2019 World Series MVP Strasburg plans to retire (source)
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Stephen Strasburg, MVP of the 2019 World Series, is planning to retire from baseball, a source told MLB.com's Mark Feinsand on Thursday. The news was first reported by The Washington Post. The Nationals have a press conference tentatively scheduled for Sept. 9, according to The Post. The Nationals have not confirmed the report.
Strasburg has not pitched since June 9, 2022, when he made his only appearance of the season for Washington. He underwent surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in 2021 and has not been able to make a full return from that procedure.
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“I know nothing is official yet, but to speak of Stephen, he was a big reason I came to the organization," said Nats left-hander Patrick Corbin, who came to Washington as a free agent ahead of the 2019 season to form a Big 3 atop the rotation with Strasburg and Max Scherzer. "I wanted to play with him and Max. It’s been tough, I’m sure, for him and his family. The guys in this clubhouse miss him. We wish nothing but the best for him and what’s to come. He is a big reason why I’m here and a big reason why we have a championship ring.”
• Strasburg's career highlights
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The No. 1 overall pick -- the franchise's first -- in 2009 is a fan favorite for helping the Nationals to their first World Series title in 2019. He made two starts in the Series against the Astros and won both of them, striking out 14 and allowing just four runs.
Strasburg signed a seven-year, $245 million deal with the Nationals after that World Series-winning season, at the time breaking the record for the highest-value contract for a pitcher. Since putting pen to paper on that deal, Strasburg pitched only 31 1/3 innings.
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Over his 13-year career, all with the Nationals, Strasburg was a three-time All-Star with a 113-62 record, a 3.24 ERA and 1,723 strikeouts. When he reached 1,500 K's in 2019, he was the fastest pitcher by innings to reach that mark.
The right-hander was one of the most hyped pitching prospects in recent memory coming out of San Diego State in 2009, and he showed the baseball world why with his debut on June 8, 2010. That 7-inning, 14-strikeout performance remains one of the best pitching debuts in MLB history.
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Strasburg finishes his career first in franchise history in strikeouts, second in wins to Steve Rogers and third in WHIP (1.10) behind Scherzer and Pedro Martinez.