WASHINGTON D.C., DC — On Thursday, 2019 World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg announced his retirement from Major League Baseball.
The right-hander, who made his electric MLB debut in June 2010, has been plagued by injuries since signing a big contract following the Washington Nationals 2019 World Series win, and has only thrown 31.1 innings in the past four seasons.
The news of his retirement wasn’t a complete shock, especially after Strasburg’s latest injury, thoracic outlet syndrome, kept him away from the mound for over a year.
"First and foremost, this is sad," Ryan Clary of Locked on Nationals expressed. "This is a genuine moment here for Stephen Strasburg because we all know what has transpired over the last few years here.”
Clary added, “Over the course of his career, he has had a lot of wear and tear on his arm, leading to what we all know now is TOS (thoracic outlet syndrome).”
TOS occurs when there's compression of nerves or blood vessels in your lower neck and upper chest. Other MLB pitchers have had TOS, including Phil Hughes and Chris Archer.
Strasburg underwent surgery for TOS in 2021 and had a rib and two neck muscles removed, but was never the same afterward. He made several attempts to return to the Nationals with not-so-great results. He made his last start on June 9, 2022, against the Miami Marlins. He pitched four innings and gave up seven runs on eight hits with five strikeouts. The Nationals shut him down after that, and now he is retiring.
The Nationals scheduled a press conference for September 9 to make the announcement official, but as Clary said on his show, Strasburg’s legacy is vital to the Nats and their fans.
He asked, “Where we would be without Stephen Strasburg?” then added, “You cannot tell me we’d be winning the 2019 World Series without him.” He also mentioned the 2012 team and how well they did before Strasburg was shut down to prevent injury following Tommy John surgery. He logged just over 159 innings that season and made his last start on September 7, 2012.
The Nationals finished first in the National League East, but St. Louis knocked them out of the playoffs in the Division Series.
Strasburg was trying to make a comeback in 2023 and hoping to have a role in the Nationals bullpen, but he was shut down from all physical activity in April - with the injury becoming too much for him.
The 35-year-old made 247 starts for the Nationals, made three All-Star teams, and collected 1,723 strikeouts. Strasburg, the number one draft pick of the 2009 draft, finished his career 113-62 with a 3.24 ERA and is the only number one pick to win World Series MVP.
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