It wasn’t supposed to end this way.
Stephen Strasburg, after leading the Washington Nationals to the 2019 World Series and earning MVP honors, deserved at least one season as a so-so rotation piece logging an ERA over four while making 20-25 starts.
When he signed the seven year, $245 million contract, the conventional wisdom was that he’d pitch two to three seasons at near-peak form, two to three more at the “has he lost it?” level before the last year or two of the deal where the Washington fan base was hoping to see glimpses of his former greatness while counting the days for when his contract would come off of the books.
What happened was worse than the worst case scenario: 31.1 innings pitched over eight starts in a three-year span.
The Washington Post was first to report that Strasburg was going to officially announce his retirement next month. Like the team and fan base that were robbed of a legitimate title defense in front of a full ballpark thanks to COVID-19, Strasburg’s career ends amid a series of injuries, rehabilitations, shut-downs and “I told you so” by doubters. But there’s no World Series title without the right-hander’s October: 5-0 with a 1.98 ERA over five starts and six appearances in the postseason.
His three innings of relief in the winner-take-all Wild Card Game denied another early October exit for this team and without Strasburg’s regular season (NL-best 18 wins and 209 innings pitched with a career-high 251 strikeouts) they don’t make the comeback from 19-31.
And before the Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, before the title run, before the playoff frustrations, before the 2012 shutdown and before the Tommy John Surgery, Strasburg ignited a fan base with his 14-strikeout debut in 2010.
He wasn’t the first homegrown National star (Ryan Zimmerman takes that honor as “Employee No. 11”) but Strasburg arrived with the expectations of the first overall pick of the 2009 Draft. And on many levels he delivered, posting four 15-win seasons and making three All Star Teams. There are no guarantees: for every Gerrit Cole (141-75 with an ERA of 3.21) picked first overall there’s a Luke Hochevar (46-65 career mark with a 4.98 ERA) who makes the majors but misses expectations.
Strasburg’s numbers (113-62, 3.24) and his incredible October of 2019 more than overcome the unfortunate ending. Looking forward to seeing his name on the Ring of Honor and his No. 37 being retired.
Digesting the Division — Atlanta (84-45) owns a magic number of 21 and boasts the best offense in the game, leading MLB in batting average, on base percentage, slugging, and most importantly runs scored. Philadelphia (72-58) enjoyed monster weeks from ex-Nats Bryce Harper (.522 with three homers and 10 RBI) and Kyle Schwarber (.333 with four home runs). Miami (66-65) may be finding its own water level as the Marlins (who have had a negative run differential all season) are 8-16 this month and 13-25 since the All Star Break. Washington (16-8) is out of last place for the first time since April (they were briefly tied for fourth in June) and has wrapped up its first winning month since June of 2021. The New York Mets (60-71) brace themselves for consecutive series against the top two teams in the AL West (Texas and Seattle).
Break up the Birds — Sunday’s loss to Colorado prevented a sweep but the O’s still win their third straight series and instead of wilting in the August heat captured six of eight series (blaming the two they dropped on Baseball Karma after benching Kevin Brown). They’re 24-12 in one-run games and have a young nucleus that spawns a generation of die-hard fans. Please ignore anything any Angelos happens to say this fall and enjoy the final pursuit of what could be your first AL East title since 2014 and second division crown this century.
Last Week’s Heroes — Alex Call hit .357 with a homer and three RBI while Carter Kieboom returned to the Majors for the first time since October 2021 and blasted a pair of home runs. What a return to the show after injuries threatened to derail the infielder’s career. Joan Adon tossed six scoreless innings while fellow starters Josiah Gray and Jake Irvin allowed one run over six frames in their outings. Kyle Finnegan tallied three saves while Hunter Harvey tossed three scoreless innings over three outings.
Last Week’s Humbled — Stone Garrett went on the 60-day Injured List with a fractured fibula after crashing into the Yankee Stadium wall. He was fun to watch in the lineup this year and one hopes we’ll get some more Stone in 2024. Riley Adams batted 1-for-19 (.053) while Dominic Smith hit .125. Mason Thompson allowed four runs in two innings over three appearances to post an ERA of 18.00 while Jordan Weems (11.57) and Jose A. Ferrer (13.50) also dealt with rough outings.
Game to Watch — Thursday teetering Miami drops by the district and the Nats pitch Joan Adon in the series opener. I’m curious to see how Adon pitches against the Marlins for the second straight start after tossing six shutout frames last Friday. Miami also pitches Braxton Garrett (7-5, 3.96) who’s the type of starter that Adon can aspire to someday become.
Game to Miss — Saturday the Nats face the Marlins at 4:05 p.m., or roughly late in the first quarter of the Maryland football season opener. The Terps have high hopes this year with returning senior quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa and while we likely won’t learn if this team has the stuff of Big Ten East contenders when they take on Towson, the best regular season in sports deserves one’s full attention on its opening weekend (and yes, I’m ignoring the lame “Week Zero”). See you at the 50…
