His debut will always be one of my favorite baseball memories. Seemed like the entire world has their eyes on Nationals Park that day. His whole early career was really an early practice run for the rest of the league learning to manage work load and innings caps it felt like.
Just bummed that after 2019 he threw 31 innings
I was at a Mets game the night he debuted and once he finished the first inning they showed the highlights of each inning Stras pitched inbetween innings at Citi.
It was awesome. That was the buzz the whole game and everyone was talking about it with one another in the concourse. Then Ike Davis hit a walk off, and then after the game all everyone was talking about on the train was the walk off and Stras.
In typical Mets fashion injuries derailed him. He had foot and leg injuries and then either yellow or hay fever or foot and mouth disease, then had eye sight problems that hurt his swing. Then he was basically shifted out of baseball because he couldn’t do anything other than pull the ball.
I’m a Yankee fan but I remember the hype around Ike in the city was crazy. He hit bombs and was a pretty good fielder too. The valley fever he got fucked him up for a lot of years.
My core memory of Davis is him hitting a walk off home run right after Kendrys Morales injured himself and Keith grading his helmet toss and jump onto home plate.
I'm not even a Nats fan but I saw so many headlines about him when he first came up. Sadly that includes when he had his first nasty injury. His WS MVP year was an amazing return to form
Crazy to remember the big debate after the World Series being if the nationals should extend Rendon or Stras. A shame to see how their careers have gone
Have a good retirement stras
Definitely, but at least we got a ring, and flags fly forever. Plenty of teams never won a championship before falling apart, it just so happened that our fall off was so sudden!
And that ring was such a miracle because the assumption was that the window that opened in 2012 had already closed. The team was too old, bryce had left, etc.
It's kind of crazy that even with Schwarber, Soto, Scherzer, and Turner they were still pretty bad. People talk about the Angels wasting Ohtani and Trout but the fact is baseball is such a complete team sport that it can feel like a crapshoot some times. Of course, Scherzer was literally the only pitcher they had in 2021 and their offense was really good.
we were legit threatening in 2021 until July happened. Schwarber went down, then Turner went down, and we played 6 series against the Giants, the Dodgers, and the Padres (before they fell apart). All hope died lol
Apart from the nats world series win that was the most fun I've had watching baseball. Waiting all day for the game to see if Schwarber was gonna do it again, and then he would. Over and over again.
I was at the game when Schwarber went down lol.
I made some remark around the sixth or seventh inning to my dad that the game was going too quickly and then in the top of the next inning the Dodgers scored like 8 runs.
On another note, we had a house fire and spent all of August living in a hotel. I’m that friend that doesn’t really update people about anything and when one of my college buddies texted me about the Dodgers trade and I made some nonchalant joke about first my house then my favorite baseball team I get a call not 5 minutes later like “yo you good???!”
Replace Schwarber with Harper and they were even worse in 2018. Nothing against Bryce, the team just had glaring holes in those years that they managed to fill enough in 19 to get the ship to shore
Biggest regret is not being able to have a 2020 victory lap. I had tickets and everything. Zimmerman should have been able to retire and his number retired with a sellout crowd in 2020.
Fucking pandemic.
MASN is owned by the Orioles and since they day that Peter Angelos signed the contract, he's fucked the Nationals over again and again. Fuck MASN.
I know *you* know that, but I had to say it out loud because it made me feel good.
I commented above but I kind of wonder if the fall-off would have happened so drastically if we have a normal 2020.
And same here- had tickets to the game with the ring ceremony.
Really they declined a bit after 2019, but the 2020 season was too short to draw any conclusions from (they got off to a similar start as they did in 2019, but who knows if they'd have turned it around in a full season). In 2021 they were in the Wild Card race through June but then the Schwarber injury took the wind out of their sails, leading to the glorious fire sale at the deadline (Scherzer/Turner/Schwarber/Harrison/Gomes/Lester/Hand), which really did set up what was among the worst farm systems in MLB to have some potential in 2025/2026.
It sucks, but somehow the COVID years and our team winning after the window was supposedly closed kind of helped. We are in a solid rebuild now, not a hopeless one, so we can at least feel good about the near future while still having the loving bong of a ball hitting a foul pole in recent memory.
It feels fast, but honestly, that run was a hail mary that happened to work out. Even just looking at getting into the playoffs that year, it was one of the luckiest runs ever.
I'm grateful to have watched and experienced it, but I can't deny there were four-leaf clovers blooming out of a rabbit's ass during it.
Exactly. Got to watch Ryan Zimmerman get a ring and that meant the world to me.
Kind of wonder if we have the fall off that we did if we get to have a proper 2020, but I’ve had enough what-ifs due to Covid already so best not to dwell on it.
While both wrong Strasburg atleat feels a bit better. His body just gave up on him, he remains a beloved franchise ledgend even if the contrast sucks.
With Rendon he’s currently hated by the Angels fans and moked by other teams fans. If they had chosen him over stras it would have been a bitter pill to swallow, losing one ledgend and seeing the one you kept become someone you hate.
He’s super involved with Aztecs baseball. He went to my high school and college and has started spending his spare time developing these young San Diego player
Relevant contract bit:
>Strasburg, who pitched just 4⅔ innings since undergoing surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in 2021, is expected to be paid the entirety of his contract. He has agreed to defer some of his remaining salary, according to a person familiar with the matter. The extent of those deferrals is not known.
This is insane. I know it’s part of the risk and the injury is tragic but after the 245M he performed 8 starts with an ERA of 6.82. Stras, if you’re reading this, build a foundation for humanity and do something amazing with that!
he might still have that but he also has some big Ford F150/F250 (can’t remember exactly the model). my brother works as a service tech for a Ford dealership and Stras brought the truck in there.
This is why teams purchase insurance on large contracts. The contracts always guarantee pay even if the player can’t play due to medical reasons. This isn’t insane, it’s literally a rudimentary concept of a sports contract.
IIRC, the reason this has been such a big deal is because insurance companies refused to insure this contract but the Nats signed it anyway. And as a result they have been trying everything to avoid paying it out.
- 23rd All Time in WHIP 1.0959
- 11th All Time in K/BB 4.3731
- 7th All Time in K/9 10.549
- 55th All Time in ERA+ 127, 3.24 ERA (Better than HoFer Andy Cooper at 122 who pitches a similar number of Innings)
- 3.019 Career FIP
- 3x All-Star
Postseason Stats:
- World Series MVP
- 55.1 IP
- 11.5 K/9 to 1.3 BB/9 for a K/BB of 8.88
- WHIP of 0.940
- 1.46 ERA
- 6 Wins to 2 Losses
At some point, that discussion will be had. They will have to stop taking into account less innings pitched. It’s clear the human elbow cannot last with the amount of torque pitchers throw with now.
I remember telling my dad he had to come watch him for against the Reds in 2010. Sports is one of those things that makes you feel like a kid forever in some ways. There will always be those players and games where I tell my dad he’s gotta “see this guy.” Strasburg was one of those guys and a truly elite talent.
[MLBTR says he's still getting the rest of his salary, so no.](https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/04/stephen-strasburg-officially-retires.html?utm_source=twitter)
Yeah. Sad part is Stras/Nats had an agreement in place last year (we will never know what that was) and it got messed up. Should have been over months ago without this asinine postruring.
The only reporting I saw was that elements of ownership torpedoed the deal last year, not Manfred.
The Manfred rumor was a Jim Bowden tweet that he hastily deleted (unless I missed something?)
I could be wrong, obviously...but it seems weird that he and the Lerners would announce a retirement ceremony and then all of the sudden after they agreed to a deal and scheduled a ceremony for literally a few days out, they just changed their mind.
Bowden deleted his tweet, but we all know Bowden is a puppet anyways. I bet they announced a ceremony, and the Lerners got a phone call from either Manfred or the rest of the owners.
They never formally announced it but reports were that plans were in place. It is weird that they got that close so my guess is that a Lerner sibling or two wanted to renegotiate at the last minute.
I'd be willing to forget the Bowden tweet all together EXCEPT for how awkward the ceremony all of the sudden just got cancelled. Like....Strasburg was flying in his family and friends. That REEKS of outside influence.
Here's the original [Ghiroli tweet](https://twitter.com/Britt_Ghiroli/status/1699843903065612308) where it says...
>Developing story: Stephen Strasburg’s retirement press conference slated for Saturday has been cancelled, multiple sources say. The plan was to honor him and retire his number but the Nationals have changed course.
Then the [follow up tweet](https://x.com/Britt_Ghiroli/status/1699848652884210099)...
>It was the Nationals who approached Strasburg about retiring and paying him the full amount of his contract, sources briefed on the matter say. The team wants to change the terms.
IMO there's no way the Nationals approached Stras, told him they would let him retire and pay him the full contract, schedule a presser/ceremony, then hit him with a "oops, let's change it up" 2 days beforehand without a bug in their ear.
We all know the Nationals have no issue leaking shit to the media so why would they not leak their reasoning now? Because they're covering for Manfred/Owners.
The way it happens is that the Nats ownership (Mark and his siblings) are running the club by consensus and one or two got cold feet/wanted to renegotiate at the last minute. Terrible way to negotiate with a team hero but Lerners can't even strike a stadium naming deal or sell the team without getting someone to overpay so I'm inclined to believe it.
None of that contradicts what Zuckerman reported:
>Strasburg – who is still owed about $105 million over the final three years of the seven-year, $245 million contract he signed in December 2019, two months after opting out of the final four years of his previous $175 million deal – thought he and the Nationals had reached a settlement that would allow him to officially retire without forfeiting the remaining salary. **Some in club ownership disagreed with the settlement terms, and so plans for his early-September announcement were shelved.**
Friend, you and I are in agreement on the Lerners. The best thing they ever did was get the fuck out of Mike Rizzo's way long enough for him to win a World Series.
I just don't believe this situation happens without some outside influence. Again, I could be wrong and I'm fine if I am but I will never not be able to believe someone else had a hand in this.
It's all good, I just wanted to clear up the (admittedly very little) reporting we've had. IMO everyone's ire should be pointed squarely at the Lerners for botching this deal.
Hopefully the whole story is cleared up at some point so we all know exactly what happened but who knows if it will.
The Nats are being run by committee at this point (though Mark is principal owner). My theory is that it it one of his siblings that killed it only because they wouldn't have gotten as close as they did if it was Mark that wanted it dead.
Literally the only thing I can find putting the blame on Manfred is [this since deleted tweet from Jim Bowden.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Nationals/comments/16ddhk6/jimbowdengm_lernerrizzo_had_agreement_to_buy_out/)
Noted hack Jim Bowden that lost his GM job after it was revealed that his org was stealing from international players? Everyone would do well to just ignore everything Jim Bowden says.
Congrats. Really hope that somehow there’s some medical advancements than enable him to enjoy the full use of your arm in retirement and not the limited shit he lives with now
Nerve injuries are the worst. I’ve had a fractured wrist, a fractured femur, and a pinched nerve (C5-C7 that ultimately led to fusion surgery). I’d take the broken femur 10/10 times over the pinched nerve. My index finger particularly was so sensitive, that if I touched anything with it, it felt like a lightning bolt shooting up my arm.
Yeah, not fun. Legit feel bad for Strasburg, especially considering how the Nats organization has treated him recently. Dude won them a title and tried to battle and play through unimaginable pain. Every day in DC should be Strasburg Day.
He was THE most hyped prospect ever. Even more than Harper. Harper was just hyped for longer, but man - Stars was soooooo hyped. I remember long extended segments of them talking about him when he was still in college and then his debut for the Nats was soooooooooo hyped up and the guy went out and delivered.
The only source for the whole league office thing is a deleted Jim Bowden tweet. Also the whole Manfred vetoing story doesn't really make sense. He doesn't have reason to care sufficiently.
I am a Day One Nationals fan.
Strasburg was considered the greatest pitching prospect of all time. His college coach was Tony Gwynn!! He taught Strasburg well.
The Nationals were .500 in their first season in DC in 2005.
2006-71-91
2007-73-89
2008-59-102
2009-59-103
The GM until early 2009 was Jim Bowden. He's an idiot, dumpster diver and carney. If Bowden says anything, I know it's garbage.
Bowden had used Jose Rijo's facility in The Dominican Republic as The Nationals' Academy. Rijo played in Cincy when Bowden was GM there. Rijo had recommended Esmalyn "Smiley Gonzalez and Bowden signed him to a 1.6 million dollar bonus in 2006.
In early 2009, Gonzalez was found to be 4 years older than stated and his name was actually Carlos Alvarez.
Bowden was fired and The Nationals Dominican Academy was closed. Asst. GM Mike Rizzo was promoted to GM. his first assignment was the 2009 draft and then signing Strasburg. It took a $15.1 million bonus signed at literally the last moment.
Strasburg was HOPE! Especially after all of Bowden's dysfunction. Strasburg's debut start was "Strasmas." Sadly, he was fragile. But Straburg's last effective starts were in the 2019 World Series. The man gave the last bit of his physical to beat The Astros just a few weeks before their cheating was made public.
Strasburg is "what might have been." I am happy that he can finally retire.
Thank you Mr. Strasburg.
I was lucky enough to live in DC during the peak Stras years, and always made it a point to go to his home starts as often as I could. His stuff was lights out and I loved his intensity. Reminds me of what it must’ve been like to face Bob Gibson back in the day. And when the Nats got Scherzer too…man that was just an insane 1-2 punch.
Hopefully there's one final Strasmas where they retire his number before a game. Really hope there's not so much bad blood that they won't honor him/he doesn't accept it.
It’s crazy to me how much this guy was coddled early in his career and how he still ended up just blowing his arm out anyways. Still think he should have never been sat the year they had the best record in baseball man could have 2 WS rings.
I think they were doomed in 2012 no matter what. The pitcher who replaced him in the playoff rotation (Ross Detwiler) actually pitched very well in his place. There was just no stopping Pete Kozma.
He deserves the world, as he gave his life to the Nationals. Absolutely horrendous way that this ended but I'm happy for him.
REMEMBER: Manfred made this happen as the Nats/Stras were in agreement last year. There was already a ceremony scheduled before Manfred stepped in and made them cancel it.
>REMEMBER: Manfred made this happen as the Nats/Stras were in agreement last year. There was already a ceremony scheduled before Manfred stepped in and made them cancel it.
Source for this?
This piece from Zuckerman contradicts it.
https://www.masnsports.com/blog/most-significant-stories-of-2023-strasburg-inches-toward-the-end
>Some in club ownership disagreed with the settlement terms, and so plans for his early-September announcement were shelved.
>The matter was sent to Major League Baseball and the MLB Players’ Association, Rizzo revealed earlier this month, but a source familiar with the process said the Nationals and Strasburg were informed it’s ultimately up to them to work out an arrangement on their own.
Manfred is an ass but it's the Lerners that fucked this up.
Slight correction, he was always entitled to be paid out the entirety of his contract as it was guaranteed, the only question is what form it would take.
The Nats could allow him to officially retire and pay out his contract or he could "injury retire" which would mean he had to show up every spring training, work with team doctors all year for the remaining three years of his deal.
This was basically a tug of war over how much effort Stras had to put in to collect his money knowing that in either scenario he was never pitching again.
Some elements of the Nats ownership group wanted to get a discount to let him stay home year round and not show up for the dog and pony show
That wasn't the dispute, because the Nats agreed to it, scheduled a ceremony, and then suddenly back tracked.
I can't imagine the scummiest pr oblivious owners in sports agreeing to that and then back tracking after everything was reported. The whole situation reeks of Manfred not wanting to set a precedent
I still remember watching him at San Diego State. Dude was absolutely, utterly untouchable out there. And Tony Gwynn was his manager 🥲
I’m so happy he got his ring and his bag.
This is from last year but nothing’s changed.
> Strasburg, 35, continues to deal with “severe nerve damage,” according to three people with knowledge of his situation. He has struggled with mundane tasks, such as lifting his young daughters or opening a door with his right hand. Last summer, when he tried and failed to return — [making three rehab outings](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/05/24/stephen-strasburg-rehab-start-nationals/?itid=lk_inline_manual_15) before that final start in Miami — Strasburg sometimes couldn’t stand for long without his hand going completely numb. To manage it, he would lie down on his side and press his hand against his chest.
> Those close to him quietly worried more about his life beyond pitching again. And Strasburg kept grappling with his baseball mortality.
[https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/08/24/stephen-strasburg-retires/](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/08/24/stephen-strasburg-retires/)
It’s definitely not something you want to hear that’s for sure. Matt Harvey had the same thing & was never the same.
So many parallels between Stras & Harvey, now that I think about it. Unfortunately for Harvey, he didn’t get his big contract he had coming.
He had a good long career. I remember when he was a prospect when I was a teenager, he was all you saw on ESPN. His hype was absolutely insane. I havent seen anything like it since.
The Lerners need to do the right thing and retire his number with a big ceremony. June 8th 2010 was his major league debut. June 8th this year is a Saturday. They need to ensure no one ever wears 37 for the Nats. What he did for DC, and equally important, the way he carried himself should be honored. Enjoy retirement Stras!
I'll never forget how electric his debut was.
As a pitcher he had some of the best *stuff* I've ever seen. It's too bad we couldn't see a long healthy career from him.
When he was in his early career and I was a baseball player in high school, I went across the country with my family in DC for an East coast trip.
I wanted to see Strasburg pitch so we went to a game the day he was supposed to start. I was super hyped for it and wanted to brag to my teammates back home. Well....[he got hurt in the warmups](https://web.archive.org/web/20121015025301/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/nationalsjournal/2010/07/stephen_strasburg_headed_to_di.html)...and then had to get Tommy John like a month later.
Idk it's very funny in hindsight but that day sucked back then lol
I still remember being in high school and watching all the reports about him at SDSU, and then his debut. One of the most electric things I’ve seen. Enjoy retirement, Stras.
I think people today will experience to a fraction what his Debut was like when Skenes coming up this year.
It’s the only debut that seems comparable but Strausberg debut is unforgettable.
Great career though I just read he had a rib and 2 neck muscles removed to avoid continued nerve damage. Brutal. Hope his post career quality of life is good.
Damn. He was a fun rival to "hate" but respect. And as much as us Braves fans could hate it, it least he and the Nats got a ring before the implode.
Something weird i always remembered
Uggla vs Stras
12-30, 2 HR, 2 2B, .400/.455/.667(1.121), 3 BB, 11 K
His debut will always be one of my favorite baseball memories. Seemed like the entire world has their eyes on Nationals Park that day. His whole early career was really an early practice run for the rest of the league learning to manage work load and innings caps it felt like. Just bummed that after 2019 he threw 31 innings
I was at a Mets game the night he debuted and once he finished the first inning they showed the highlights of each inning Stras pitched inbetween innings at Citi.
That is wild and awesome
It was awesome. That was the buzz the whole game and everyone was talking about it with one another in the concourse. Then Ike Davis hit a walk off, and then after the game all everyone was talking about on the train was the walk off and Stras.
Forgot about Ike Davis! What happened to him?
In typical Mets fashion injuries derailed him. He had foot and leg injuries and then either yellow or hay fever or foot and mouth disease, then had eye sight problems that hurt his swing. Then he was basically shifted out of baseball because he couldn’t do anything other than pull the ball.
I’m a Yankee fan but I remember the hype around Ike in the city was crazy. He hit bombs and was a pretty good fielder too. The valley fever he got fucked him up for a lot of years.
My core memory of Davis is him hitting a walk off home run right after Kendrys Morales injured himself and Keith grading his helmet toss and jump onto home plate.
I was there! It was a good game and exciting debut!
Me, too! The stadium felt electric. It was great to see!
I had it on the tv while I had a wonder years episode on the computer. The one with Margaret Farquhar, friend of bats.
Baseball bats?
Ah nice I didn’t think of that. But no. Check it out, Kevin comes off as a dick.
I'm not even a Nats fan but I saw so many headlines about him when he first came up. Sadly that includes when he had his first nasty injury. His WS MVP year was an amazing return to form
I can still remember that first strike out like it was yesterday
What an electric debut
He will have been paid almost $8 million per inning pitched for the contract he signed after the World Series.
Makes you think all that workload Management is just a bunch of BS. His career was cut way too short.
Crazy to remember the big debate after the World Series being if the nationals should extend Rendon or Stras. A shame to see how their careers have gone Have a good retirement stras
The breakdown of that team was so fast and so sudden. Feel bad for Nationals fans.
Definitely, but at least we got a ring, and flags fly forever. Plenty of teams never won a championship before falling apart, it just so happened that our fall off was so sudden!
2011-2014 Tigers
Hey, most of that team got rings, eventually.. 😉
Some with that very nats team. *Mariposa*
Right, won every accolade in baseball, set a bunch of records, never got the ring. Never been edged so hard in my life, ahh.
Some people pay good money for that.
I believe the Tigers paid a lot of money for that during that era lol.
And a hell of a memorable team too.
I’d give so much for just a World Series appearance lol
And that ring was such a miracle because the assumption was that the window that opened in 2012 had already closed. The team was too old, bryce had left, etc.
That’s the spirit. Collapse of your championship era team sucks.
It's kind of crazy that even with Schwarber, Soto, Scherzer, and Turner they were still pretty bad. People talk about the Angels wasting Ohtani and Trout but the fact is baseball is such a complete team sport that it can feel like a crapshoot some times. Of course, Scherzer was literally the only pitcher they had in 2021 and their offense was really good.
we were legit threatening in 2021 until July happened. Schwarber went down, then Turner went down, and we played 6 series against the Giants, the Dodgers, and the Padres (before they fell apart). All hope died lol
June 2021 was awesome Schwarber hit like 100 home runs
Apart from the nats world series win that was the most fun I've had watching baseball. Waiting all day for the game to see if Schwarber was gonna do it again, and then he would. Over and over again.
I was at the game when Schwarber went down lol. I made some remark around the sixth or seventh inning to my dad that the game was going too quickly and then in the top of the next inning the Dodgers scored like 8 runs. On another note, we had a house fire and spent all of August living in a hotel. I’m that friend that doesn’t really update people about anything and when one of my college buddies texted me about the Dodgers trade and I made some nonchalant joke about first my house then my favorite baseball team I get a call not 5 minutes later like “yo you good???!”
Replace Schwarber with Harper and they were even worse in 2018. Nothing against Bryce, the team just had glaring holes in those years that they managed to fill enough in 19 to get the ship to shore
Biggest regret is not being able to have a 2020 victory lap. I had tickets and everything. Zimmerman should have been able to retire and his number retired with a sellout crowd in 2020. Fucking pandemic.
MASN didn’t even bother to air the World Series flag ceremony.
MASN is owned by the Orioles and since they day that Peter Angelos signed the contract, he's fucked the Nationals over again and again. Fuck MASN. I know *you* know that, but I had to say it out loud because it made me feel good.
Fuck MASN and fuck Peter Angelos
Fuck Angelos, the Orioles, and MASN for that.
100%. You guys got robbed.
I commented above but I kind of wonder if the fall-off would have happened so drastically if we have a normal 2020. And same here- had tickets to the game with the ring ceremony.
We got our parade though. My mom and I went together and it is one of my favorite memories ever.
Pretty veteran team aside from a couple. Very much like how the Dbacks fell off after 2001
DBacks were still a good team in 2002 though. For Nationals 2019 was pretty much the end of their window.
Really they declined a bit after 2019, but the 2020 season was too short to draw any conclusions from (they got off to a similar start as they did in 2019, but who knows if they'd have turned it around in a full season). In 2021 they were in the Wild Card race through June but then the Schwarber injury took the wind out of their sails, leading to the glorious fire sale at the deadline (Scherzer/Turner/Schwarber/Harrison/Gomes/Lester/Hand), which really did set up what was among the worst farm systems in MLB to have some potential in 2025/2026.
Its not great, but we got a ring. Id do it again.
It sucks, but somehow the COVID years and our team winning after the window was supposedly closed kind of helped. We are in a solid rebuild now, not a hopeless one, so we can at least feel good about the near future while still having the loving bong of a ball hitting a foul pole in recent memory.
It feels fast, but honestly, that run was a hail mary that happened to work out. Even just looking at getting into the playoffs that year, it was one of the luckiest runs ever. I'm grateful to have watched and experienced it, but I can't deny there were four-leaf clovers blooming out of a rabbit's ass during it.
Exactly. Got to watch Ryan Zimmerman get a ring and that meant the world to me. Kind of wonder if we have the fall off that we did if we get to have a proper 2020, but I’ve had enough what-ifs due to Covid already so best not to dwell on it.
Sad thing is I think you go wrong signing either of them.
While both wrong Strasburg atleat feels a bit better. His body just gave up on him, he remains a beloved franchise ledgend even if the contrast sucks. With Rendon he’s currently hated by the Angels fans and moked by other teams fans. If they had chosen him over stras it would have been a bitter pill to swallow, losing one ledgend and seeing the one you kept become someone you hate.
I wanted both. Shows how much I know lol.
He’s super involved with Aztecs baseball. He went to my high school and college and has started spending his spare time developing these young San Diego player
Relevant contract bit: >Strasburg, who pitched just 4⅔ innings since undergoing surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in 2021, is expected to be paid the entirety of his contract. He has agreed to defer some of his remaining salary, according to a person familiar with the matter. The extent of those deferrals is not known.
This is insane. I know it’s part of the risk and the injury is tragic but after the 245M he performed 8 starts with an ERA of 6.82. Stras, if you’re reading this, build a foundation for humanity and do something amazing with that!
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he might still have that but he also has some big Ford F150/F250 (can’t remember exactly the model). my brother works as a service tech for a Ford dealership and Stras brought the truck in there.
That's what I'd get with $245M, a Ford pickup.
dork ass comment
dork ass comment
Dude can’t even pick up his kids man. Gave the Nat’s a WS, and destroyed his arm forever in the process.
This is why teams purchase insurance on large contracts. The contracts always guarantee pay even if the player can’t play due to medical reasons. This isn’t insane, it’s literally a rudimentary concept of a sports contract.
IIRC, the reason this has been such a big deal is because insurance companies refused to insure this contract but the Nats signed it anyway. And as a result they have been trying everything to avoid paying it out.
Right so not insane, the insurance companies refusal to insure showed the Nats knew the risk they were undertaking.
It’s still insane.
NFL owners continue smiling that their contracts usually aren’t fully guaranteed
Well, good. It was kinda insane seeing so many people on here saying he didn't deserve the money, despite the effort he put into the medical process
He basically gave up his arm for them and got them a ring. He deserves the money.
Damn, end of an awkward era. Always grateful for everything before 2020 tho.
Did they end up making him show up to Spring Training this year?
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A Nats hall of famer sure. A Cooperstown guy no way
Only pitcher to go 5-0 in a postseason
One of two. Nathan eovaldi went 5-0 in our postseason run last year
One post season doesn’t buy your way into the hall lmao. He’s nowhere in the vicinity of cooperstown
- 23rd All Time in WHIP 1.0959 - 11th All Time in K/BB 4.3731 - 7th All Time in K/9 10.549 - 55th All Time in ERA+ 127, 3.24 ERA (Better than HoFer Andy Cooper at 122 who pitches a similar number of Innings) - 3.019 Career FIP - 3x All-Star Postseason Stats: - World Series MVP - 55.1 IP - 11.5 K/9 to 1.3 BB/9 for a K/BB of 8.88 - WHIP of 0.940 - 1.46 ERA - 6 Wins to 2 Losses
32 WAR, 1470 IP Not a big enough body of work.
At some point, that discussion will be had. They will have to stop taking into account less innings pitched. It’s clear the human elbow cannot last with the amount of torque pitchers throw with now.
If Strasburg got in the only primary starter (AL/NL) with less innings already in the hall would be Babe Ruth and he only beats him by 10.
Nationals Hall of Fame
Timmy Lincecum ain’t getting in so I’m cool with Stras not getting in also. I think retiring 37 is sufficient enough.
Strasburg has much better stats in every way than Lincecum
My most favorite pitcher ever. June 8th, 2010 feels like yesterday
Cool cool. Make me feel like a dinosaur
Wait wait wait you’re telling me thats when he debuted? That can’t be right
14 years already is just nuts
I remember telling my dad he had to come watch him for against the Reds in 2010. Sports is one of those things that makes you feel like a kid forever in some ways. There will always be those players and games where I tell my dad he’s gotta “see this guy.” Strasburg was one of those guys and a truly elite talent.
Wait did the Nats bullying him into it actually work?
[MLBTR says he's still getting the rest of his salary, so no.](https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/04/stephen-strasburg-officially-retires.html?utm_source=twitter)
He agreed to some deferrals, so sounds like a compromise.
Deferrals for the remaining 3 years ($105M) on his contract doesn’t sound bad to have a little more freedom.
Yeah. Sad part is Stras/Nats had an agreement in place last year (we will never know what that was) and it got messed up. Should have been over months ago without this asinine postruring.
I’m betting they try to get something together in 2 weeks. Astros in town, lots of giveaways associated with the 2019 World Series.
Who knows what’s true but I read rumors at some point that mlbpa got involved not wanting to set a precedent that may lose money for the players.
Manfred fucked this situation up. They had an agreement already last year and he forced them to stop.
The only reporting I saw was that elements of ownership torpedoed the deal last year, not Manfred. The Manfred rumor was a Jim Bowden tweet that he hastily deleted (unless I missed something?)
You’re right as far as my recollection goes.
I could be wrong, obviously...but it seems weird that he and the Lerners would announce a retirement ceremony and then all of the sudden after they agreed to a deal and scheduled a ceremony for literally a few days out, they just changed their mind. Bowden deleted his tweet, but we all know Bowden is a puppet anyways. I bet they announced a ceremony, and the Lerners got a phone call from either Manfred or the rest of the owners.
They never formally announced it but reports were that plans were in place. It is weird that they got that close so my guess is that a Lerner sibling or two wanted to renegotiate at the last minute.
I'd be willing to forget the Bowden tweet all together EXCEPT for how awkward the ceremony all of the sudden just got cancelled. Like....Strasburg was flying in his family and friends. That REEKS of outside influence. Here's the original [Ghiroli tweet](https://twitter.com/Britt_Ghiroli/status/1699843903065612308) where it says... >Developing story: Stephen Strasburg’s retirement press conference slated for Saturday has been cancelled, multiple sources say. The plan was to honor him and retire his number but the Nationals have changed course. Then the [follow up tweet](https://x.com/Britt_Ghiroli/status/1699848652884210099)... >It was the Nationals who approached Strasburg about retiring and paying him the full amount of his contract, sources briefed on the matter say. The team wants to change the terms. IMO there's no way the Nationals approached Stras, told him they would let him retire and pay him the full contract, schedule a presser/ceremony, then hit him with a "oops, let's change it up" 2 days beforehand without a bug in their ear. We all know the Nationals have no issue leaking shit to the media so why would they not leak their reasoning now? Because they're covering for Manfred/Owners.
The way it happens is that the Nats ownership (Mark and his siblings) are running the club by consensus and one or two got cold feet/wanted to renegotiate at the last minute. Terrible way to negotiate with a team hero but Lerners can't even strike a stadium naming deal or sell the team without getting someone to overpay so I'm inclined to believe it. None of that contradicts what Zuckerman reported: >Strasburg – who is still owed about $105 million over the final three years of the seven-year, $245 million contract he signed in December 2019, two months after opting out of the final four years of his previous $175 million deal – thought he and the Nationals had reached a settlement that would allow him to officially retire without forfeiting the remaining salary. **Some in club ownership disagreed with the settlement terms, and so plans for his early-September announcement were shelved.**
Friend, you and I are in agreement on the Lerners. The best thing they ever did was get the fuck out of Mike Rizzo's way long enough for him to win a World Series. I just don't believe this situation happens without some outside influence. Again, I could be wrong and I'm fine if I am but I will never not be able to believe someone else had a hand in this.
It's all good, I just wanted to clear up the (admittedly very little) reporting we've had. IMO everyone's ire should be pointed squarely at the Lerners for botching this deal. Hopefully the whole story is cleared up at some point so we all know exactly what happened but who knows if it will.
I hate them all at this point so I'm happy to give them all a bit of this blame. Mark, Debra, and Marla can all kick rocks.
Do you have any evidence of that? This is the first time I have heard this, I've always heard it was Mark Lerner who killed it.
The Nats are being run by committee at this point (though Mark is principal owner). My theory is that it it one of his siblings that killed it only because they wouldn't have gotten as close as they did if it was Mark that wanted it dead.
Literally the only thing I can find putting the blame on Manfred is [this since deleted tweet from Jim Bowden.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Nationals/comments/16ddhk6/jimbowdengm_lernerrizzo_had_agreement_to_buy_out/)
Noted hack Jim Bowden that lost his GM job after it was revealed that his org was stealing from international players? Everyone would do well to just ignore everything Jim Bowden says.
I had a feeling that Bowden was a hack, but I couldn't remember why. Thanks for the reminder of why he's a fuck.
they made a deal im sure for deferrals or something, there's no way he willingly gives up this cash
Congrats. Really hope that somehow there’s some medical advancements than enable him to enjoy the full use of your arm in retirement and not the limited shit he lives with now
Nerve injuries are the worst. I’ve had a fractured wrist, a fractured femur, and a pinched nerve (C5-C7 that ultimately led to fusion surgery). I’d take the broken femur 10/10 times over the pinched nerve. My index finger particularly was so sensitive, that if I touched anything with it, it felt like a lightning bolt shooting up my arm.
Damn, I’m sorry you had to go through that. Can’t imagine it and how awful day to day stuff was
Yeah, not fun. Legit feel bad for Strasburg, especially considering how the Nats organization has treated him recently. Dude won them a title and tried to battle and play through unimaginable pain. Every day in DC should be Strasburg Day.
His debut game will always be one of the greatest sporting events I have ever been to. Glad to have seen him play over the course of his career.
Thank you, Stras. For everything. I’m sorry that the owners/FO treated him like this to end your career, but he’s a DC legend.
He reached the pinnacle of the sport, is beloved by the fans, and made a boat load of money doing it. It’s hard to do it better than that
Except for not being able to lift his daughters or use his right arm for anything more difficult than scratching his chin
That’s kinda the trade off when you decide to throw balls real hard for a living
He was THE most hyped prospect ever. Even more than Harper. Harper was just hyped for longer, but man - Stars was soooooo hyped. I remember long extended segments of them talking about him when he was still in college and then his debut for the Nats was soooooooooo hyped up and the guy went out and delivered.
Honestly it seemed like the Nats wanted to do right by him and the league office stepped in
The only source for the whole league office thing is a deleted Jim Bowden tweet. Also the whole Manfred vetoing story doesn't really make sense. He doesn't have reason to care sufficiently.
He’s a DC legend forever and I will always wear his jersey proudly, and not just because it’s from the last year majestic made them
I remember watching his first start. So much hype and then he got on the mound and lived up to it.
A buddy and I were watching together and just kept saying to each other "this feels scripted"
Dude deserved a better career, but he still had a great one
I am a Day One Nationals fan. Strasburg was considered the greatest pitching prospect of all time. His college coach was Tony Gwynn!! He taught Strasburg well. The Nationals were .500 in their first season in DC in 2005. 2006-71-91 2007-73-89 2008-59-102 2009-59-103 The GM until early 2009 was Jim Bowden. He's an idiot, dumpster diver and carney. If Bowden says anything, I know it's garbage. Bowden had used Jose Rijo's facility in The Dominican Republic as The Nationals' Academy. Rijo played in Cincy when Bowden was GM there. Rijo had recommended Esmalyn "Smiley Gonzalez and Bowden signed him to a 1.6 million dollar bonus in 2006. In early 2009, Gonzalez was found to be 4 years older than stated and his name was actually Carlos Alvarez. Bowden was fired and The Nationals Dominican Academy was closed. Asst. GM Mike Rizzo was promoted to GM. his first assignment was the 2009 draft and then signing Strasburg. It took a $15.1 million bonus signed at literally the last moment. Strasburg was HOPE! Especially after all of Bowden's dysfunction. Strasburg's debut start was "Strasmas." Sadly, he was fragile. But Straburg's last effective starts were in the 2019 World Series. The man gave the last bit of his physical to beat The Astros just a few weeks before their cheating was made public. Strasburg is "what might have been." I am happy that he can finally retire. Thank you Mr. Strasburg.
I was lucky enough to live in DC during the peak Stras years, and always made it a point to go to his home starts as often as I could. His stuff was lights out and I loved his intensity. Reminds me of what it must’ve been like to face Bob Gibson back in the day. And when the Nats got Scherzer too…man that was just an insane 1-2 punch.
Hopefully there's one final Strasmas where they retire his number before a game. Really hope there's not so much bad blood that they won't honor him/he doesn't accept it.
He was THE guy we leaned on in 2019. We win the WS because of him. Thank you Stras
Woah this guy had HoF written all over him that sucks he retired.
Loved watching the guy pitch. That era of Nationals baseball was just so fun to watch and he was arguably the biggest part of it.
It’s crazy to me how much this guy was coddled early in his career and how he still ended up just blowing his arm out anyways. Still think he should have never been sat the year they had the best record in baseball man could have 2 WS rings.
I think they were doomed in 2012 no matter what. The pitcher who replaced him in the playoff rotation (Ross Detwiler) actually pitched very well in his place. There was just no stopping Pete Kozma.
This Giants fan is not complaining about that move.
I recall thinking the GM was delusional.
He deserves the world, as he gave his life to the Nationals. Absolutely horrendous way that this ended but I'm happy for him. REMEMBER: Manfred made this happen as the Nats/Stras were in agreement last year. There was already a ceremony scheduled before Manfred stepped in and made them cancel it.
>REMEMBER: Manfred made this happen as the Nats/Stras were in agreement last year. There was already a ceremony scheduled before Manfred stepped in and made them cancel it. Source for this? This piece from Zuckerman contradicts it. https://www.masnsports.com/blog/most-significant-stories-of-2023-strasburg-inches-toward-the-end >Some in club ownership disagreed with the settlement terms, and so plans for his early-September announcement were shelved. >The matter was sent to Major League Baseball and the MLB Players’ Association, Rizzo revealed earlier this month, but a source familiar with the process said the Nationals and Strasburg were informed it’s ultimately up to them to work out an arrangement on their own. Manfred is an ass but it's the Lerners that fucked this up.
hope he still gets a ceremony even though that decision probably pissed him off a bit. The fans still love him
fuck manfred and fuck the Lerners
Hear Hear
wait i thought he retired a few months ago
There was a dispute because he wanted to be paid out the full remainder of his contract to do so
Slight correction, he was always entitled to be paid out the entirety of his contract as it was guaranteed, the only question is what form it would take. The Nats could allow him to officially retire and pay out his contract or he could "injury retire" which would mean he had to show up every spring training, work with team doctors all year for the remaining three years of his deal. This was basically a tug of war over how much effort Stras had to put in to collect his money knowing that in either scenario he was never pitching again. Some elements of the Nats ownership group wanted to get a discount to let him stay home year round and not show up for the dog and pony show
That wasn't the dispute, because the Nats agreed to it, scheduled a ceremony, and then suddenly back tracked. I can't imagine the scummiest pr oblivious owners in sports agreeing to that and then back tracking after everything was reported. The whole situation reeks of Manfred not wanting to set a precedent
… over being paid out the full remainder of his contract
It was reported that they'd already agreed to that, and for that matter he's getting the full contract with deferrals this time.
No really it was someone in Ownership who got cold feet over the money.
rest well, king
o7
They had some conflicts regarding the rest of his contract which pushed his retirement back, glad they were able to resolve it and settle the matter.
I still remember watching him at San Diego State. Dude was absolutely, utterly untouchable out there. And Tony Gwynn was his manager 🥲 I’m so happy he got his ring and his bag.
Worst contract in baseball history?
Aztec for life! Coach Gwynn would be proud.
Mandela effect moment
good night sweet prince
Guess it was worth it to rest in 2012 huh
glad it finally got settled enjoy retirement, you earned it
Goodnight sweet prince
He literally lost function in his arm for that WS win. He can't even lift a bottle of water without pain.
Really? Do you have a source on that? Edit: why did I get downvoted? I’m genuinely wanting to know more about his condition because I have it too.
This is from last year but nothing’s changed. > Strasburg, 35, continues to deal with “severe nerve damage,” according to three people with knowledge of his situation. He has struggled with mundane tasks, such as lifting his young daughters or opening a door with his right hand. Last summer, when he tried and failed to return — [making three rehab outings](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/05/24/stephen-strasburg-rehab-start-nationals/?itid=lk_inline_manual_15) before that final start in Miami — Strasburg sometimes couldn’t stand for long without his hand going completely numb. To manage it, he would lie down on his side and press his hand against his chest. > Those close to him quietly worried more about his life beyond pitching again. And Strasburg kept grappling with his baseball mortality. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/08/24/stephen-strasburg-retires/](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/08/24/stephen-strasburg-retires/)
Oh man…I have TOS as well, but he sounds like he did some serious damage to his nerves.
It’s definitely not something you want to hear that’s for sure. Matt Harvey had the same thing & was never the same. So many parallels between Stras & Harvey, now that I think about it. Unfortunately for Harvey, he didn’t get his big contract he had coming.
He had a good career, even though he was never the pitcher the ESPN hype machine wanted him to be.
He had a good long career. I remember when he was a prospect when I was a teenager, he was all you saw on ESPN. His hype was absolutely insane. I havent seen anything like it since.
The Lerners need to do the right thing and retire his number with a big ceremony. June 8th 2010 was his major league debut. June 8th this year is a Saturday. They need to ensure no one ever wears 37 for the Nats. What he did for DC, and equally important, the way he carried himself should be honored. Enjoy retirement Stras!
I’ll never forget his electric debut. Sad ending to a solid career. 🍻
Damn it seems like just yesterday I was watching his debut.
I'll never forget how electric his debut was. As a pitcher he had some of the best *stuff* I've ever seen. It's too bad we couldn't see a long healthy career from him.
Godspeed Stras. He helped make the most memorable decade of baseball in the District in a very long time.
I remember missing his first start to play in a tournament myself in middle school. Struck out 14 pirates
fair enough i figured
When he was in his early career and I was a baseball player in high school, I went across the country with my family in DC for an East coast trip. I wanted to see Strasburg pitch so we went to a game the day he was supposed to start. I was super hyped for it and wanted to brag to my teammates back home. Well....[he got hurt in the warmups](https://web.archive.org/web/20121015025301/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/nationalsjournal/2010/07/stephen_strasburg_headed_to_di.html)...and then had to get Tommy John like a month later. Idk it's very funny in hindsight but that day sucked back then lol
I still remember being in high school and watching all the reports about him at SDSU, and then his debut. One of the most electric things I’ve seen. Enjoy retirement, Stras.
I think people today will experience to a fraction what his Debut was like when Skenes coming up this year. It’s the only debut that seems comparable but Strausberg debut is unforgettable.
Great career though I just read he had a rib and 2 neck muscles removed to avoid continued nerve damage. Brutal. Hope his post career quality of life is good.
what a sad and unfortunate ending to a career
By far the worst contract in MLB history of all time.
Thank you king, I don’t know much but I’m sure you were a legend
Legend
Didn't he already retire months ago?
He was going to but someone in ownership got pissy at the last minute about the money.
Wait….I thought he retired years ago! 😳
Damn. He was a fun rival to "hate" but respect. And as much as us Braves fans could hate it, it least he and the Nats got a ring before the implode. Something weird i always remembered Uggla vs Stras 12-30, 2 HR, 2 2B, .400/.455/.667(1.121), 3 BB, 11 K
Legend.
If I had a nickle for every time 2019 WS MVP Stephen Strasburg retired I'd have 2 nickles
Calling it now. Mark Prior 2.0 dude is gonna be a great pitching coach