Nationals: Anthony Rendon, always the Bridesmaid, never the MVP

Washington Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon was the runner-up on the NL fWAR leaderboard for two years running, but he’s never in the MVP discussion… until now.

As far as baseball personalities go, Washington Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon is as straight-to-the-point as they come. So let’s not belabor the point either: Rendon is good at baseball.

Very good.

There’s a case to be made for Rendon as a Top-5 position player in the game. He’s tied for fourth in the MLB with 163 wRC+. Ask anyone outside of Washington, and Rendon’s not likely to be one of the first five names mentioned.

You’d be excused for not thinking Rendon was a top-5 player on his own team most years  (you’d be wrong, but you’d be excused).

He’s not flashy, he eschews media interaction, and he’s had far more famous teammates. Namely, Max Scherzer and Bryce Harper, a Cy Young and MVP, respectively, who fall, let’s say, on the expressive side of the personality spectrum. Rendon, well, does not.

He may be a first-time All-Star in 2019, but Ant’s long been a damn fine baseball player. The Nationals aren’t shy about sharing this surprising-but-fun fact: Rendon leads all major league infielders with 19.6 fWAR since 2017.

If you don’t follow the Nats on Twitter, that’s not something you’re likely to know – and I’m willing to bet most of you will check for yourselves as I did – but it’s true.

Of all players, only Mookie Betts (20.9 fWAR) and someone named Michael N. Trout (25.3 fWAR) accrued more fWAR than Anthony Rendon since 2017. Not Nolan Arenado, not Kris Bryant, not Christian Yelich, not Cody Bellinger, not Bryce Harper.