that’s what. He didn’t quite reach the same heights in the RBI department in 2000, but it was accompanied by a rise in homers (44) and OPS (1.074). Guerrero was once again voted to the midsummer classic and won a Silver Slugger Award. He also moved up from 11th to sixth in NL MVP Award voting.
Unlike 1999, Guerrero’s two best months in 2000 included March/April and September/October. To start the year, he hit .410/.495/.795 with eight homers and 27 RBI. To finish off the regular season, those numbers settled in at .366/.418/.768, 13, and 26, respectively.
Guerrero was especially on his game with two outs in an inning. During that scenario, he posted a 1.163 OPS with 18 homers and 49 RBI.
Andre Dawson: 113 RBI in 1983
Andre Dawson surpassed the 30-homer, 100-RBI plateau three times during his Hall of Fame career. The first occurrence came in 1983 with the Expos as a 28-year-old. In addition to those 113 RBI, The Hawk slugged 32 homers while collecting a league-leading 189 hits. He also finished second in NL MVP Award voting while taking home a Silver Slugger Award and a Gold Glove Award in the process.
Unlike Wallach, Dawson preferred to play on the road as opposed to being in Montreal. That’s based on his performance, at least. Through 336 plate appearances at home, the outfielder slashed .272/.324/.453 line with 10 homers and 42 RBI, resulting in a .777 OPS. On the road, he hit .322/.351/.615 with 22 home runs, 71 RBI, and a .966 OPS in 362 trips to the plate.
Nationals 100 RBI Seasons: The Rest
As mentioned above, there have been 25 different occurrences of an Expos/Nationals hitter collecting 100 RBI in a single season. Here are the rest:
- Vladimir Guerrero, 2002: 111 RBI
- Tony Batista, 2004: 110
- Ryan Zimmerman, 2006: 110
- Juan Soto, 2019: 110
- Al Oliver, 1982: 109
- Vladimir Guerrero: 1998: 109
- Vladimir Guerrero, 2001: 108
- Ryan Zimmerman, 2017: 108
- Gary Carter, 1984: 106
- Ryan Zimmerman, 2009: 106
- Adam Dunn, 2009: 105
- Daniel Murphy, 2016: 104
- Ken Singleton, 1973: 103
- Henry Rodriguez, 1996: 103
- Adam Dunn, 2010: 103
- Gary Carter, 1980: 101
- Hubie Brooks, 1985: 100
- Adam LaRoche, 2012: 100
- Anthony Rendon, 2017: 100
- Bryce Harper, 2018: 100
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