WASHINGTON — Stephen Strasburg, the 2019 World Series MVP whose career was derailed by injuries, officially was listed by Major League Baseball on Saturday as being retired.
This had been the expected outcome for quite some time, but it was unclear when — and how — word would emerge. In August, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press that Strasburg had decided not to try to resume pitching.
A scan of the MLB transaction list showed this simple entry: "RHP Stephen Strasburg retired."
Strasburg officially released a statement about his retirement Sunday morning. The statement in its entirety says:
"Today, I am announcing my retirement from the game I love. I realized after repeated attempts to return to pitching, injuries no longer allow me to perform at a Major League level.
As a young kid, all I dreamt about was winning a World Series. Thanks to the many coaches, teammates, and medical staff, my boyhood dream came true in 2019.
Despite this being a personal goal of mine, I've come to realize how truly important and special that moment was for so many fans in the DMV. Your unwavering support through all the ups and downs will always mean the world to me.
I'd also like to thank the late Ted Lerner and family for giving me the chance to wear the curly W all these years.
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. My family and I are truly fortunate and blessed to have experienced this baseball journey in the Nation's Capitol."
Soon after the Washington Nationals' Managing Principal Owner Mark D. Lerner and President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo released a statement on the retirement.
The 35-year-old Strasburg was a hard-throwing right-hander who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 amateur draft and briefly rose to stardom, leading the franchise to the first championship in Nationals history. But he has not pitched since June 9, 2022 — his only start that season, which lasted 4 2/3 innings, before going back on the injured list.
He had surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome, a nerve and blood disorder that involved removing a rib and two neck muscles.
Strasburg has thrown only 528 pitches in the majors since signing a $245 million, seven-year contract in December 2019 and did not report to spring training in 2023 or 2024.
Armed with a 100-plus mph fastball, Strasburg was touted as a generational talent when he came out of college and became one of the faces of Washington's franchise after making his greatly anticipated debut on June 8, 2010. He struck out 14 batters and allowed two runs on four hits with no walks against the Pittsburgh Pirates to win a memorable game that became known as "Strasmas."
After Strasburg had Tommy John surgery early in his career, the Nationals took heat for shutting him down late in the 2012 season, even though he was 15-6 with a 3.16 ERA. Without their ace, they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Division Series.
The long-term benefit of the shutdown didn't emerge until October 2019, when Strasburg went 5-0 with a 1.98 ERA on Washington's championship run and won each of his two starts against Houston in the World Series, which the Nationals won in Game 7.
Strasburg went 113-62 with a 3.24 ERA in 247 career regular-season starts in the majors, all with Washington. He was a three-time NL All-Star and led the National League in strikeouts with 242 in 2014 and in innings pitched with 209 in 2019, which turned out to be his last full season.