Stephen Strasburg Announces Retirement

A highly touted prospect and one of the most heartbreaking storylines has wrapped itself up unsatisfyingly. 

The Washington Nationals’ 2009 first-overall draft pick, Stephen Strasburg, announced his retirement on Thursday. 

The San Diego State alum was one of the most dominant pitchers in the league when he was healthy. His Hall of Fame-worthy talent ended up derailed by injuries. 

San Diego State University was one of the only D1 schools that saw the potential in Strasburg. He was born and raised in San Diego and stayed for college to light up the NCAA. He pitched three years for the Aztecs. Strasburg spent his freshman season as the closer for SDSU. He earned the respect of head coach Tony Gwyn, who moved him to the starting rotation for his sophomore year. 

He struck out over 130 batters in under 100 innings pitched in year two. On April 11th, 2008, he threw a complete game shutout. He struck out 23 batters and only allowed one hit. He finished the game on a 96-mile-an-hour strikeout. 

In the summer of 2008, the California native was the only college player selected to the US national team. Just one month after he turned 20, Strasburg represented his country in Beijing during the 2008 Olympics.

He threw a 17-strikeout no-hitter against Air Force in his junior year. In his third and final year of college ball, Strasburg struck out 195 while only walking 19. To nobody’s surprise, his video game numbers translated to the number one pick in the 2009 draft. 

Although Mike Trout went 30th overall in 2009, Strasburg’s college stats speak for themselves. Strasburg went 22-7 over 243.1 innings. He only allowed 43 runs his whole college career, leading to a mindblowing career ERA of 1.59. He struck out 375 and only walked 50 to make himself one of the most hyped-up MLB prospects ever after the Nationals took him first overall. 

Strasburg only needed nine games in the minor leagues before the Nationals realized what they had in their hands. They called him up after just two months. 

To say Strasburg burst onto the scene is an understatement. His first start has gone down as one of the greatest debuts ever. The June 8th home game against the Pittsburgh Pirates was nationally televised, and Strasburg still somehow outperformed the hype. 

He pitched seven innings and struck out 14 in front of an electric sold-out Washington Nationals crowd. The fireballer sat down eight during his second start in Cleveland, increasing his strikeout total to 22 through his first 12.1 innings. 

Strasburg had 92 strikeouts and an ERA+ of 139 12 games into his rookie season when he tore his UCL. His injury required Tommy John, which held him out until September 2011. 

He worked in a pitching staff featuring Nationals legends such as Jordan Zimmerman, Gio Gonzalez, and Tyler Clippard, not to mention the Rookie of the Year right fielder Bryce Harper. The 98-win Nationals had the best record in the league in 2012 as Strasburg made his first All-Star team and won the Silver Slugger in his first entire season in the MLB. 

When thinking about Stephen Strasburg, the first thing that comes to most baseball fan’s minds is his magical 2019 postseason. 

The 2019 Washington Nationals were never supposed to win the World Series. At one point in the season, they were 19-31, 12 games under .500. But they snuck into the Wild Card with the help of Strasburg, the NL leader in innings pitched and wins. 

Strasburg pitched 36.1 innings during the Nationals’ Cinderella World Series run. During that span, he created a legend that will be mentioned every time a pitcher has an impressive postseason. He went 5-0 with a sub-two ERA and an outstanding 47/4 K/BB ratio. 

Strasburg went 2-0 in the World Series against the Houston Astros. He struck out 14 batters through 14 innings in the World Series and only allowed four earned runs. Howie Kendrick’s iconic game seven two-run shot in the top of the 7th inning was the final push the Nationals needed to climb to the top of the mountain. 

Strasburg earned the 2019 World Series MVP to complement the Babe Ruth Award, awarded to the player with the most outstanding playoff performance. Strasburg became the only first overall pick to be named World Series MVP. 

The first championship in franchise history persuaded the Nationals into resigning Strasburg to a massive deal, which has turned into one of the worst contracts ever. At the time, the seven-year $245 million deal seemed like Strasburg could finish his career strong and work his way to Hall of Fame-type numbers as we expected. 

Instead, Strasburg has only pitched 31.1 innings in the three years since signing the mega-deal. 

Strasburg only managed five innings over two games before getting season-ending carpel tunnel surgery on his hand. He was later diagnosed with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, the same elbow issue that changed Matt Harvey’s career. TOS refers to three syndromes that affect the lower neck and upper chest, leading to arm and shoulder pain. 

At specific points, Strasburg couldn’t stand for long without his hand going numb. He started only five games in 2021 before having another surgery in which he got a rib and two muscles in his neck removed. 

He pitched his final 4.2 innings in 2022, where he got destroyed by the Marlins, giving up eight hits and seven runs in what turned out to be his last start in the MLB. 

Strasburg put everything he had into the Washington Nationals and explored every medical option before hanging up the cleats. 

Through 13 years of wearing Nationals red, Strasburg tallied 32.3 WAR through 1,400+ IP. He struck out 1,723 batters to only 394 walks and has a career ERA+ of 127. He finished in the top ten in Cy Young voting three times and was an All-Star three times.  

Although Strasburg probably won’t make the Hall of Fame, his legacy will live in MLB history forever.