World Series hero Stephen Strasburg is calling it a career – for real this time.
The former Washington Nationals ace officially announced his MLB retirement Sunday, nearly eight months after his plans to step away emerged.
Strasburg, 35, went 113-62 with a 3.24 ERA and 1,723 strikeouts over 1,470 innings but made just seven starts between 2020-22 and none last season as injuries took their toll. He was the MVP of the 2019 World Series, which the Nationals won against the Houston Astros in seven games.
“Although I will always wish there were more games to be pitched, I find comfort knowing I left it all out there for the only team I’ve known,” Strasburg said in a statement Sunday. “My family and I are truly fortunate and blessed to have experienced this baseball journey in the nation’s [capital].”
Selected first overall by the Nationals in 2009, Strasburg made his MLB debut the following year but required Tommy John surgery after 12 starts as a rookie. He quickly established himself as one of baseball’s best pitchers upon returning, earning three All-Star selections and three top-10 finishes in National League Cy Young Award voting between 2012-19.
Strasburg led the NL with 18 wins and 209 innings in 2019 – both career highs – and was even better in that postseason, going 5-0 in six starts, including 2-0 in the World Series.
“As a young kid, all I dreamt about was winning a World Series,” Strasburg said in his statement. “Thanks to the many coaches, teammates and medical staff, my boyhood dream came true.”
The right-hander signed a seven-year, $245 million contract with the Nationals during the following offseason. Injuries limited Strasburg to two starts in 2020, when the season was shortened to 60 games due to the COVID-19.
He made five starts in 2021 before undergoing thoracic outlet syndrome surgery. Strasburg’s final start came in June 2022 – his only appearance that season – and saw him surrender seven runs in 4.2 innings in a loss to the Marlins before returning to the injured list.
Strasburg’s plans to retire were first reported in August by The Washington Post, which said at the time the Nationals had scheduled a press conference for Sept. 9. That press conference never happened, however, after the Nationals asked Strasburg to tweak the terms of his guaranteed contract, according to The Athletic.
Before Sunday’s retirement announcement, Strasburg and the Nationals reached a settlement that will see them pay out the entirety of his contract, which owed him $35 million annually between 2024-26, The Athletic reported. The Nationals had reportedly wanted to defer money in Strasburg’s deal.
“I’d like to congratulate Stephen on an incredible career,” said Mike Rizzo, the Nationals’ general manager and president of baseball operations, who drafted Strasburg out of San Diego State.
“He will go down as one of the best players in Washington Nationals history, and it was my honor to be part of that journey.”
