April 7: Strasburg officially announced his retirement in a statement (as relayed by Ghiroli) this morning.
“Today, I am announcing my retirement from the game I love,” the statement reads. “I realized after repeated attempts to return to pitching, injuries no longer allow me to perform at a Major League level… 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.”
The Nationals also released statements thanking Strasburg from owner Mark Lerner and GM Mike Rizzo.
“No one can dispute the indelible impact he had on our organization,” Lerner said of Strasburg in the statement. “He put us on the map as World Champions and changed the face of our franchise.”
“From his Major League debut in 2010 through leading us to a title as the World Series MVP in 2019, the impact he’s had on our ball club is undeniable. He will go down as one of the best players in Washington Nationals history, and it was my honor to be part of that journey.”
April 6: Right-hander Stephen Strasburg has officially retired, as noted by Andrew Golden of the Washington Post. Neither the Nationals or Strasburg have announced the decision, which was posted on MLB.com’s transactions log this evening. Golden adds that Strasburg will be paid the $105MM left on his seven-year, $345MM deal with the Nationals, though Strasburg has reportedly agreed to defer some of his remaining salary. Golden adds that the specifics of the deferrals are not yet clear, though The Athletic’s Britt Ghiroli makes clear that the arrangement does not lower the total value of Strasburg’s deal with the club.
The news concludes a lengthy saga that saw Strasburg’s initial retirement plans, which came to light in August of last year, scuttled by a dispute between the player and team over the remainder of his contract with the club that reportedly arose when the team sought to change the terms of their initial retirement agreement, which would have seen the right-hander be paid in full. Whether or not Strasburg would retire was largely immaterial from a baseball perspective, as the 35-year-old has been shut down from all baseball activity for nearly a year due to nerve damage and thoracic outlet syndrome, which has interfered with the veteran’s ability to perform basic tasks such as opening doors or lifting his young children in recent years.
Those injuries limited Strasburg to just eight starts over the course of his megadeal with Washington, which came on the heels of the righty winning World Series MVP honors in 2019 for his role in bringing home the only championship in franchise history. Strasburg’s heroics in 2019, which saw him pitch to an excellent 3.32 ERA while leading the NL with 209 innings pitched in the regular season before dominating with a 1.98 ERA in 36 1/3 postseason innings that fall, act as a capstone on an illustrious 13-year career that was cut short by injuries.
When he was selected first overall by the Nationals in the 2009 draft, Strasburg was among the most heralded amateur talents in the history of the sport thanks to his work at San Diego State University, where he pitched to a sterling 1.43 ERA and racked up 328 strikeouts over his final two seasons in college. He ascended through the minor leagues quickly to make his big league debut in June of the 2010 season, allowing two runs in seven innings against Pittsburgh while striking out 14 Pirates and flashing a triple-digit fastball.
Unfortunately, the right-hander’s debut season was cut short by Tommy John surgery, though he did manage to make 12 starts where he pitched to a phenomenal 2.91 ERA with an even better 2.08 FIP. From the moment he returned to the mound at the end of the 2011 season, however, Strasburg joined a core of young talent in Washington that also included the likes of Bryce Harper, Ryan Zimmerman, Gio Gonzalez, and Anthony Rendon. That group led the club to eight consecutive winning seasons from 2012 to 2019 that included five trips to the playoffs, including the aforementioned World Series championship in 2019.
That eight-year stretch saw Strasburg dominate to the tune of a 3.21 ERA and 3.03 FIP in 222 starts at the front of the D.C. rotation while striking out 28.9% of batters faced. Among pitchers with at least 800 innings during that time, Strasburg posted the fourth-best strikeout rate and sixth-best FIP while ranking eleventh in ERA, and 30th in both walk rate and groundball rate. Strasburg’s time at the top of the Nationals rotation culminated in 2019, when he led the Nationals through the playoffs against the Brewers, Dodgers, and Cardinals alongside Max Scherzer and Patrick Corbin before the club felled the Astros in seven games to secure the Commissioner’s Trophy.
Following the win, Strasburg opted out of the remainder of his seven-year $175MM deal with Washington in order to test the open market for the first time in his career. The club went over the top to keep their franchise face, signing the then-31-year-old Strasburg to a deal that would take him through his age-37 season. That contract will go down as one of the worst in MLB history, as Strasburg pitched just 31 1/3 innings of 6.98 ERA baseball after it took effect in 2020, while the Nationals found themselves plunged into a lengthy rebuild by the summer of 2021.
While injuries may have derailed Strasburg’s career in his final years, few players ever reach the peaks that the three-time All Star did during his time in the majors. The right-hander enters the record books with a career 3.24 ERA (127 ERA+) and 3.02 FIP in 1,470 innings of work. He struck out 1,723 batters in his career while going 113-62 in 247 career starts in the regular season. He pairs those fantastic career numbers with even better postseason figures, including a 1.46 ERA in 55 1/3 playoff innings and a whopping 32.6% strikeout rate during the postseason. MLB Trade Rumors congratulates Strasburg on a phenomenal career and wishes him the best as he officially enters retirement.
Pitched until the wheels came fell off and his tendons tore.
Always painful to see the body squash a person’s trade before the mind is done.
I don’t think his mind was/is done, but I’m sure it’s been done with the Nats for some time
I would actually think it would be worse to see the mind done and the body able.
Or it could be like the NFL, where both can happen
They asked him to defer some of the money.. which he eventually agreed on..
Oh the humanity
No, the original request was that he agree to less money than contractually owed.
Incorrect
OMG! You mean he wouldn’t get paid for not doing anything? Have the police been called? Is that even legal, to ask someone to reduce their take of a third of a billion dollars for doing absolutely nothing?
A deal is a deal. That’s what agents are for. But you’d be willing to give money back to the billionaire owner?
Have you seen the contract language? It may require an injured player to continue to rehabilitate to get paid. After the championship, Rendon claimed that he Strasburg, Zimmerman and Trump were going to go golfing. Golfing does not seem like a good way to protect that arm.
BSE
Take the boot out of your mouth
Brainwashed laborers fighting for the capitalists
What’s your take on the apparent squatting epidemic? Are we allowed to talk about that here?
@Manny Maybe it was disc golf
Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz golfed constantly. Don’t think golf is wrecking arms Manny.
I squatted on my toilet this morning poor thing!!!
At the end of the day it’s multimillionaires giving back to billionaires. Nobody is a loser here
I agree they made the deal teams are learning not to give out these huge contracts to pitchers look at snell and Montgomery I get it’s a Boris issue but teams can’t put all this money into a pitcher strat deserves his money it’s not his fault they offered it
He is physically impaired for the rest of his life. What are you talking about that he did absolutely nothing?
Sure, most of the people on here are squatters, addicts or – Oh let’s say criminally inclined. Baseball is just something to talk about while they’re finishing their rehab or prison stints. Ahahaha!
Greg Maddux pitched 109 complete games, several of which he completed in less than 100 pitches. Those were very fast games, long before the pitch clock existed. I got to see one in person.. Game was over in less than 2.5 hours. He did not like to waste time between pitches.
Of course, his fastball was in the low 90s and upper 80s for most of his career. His mechanics were sound and very consistent. That is not true for modern pitchers.
fs
Most modern pitchers are not Greg Maddux.
Interesting take
Most historic pitchers didn’t have Strasburg’s career either.
U forgot the moron making over generalized comments while projecting crap on everyone
It’s not illegal of course, just incredibly stupid. MLB contracts are guaranteed. Ted and Mark Lerner knew that when ownership did the deal with Strasburg”s agent. Strasburg’s injury history was one of the reasons GM Mike Rizzo was against the deal. Nobody in their right mind is going to take less money than they are contractually owed. Anybody who claims they would is either lying or an idiot. Nobody forced Lerner to do the deal, which he knew he couldn’t get insurance on. If Strasburg doesn’t get TOS, or if the surgery is successful, the deal works out for the Nats.
Naval, how does this deal ever work out for the Nats?
NavinJohnsonHistorian: Billionaires, and those who control multi-billion-dollar organizations, and multi-millionaire agents, and all of aboves’ attorneys, etc., etc., are not stupid. On the contrary, they’re cunning and ruthless. And greedy. And careful.
No one’s going to take a bath on dozens or hundreds of millions on a bad contract.
No one actually loses here!
It’s all taken care of through mechinations that writers and we fans could not possibly be aware of. It’s how massive entities clandestinely operate.
Jesus christ, can u read? He plainly said if stras didn’t get thoracic outlet syndrome or if surgery had been successful
The moment the player retires, the contract is null and void. To keep getting paid that player needs to do everything the team doctor says in order to rehab the injury.
Strasburg just took a huge cut in what he was contractually owed because that money is being deferred over 2 decades. Its worth roughly half of what it would have been if paid over the next 3 years.
The Nationals get a roster spot back and save $50 million.
JazzJazz bringing a strong conspiracy theory game to the comments section.
It’s weird to make Strasburg out to be the bad guy here when both sides agreed to the contract and the Nationals couldn’t have done this unless he was willing to work with them.
No offense to you specifically because you’re far from the only person to make this argument, but I just don’t get it. The money is either going to the millionaire or the billionaire.
Also weird to make ownership the bad guy here. Reasonable compromise made in the end by both sides. Just a bunch of extremist posters trying to yank some chains.
If Strasburg did not want to work his final years as a scout, consultant, community PR person, or selling cotton candy, right for him to give back or defer a tiny amount and still get 99 percent of the contract for doing nothing.
How is that “right”?
See Bobby Bonilla. LOL.
@Manny I agree. There’s no bad guy at all in this scenario, in my mind. They both agreed to the contract
U should give ur boss back any money u got for vacation, pto and reimburse them for anything they paid towards ur insurance or 401k, assuming u have any of that. The team signed the contract, knowing the risk, they wouldn’t have given him more money had struck out 200 batters with 2.00 era and won 20 games every year.theres usually a winner and a lower to these contracts…either the player exceeds expectations and team wins, or player doesn’t meet expectations and the team loses.but that’s the nature of the game
According to DC area media, he is deferring almost all of the money. It will be paid in Bobby Bonilla like chunks through 2044. He will get all the money, it will just have less spending value when he receives it.
Strasburg’s *not* the bad guy at all in my opinion.
According to reporting by The Washington Post last summer, Strasburg’s retirement announcement broke down at the last minute because “someone” in the Lerner family objected to the retirement settlement. That individual wanted the $ in the settlement *reduced* not just deferred. Reportedly, everything was fine untl Mark Lerner showed the agreement to one of the minority partmers in the family. Mark Lerner was apparently blindsided by the objection. The team had even prepared for a Strasburg retirement celebration at Nats Park.
That’s why Strasburg didn’t retire, forcing the Nats to keep him on the 40-man during the offseason again.
Strasburg agreed to this deal because the money’s deferred, not reduced.
That is not what the Post article said at all. Boras released news of the deal. The article didn’t mention one thing about someone else in the lerner family torpedoing the deal.
Inflation means the amount the player is getting is reduced in spending value when they get that money.
Strasburg refused to continue rehabbing the injury. The team could have placed him on the restricted list and not paid him at all when he refused to rehab. Instead they negotiated a deal that pays him 100% over 20 years and both gives the team back a roster spot and saves them a huge amount of real dollars. It also gives the team a PR win.
washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/09/07/stephen-stras…
Cite that article in the Washington Post. I never saw it and don’t believe it exists. Rumors at the time were that MLB didn’t approve of allowing Stras to retire with his full contractually agreed pay.
Why would MLB care? These highly unusual circumstances aren’t going to set precedence. He was done physically. Why force the team to keep him around?
I’d like to think if I were him I’d just let it go and that would somehow be more virtuous, but ultimately it doesn’t matter what the customer thinks. The future sure does suck in a lot of ways.
That is not correct at all. The original request was that he defer money over a longer period. He initially refused and now he has agreed. $80 million of what he was owed was already deferred until 2027-2029 and now that and the rest of his salary is spread out over a much longer term saving the team a huge amount of money.
Pretty obvious you are not a historian since they deal in facts and you have no idea what the facts are.
Eight starts. $245 million. $30 million per start. Not insured. The flag wouldn’t be flying if it wasn’t for Strasburg, but this is the worst contract in MLB history, signed after the WS win.
Hindsight is 20/20..it was market rate at the time.
Arnold, how is Boras supposed to be held responsible for Strasburg’s injury?
He is not, but he is crying collusion and all kinds of crap because owners don’t want to do long term deals. Strasberg and others are why the owners don’t want them.
His injury history was well document. It’s why he was uninsurable.
And Boras wonders why owners don’t want to do long term deals. Such a bozo Boras is.
@Arnold Ziffel: Such a smart, shrewd, successful, and wealthy bozo Boras is.
Market rate for an injury-prone pitcher. They were blinded by the euphoria of winning the WS. Lost all business sense.
Business sense, and also common sense. Strasburg’s injury history was a huge red flag. ANYONE could have seen it and acted accordingly. Why he was offered a long-term contract like that…no one sane will ever know. Even a healthy pitcher in his 30s shouldn’t be given a 7-year contract. If Stras lasted three years it would have been a slight miracle, but at least then a 3-year contract wouldn’t have hamstrung the FO so much. If he didn’t want to sign for 3, then he could take a hike. It’s a cautionary tale for every baseball team, with a lesson that many still will not learn.
The Chris Davis contract is still worse, since aside from the first year he was consistently generating NEGATIVE WAR.
Part of that is on the Orioles for continuing to play him so often (although they didn’t have any decent replacements, either), but he still did far more damage to the Orioles’s chances to win games than Strasburg did for the Nats by just sitting on the IL.
Dear Baseball Babe…Wow, 28 thumbs-up…now I bet if you signed your name ‘Baseball Nerd’ or ‘Baseball Person’ or even ‘Baseball Entity’ instead of ‘Baseball Babe’ that you wouldn’t have had such a cavalcade of greasy Baseball Boys stumbling over each other to +1 your post. Sex induced comment boosting is a thing and I might have to go stage a protest rally somewhere & email Anthony Franco about it.
Miguel Cabrera last long extension contract with Detroit was, arguable, a worse contract.
Signed in 2017.
Cabrera “played out” the full contract.
But, his skills have eroded so much and he gained so much weight
that he was basically a 30M+ year year “singles hitter” and a double play machine who was a huge liability on defense
from 2017-2023.
220M for 7 years of very low or no power and production?!
A singles hitter with little or no speed and/or athleticism
that was blocking others in the lineup and in the pipeline.
Cabrera was a 1st ballot Hall of Famer determined to played out his very generous contract for past performance,
Unfortunately, Cabrera became an inning killing “double play machine’ hitting ground balls with man/men on base.
He reached some “personal milestones” including 3,000 hits and 500 home runs, but he was essentially “done as a major league force” very early in his last contract extension.
The Lerners are the kings of deferrals.
Dodgers tore a page out of the Lerner playbook last offseason.
If a player retires he should forfeit all money due on his contract
The situation would be different if the player remained on the roster and was unable to play but voluntary retirement should void your financial obligations from the organization
That’s the thing. It’s NOT voluntary retirement. It’s a forced retirement due to being medically incapable of continuing to play, so he gets paid just like Prince Fielder did. It’s a perfectly reasonable exception to the usual retirement rules.
Who has the medical condition that forced him to retire? Certainly not ownership and this isn’t about Prince Fielder, or any other player who retired due to their inability to play anymore from medical issues, it’s about the way contracts are structured
TheMan,
Strasburg could wait three more years and take up a spot on the 40-man roster every winter. Ownership wants this spot, so the two sides agreed to this deal, just like the original contract.
I have 2 advanced degrees, you probably work minimum wage jobs, smart guy
When you start listing your degrees, that’s annoying. When you start trying to insult someone by assuming things about them that further make you feel superior in such a small-minded way, that’s when my finger hovers over the Mute button.
@gbs42
i agree, heck in the usaf on the line usaf us maintenance had a saying, “it takes a college diploma to fly, and a high school diploma to fix them”. so technically the pilots were “smarter” because they had a degree and most of us didn’t, but i can tell you this most pilots know nothing about the jet there flying but what is required to fly it, i’ve watched (me included) feed pilots a line of bs on a repair and they bought it. long and short having a degree just says how smart you are in a certain field by no means is it good way to measure how smart someone really is
Interesting takes by some here, and its funny to hear some say people are “brainwashed” by the owners when some clearly are for the players. It wouldnt be “taking money and giving it back to the billionaire owners,” it would be for the owners to use to bring in better players. And regardless of legality, if someone retires, it’s ludicrous to me that they can collect money on a contract that was agreed to for their playing services. How he can even accept the money in good conscience is what baffles me, but many have little integrity unfortunately.
Ma,
I doubt the assumption that Nats ownership would reinvest all $105M owed to Strasburg “to bring in better players,” especially since they’re rebuilding.
Strasburg was going to continue the status quo of the contract. The team wanted him to retire to free up a 40-man spot each winter, and they wanted him to give back some money to do so, which would be against the terms of the contract. Where’s the integrity in that?
The team now has agreed to pay him the full amount owed and have him retire so they can have that roster spot, which clearly has some value to them. Both sides agreed to this new situation, so I don’t understand why you’re questioning only the player’s integrity, or questioning his integrity at all.
“[the money] would be for the owners to use to bring in better players”
See this is the brainwashing people are talking about, champ.
“How he can even accept the money in good conscience is what baffles me, but many have little integrity unfortunately.”
How can owners insist on underpaying players and restricting movement for the first 6 years? Many have little integrity unfortunately.
The brainwashing is that they would just pocket all the money when it’s an org that has consistently spent on bringing in players.
He has $220M in lifetime earnings, so he’s a bad example of underpayment. And the term “underpayment” is very subjective and thrown around here a lot.
I question integrity for any player continuing to accept money for not playing, especially when they’ve already earned so much to begin with. This is not a Strider early career situation. And imply the player has no blame for pitching in a way that’s going to clearly lead to arm issues by maxing out velo and spin is also inane, but if we go there, that opens up another can of worms.
No, underpayment is not subjective (much less “very subjective”) when it refers to multiple restrictions on earnings. And Stephen Strasburg is a prime example of underpayment. In an open market, 4yr/$15.1mm would not have been nearly enough to secure his services when he left college.
Nationals payroll ranking
’24: 21
’23: 24
’22: 19
You were right about consistency…
And it sure is funny how you arent questioning the integrity of the billionaire owners.
Ma
Strasburg was as sure fire and major league ready of a pitching prospect that can be drafted.
He signed for $7.5 million.. Beyond that he made about $25 million over his first six years in the major leagues.
So, about $32 million.
Yamamoto just signed for $325 million
Imanga $53 million
Darvish $60 million
That his salary dwarfs yours in no way means that he wasn’t underpaid relative to his market value
Do you question the integrity of billionaires paying players like Mike Trout (ROY, 2-time MVP runner up, MVP in his first 3 seasons) a total of just over $2 million for those seasons?
Again you cite the underpayment in the early years and not the overpayment since. Thats selective because overall, he was paid very well (likely more than his value, but that can be debated).
its true what I make is irrelevant, but this is not someone who needs more money.
@eighty And they were top 10 payroll in mlb six straight years from 2014-19. When they have a window, they dont hesitate to give out big contracts. Right now theyre building a young core.
The owners’ integrity doesnt really matter here. Theyll pay someone who performs, even underperforms after a massive contract. After retirement, thats a different story.
The real issue is whether teams will stop incentivizing players to max out velo and spin rates and value solid longevity instead because right now, the blame for careers ending due to injury is on both sides.
Ma
“you cite the underpayment in the early years ”
Also every player is underpaid – systemically
Very few are “overpaid”
Yeah. Poor guy. How will he ever be able to support his family and survive on such little money?
Bootlicker
Role of paparazzi is to watch Stephen like a hawk to see if he is playing golf, etc.
oilf
Dumbest take
Nothing wrong with getting what is owed to you
There are people all around the world that would love to have your lifestyle, that doesn’t mean you should be content not getting what you are due
Another laborer brainwashed by capitalists.
Barely pitched after the extension. Glad he won a WS. Has to be one of the worst contracts in MLB history.
It’s the worst with ironically his teammate Anthony Rendon being the only one that I think might pass it as worst ever.
Patrick Corbin would like to enter this contest too.
The Nats ownership and GM combined to, unknowingly, screw their team. Ted Lerner did the deal with Strasburg’s agent. GM Mike Rizzo was against it.
Rizzo then agreed to the Patrick Corbin extension. He’s making $35 million this year in the final year of the contract. The Nats will still owe him $10 mil in deferred money next season. Strasburg, Corbin and Max Scherzer ($15 mil) will almost certainly be the highest paid Nats pitchers next season.
There was no Corbin extension.
You’re right! It just feels like that 6-year deal was ten years ago.
I remember mlbtr heavily promoting Corbin as the next big free agent the gnats have to sign big.
Corbin played. He takes the ball every fifth day. He just sucks. It wasn’t an extension either. It was a FA deal and the first year of it he was great.
Uh, Rendon had a hit yesterday. The first of his leading off in 2024! Face palm!
Rendon probably thinking how to officially retire and still get paid.
Meanwhile he is standing there in the batter’s box as 95-MPH fastballs whiz past his head. It’s bad enough he has zero motivation to play baseball, but now he has to play baseball! (BTW, he got another hit tonight.)
What? Rendon’s hitting .074 so far. On a tear.
I throw the Chris Davis/Baltimore contract in there as well.
If I crash my brand new Porsche and opted for no insurance, I’m not going to blame the dealership, right?
I truly agree with all your points… but nobody is to blame beyond the Ownership group. They chose to give the contract and not insure it. That is on them, 100%.
Congrats on retirement, Stras. I’ll never forget your final Aztec game. Dude tossed a 17K no-no that set him up to be the 1st overall Draft pick. That game was magical! Hopefully Stras can be able to physically enjoy all facets of life with his family.
The insurance would have been super expensive. Essentially the owners self-insured this deal, which many businesses do rather than pay high insurance rates.
Agreed Jazz. Which is on them. I’ve seen others say “they couldn’t insure it” but that’s hogwash. They just chose not to pay for the policy. So some fans seem to not understand that Ownership was content with, as you said, self-insuring a contract that they agreed to guarantee.
I suppose I’ll never understand the vitriol for a player that, in essence, becomes (permanently?) disabled and/or injured for the club.
Anyway, all the best to Stras in his future health and endeavors. Cheers
They could have found a market if they were willing to be a little creative. Maybe a reinsurance excess cover or a pro rata share to limit their out of pocket costs. The market is just so small that these options probably aren’t explored much.
dclive: Yes, “self-insured”. But with the crucial caveat that owners and MLB would never admit, for obvious reasons: no one loses a penny on pro-sports contracts. Even ones like Strasburg’s.
Because all losses get reimbursed from central treasury funds. That’s how all massive organizations actually operate.
Before that season Strasburg had an opt out of his final 4/100m and the question was would he opt out or not. He had missed a lot of starts after signing that first 7 year extension. Obviously his timing was amazing to have such a big year unlike a guy like Mark Mulder who was amazing his first 5 or so years and never got big baseball money.
Great guy, great career… everyone knows big SP contracts are risky and this is just an example of that. It’s too bad he wasn’t able to have a couple good years at the start of it rather than it going sour from day 1.
Having played for Tony Gwynn at SDSU I would love it to see him join the Padres in some role in the years to come if he wants to still be a part of the game like Mark Prior.
Love that idea papi
Gwynning, I am sure he will be just fine. $254 million for 31 innings of work.
And I’m sure he’d give most of that fortune just to feel healthy again, Dave. Aloha
Hosmer?
Javier Baez
There is a plethora of deals waaayyy worse than Hosmer’s, Champ.
Kris bryant and anthony rendon say hi
Carl Crawford, Chris Davis, Manny Ramirez, Ken Griffey Jr, Bobby Bonilla, Prince Fielder, Giancarlo Stanton, Miguel Cabrera, Yoenis Cespedes, Jacoby Ellsbury, Darren Dreifort, Mike Hampton, Josh Hamilton, Robinson Cano, Ryan Howard, Alex Rodriguez, James Shields, Pablo Sandoval, Jason Bay, Albert Pujols, Melvin Upton, David Wright, Jordan Zimmermann, and Barry Zito anyone?
Absolutely and the Alex Gordon, Hanley Ramirez, Rusney Castillo, Vernon Wells, Yasmany Tomas, Chan Ho Park, Carl Pavano and Homer Bailey contracts were also terrible.
Congrats to a career, Strasburg.
how did ownership try to screw him? the dude completely and utterly failed to deliver on an enormous contract. spent almost the entire time injured. and is now retiring and still earning $105 mil for absolutely nothing. dude made out like a BANDIT!
Let’s hope you never get hurt on the job. Big assumption that you have a job, I know.
Like he really needs a job.
Both sides miss the point. The team never told him that he can’t sit on the dugout bench and collect full paychecks. But instead of coming to the park and rooting for his brothers, Burg wanted to no-show and have paychecks mailed to his home. And everyone know’s that both sides would have expert doctors make different claims about what Burg can still do or not due. Seems like to me both sides reached a deal that is fair to both sides. The issue was never does Burg get a full paycheck, it was if Burg does. It want to contribute in some other small way while under contract, what is a fair resolution pursuant to the contract terms?
@Manny: People don’t mail checks anymore.
@PittPirate22, You do realize Stratsburg was born with 2 arms right? If he really can’t pitch with his right, then he should be pitching with his left. He has all the free time in the world. I garentee though, if someone said to Stratsburg that he’d get 100 million dollars if he could throw a pitch over 90 mph I bet you he could do it. He just wants to sit at home and collect. Hes no different then the average bum on welfare who spends all his income on lottery tickets and drugs
He didn’t just get hurt, he’s literally disabled. Ball players wreck their bodies and have pain or limp forever, but he can’t open a door. You’re right he made out like a bandit, if the bandit you mean is a pirate with a peg leg and hook for a hand.
He got TOS the way many players have, by being addicted to video games.
Cry me a river. Veterans who come home permanently disabled and disfigured don’t even sniff 1% of Strasburg’s contract in compensation.
Exactly
Boras is a modern day Robin Hood
Perhaps you would prefer the US to be more like Cuba, where baseball players and soldiers make the same amount of money.
Wow
Total BS, johnsilver.. You should be ashamed of yourself for spewing such disinformation and lies.about vets being removed from retirement homes. Disgusting to the max.
Omg take your trumpism elsewhere, this is a freaking BASEBALL WEBSITE. touch grass, boomer
Brohan this is really not how contracts for athletes work. Yes, downside risk exists and if I were a team owner I would never go past three years for a pitcher but they did, that was their decision. It is not up to Strasburg to make it okay.
they tried to screw him by not wanting to pay the full amount owed. now they will pay in full just deferred.
the only reason this became a story is because the team didn’t have insurance. guys retire every year with active contracts. how often have you heard of a team demanding a player who cannot and will not play show up to camp? both sides are stained; I’d like to know what stras’ agent knew
Screw him how? He had all the leverage with a guaranteed contract.
They wanted him to agree to less money than contractually owed. It was a rediculous request spurred by “someone” in the Nats ownership group. Nobody knows if that individual was Mark Lerner or someone else in the family. Since Ted died, Nats ownership has been in a bit of disarray. That disarray has most notably been illustrated by the Strasburg retirement saga last summer, and the Lerner family’s inability to sell the team or even attract significant new minority partners.
Less money is exactly what he got. Deferring additional money means the overall value of the contract was lessened. Strasbourg traded value for the opportunity to not pretend to rehab for the next 3 years. Now he can spend his time doing other things as well as rehab to a quality of life standard and not a professional athlete one. This is the only thing WASH could negotiate and they successfully did. It’s just business, only outsiders looking for drama see it differently.
For someone who claims to be a historian, you sure f up the facts all the time.
MLB contracts are not guaranteed if the player retires, even for medical disability. To be fully guaranteed, the player has to continue to participate in whatever rehab for the injury that team doctors prescribe. If the player does not participate in rehab, they can be placed on the restricted list and not paid a dime.
In this case, Strasburg refused to participate in rehab and is STILL getting paid the full amount owed. Just over 20 years instead of 3. Also the money already deferred is getting spread out over a longer period instead $26 million per year from 2027-2029.
The Nationals screwed up by not insuring his deal, but they are doing the right thing by Strasburg now. They could have been a-holes and placed him on the restricted list when he didn’t show up for spring training.
Great, we can all relax now.
Many in these comment sections unofficially retired Strasburg years ago. But he kept on trying. And good for him for doing so.
Did he try to come back as a knuckle baller. That would have been cool.
A bunch of floaty stuff and here’s 94 at your head no actually it’s 89 in the dirt
Are these numbers worth $245 million 1 win 4 loses 32 innings, ERA over 8.
Good to be Stephen Strasburg. Enjoy your retirement
The article says he has trouble opening doors and picking up toddlers..not sure how enjoyable that is
Did he have trouble picking up women too?
His daughters are ages 7 and 10. Lots of healthy adults cannot lift their kids that age. Plus, that is merely the rhetoric of his attorney. Both magaement and labor are known for finding doctors who will take their positions.
“Lots of healthy adults cannot lift their kids that age.”
LOL come on now. A professional athlete cant lift a 7-year-old and you are telling me that isnt abnormal?
His lawyer said that not Strasburg. He apparently doesn’t show up.
“Lots of healthy adults cannot lift their kids that age”
This is not the way
I am sure he will be just fine.
We know he is not the first pitcher to undergo thoracic outlet surgery. Can the others lift their 7-year-olds??
Kept on trying? Kept on breathing so his descendants need not work. Spare us.
What is the deal with people saying “nobody in XYZ person’s family will ever have to work again”? What does one man doing a job and making a lot of money have to do with anyone who is associated with his name now or in the future deciding to not seek gainful employment? Furthermore, if that was the case, the money would run out rather quickly due to the frivolous spending that would occur.
Have to work to keep that $ or rats will eat it like that bad boys movie.
Ownership screwed themselves by giving him that contract. Did they pass on getting insurance? If so double screw. One thing they couldn’t screw was him out of his guaranteed $.
No, they didn’t decide not to insure it, they couldn’t. Nobody would insure the contract because of Strasburg’s previous injury history.
GM Mike Rizzo was reportedly against this deal. Not that Rizzo ended up looking much smarter. He signed off on the Patrick Corbin extension.
It was a risky contract. If insurance wasn’t available and they decided to proceed anyways their fault.
Should have kept Harper.
The Nationals never extended Corbin. They signed him as a FA.
Stop repeating the Corbin fiction. There was no extension. Corbin was signed prior to the 2019 season, to a 6-year contract for $140M. The contract is up at the end of 2024.
I don’t know the facts.
But if a beat cop gets injured on the job, they get to keep full pay but still have to work as a desk jockey.
So you want him to be the pitching coach during the length of his contract in order to prove a point?
Nah, they can negotiate to subtract the major league minimum or defer a could hundred grand a year or something else minor if he doesn’t want to do PR or scouting 40 hours a week.
You need to go to school to learn what a contract is.
LOL, cops can get a disability pension. It’s in their contacts and is paid according to the terms of the contract. Strasburg was simply seeking to be paid per the terms of the contract. Nobody forced the Lerner’s to give him that contract.
And speaking of you not knowing the facts, all you had to do is read the article to see he has trouble performing basic tasks like opening up doors.
Because they work for the government lol
There’s a lot more than just the facts that you dont know
You’re right, cops should have it way worse. Good point. Acab
I lived in DC when he debuted. I didn’t see his debut, but I saw one of this early starts.
I remember telling some guys, “If a magic genie offered him the career of Fernando Valenzuela, he would take it.”
They both said, “Of course not! He wants to see what he can do!”
Yeah, they were right. But after that I always checked back to see if he could exceed Fernando’s career.
It is hard to say who had the better career.
Fernando: CY, ROY, SS, GG, WS, more wins, more seasons, more WAR, no hitter.
Strasburg: WS, much better winning percentage and a better ERA.
I guess you would have to give it to Fernando who also has a much more interesting narrative.
345 million reasons why Strasburg had a better career.
245. Mlbtr has 345. Might be 345 or over with his 1st contract but misprint.
It’s a good thing they shut him down during that playoff run and didn’t push his arm too far. Permanent damage and a shortened career might have occurred otherwise.
Or… maybe by shutting him down that year they preserved his arm just long enough for them to win the 2019 World Series. Dude had a cursed body and pushing him earlier just would have meant his career would have ended earlier and DC would be going 0n 100 years without a World Series winner.
This was obviously just unfortunate circumstances, no question. But generational wealth for no production (even in the absence of fault) is a remarkable story.
Woah, pump the anger brakes. I believe we’re in agreement on most of your points, except for those where you imply I’m not entitled to an opinion. Namaste.
Starting to think CEOs are greedy and shameless.
STARTING????
@ RandorBierd To what “kind” are you referring?
If he retires he should not get paid
Why he is just now retiring. Would have got it anyways but coming to an agreement makes it easier.
He’s retiring due to a disability. Not because he wants to go fishing. Before you post – think. Maybe then it won’t appear you don’t know wth you’re talking about.
Normally he wouldn’t, but in order for him to retire, he demanded to get paid (whether or not people agree with it is a different story entirely).
So, it was a side agreement to his original contract, if you will, wherein he agrees to go away so long as they pay him in full. Otherwise, he keeps a uniform and stays on the IL for the duration of his contract, which neither party wanted.
He didn’t show up for spring training even to get the mandated physical, so the Nationals could have placed him on the restricted list and paid him nothing. Players can’t just sit at home and collect a check. They have to participate in the rehab that the team doctors tell them is what they need to be doing.
The Nationals are doing the right thing by Strasburg even if it means paying all that money plus $80 million more that was already deferred to 2027-2029 over a much longer time frame.
Then he wouldn’t retire at all. Guaranteed contracts mean just that. It allows an open offseason roster space because the IL doesn’t exist when games aren’t being played. Win-Win
Not at all. Players can’t just sit at home and collect a check. Strasburg refused to participate in rehab. He did not even come to spring training for the CBA mandated physical. The Nationals had every right to place him on the restricted list and not pay him at all.
The Nationals ripped themselves off.
All the best to Stephen. He helped put the Nats on the map and stayed loyal to the city. What could have been had he not had some freaky injuries? That neck nerve never did get right. When he was at his best, he was among the best.
It’s 245 not 345
I’m going to ask my work to sign me at 18/10 million.
After 5 years I will retire and expect full payment for the remainder.
On the flipside, you risk your health for your employer, and deserve a fair settlement of you have to retire early.
You can’t do what one in a million can – dominate pitching at the MLB level. Do you do not get millions. This is free market at work. High demand for Ace pitching, and few that can pitch like aces.
It’s a guaranteed contract. Nobody forced the Nats to sign it.
@Randall B
To quote Marv Levy from many moons ago
OH THAT IS A CROCK!!!!!
These Guarenteed Contracts…..are a scourge
Indeed, won’t somebody please think of the poor owners! *clutches pearls*
Those owners raise ticket prices in response. Why don’t players organize for lower ticket prices if it’s really about labor vs. owners?
Owners raise ticket prices because they can. Notice how they never lower them…
LOL, the owners raise ticket prices regardless of the situation. Do you think the Nats would lower their ticket prices if Strasberg told them they didn’t have to pay his full contract? They’d just pocket that money.
Not true. My seats at Comerica Park were $50 in 2000. Today they are $22
jjms
Econ 101. Supply and Demand
Imagine simping for literal billionaires
he’ll get $6m per year for the next 17 years… on July 1st
he wanted to retire early, Nationals said fine, but you won’t get it all if you retire… as they should have. they worked it out via deferrals.
Almost makes one think this is all some sick distraction, like the lottery but everyone gets 30 tickets and when you win you just give that big check directly to a bunch of guys who haven’t thought about money for roughly a year
I don’t see Strasburg going into the HOF, but if he did tomorrow he’d probably choose a blank cap.
He’d be the first to go in with a SDSU hat.
Disgusting for a person to get over 100 million dollars to do nothing
Absolutely disgusting
Agreed. It’s pretty gross Ted Lerner’s kids inherited hundreds of millions of dollars just for being born to the right person.
Yes, owners are all disgusting. Strasburg however earned his money.
Do nothing? The guy literally disabled himself. Look. If you don’t like the free market – Moscow is calling you.
@johnjims you’re right Stratsburg is disabled but its not his arm thats the problem. Hes mentally disabled. He is a garbage human being. Lying about his injury so he can get paid his 100s of millions for doing nothing. Hes a clown
So much Strasburg bashing on here. I dont know the man personally but I would bet he would prefer being able to turn a doorknob, pick up his kids, and maybe even play some baseball. He didn’t choose a career ending injury.
In like a lion, out like a lamb. If there is a more ill-fated extension ever signed i can’t think of it
He was supposed to be what Kershaw ended up becoming.
Good career but very underwhelming with all of the hype that he had.
At his peak. he was one of the best we’ve seen since the Koufax/Gibson Era. Threw 209 innings in regular season 2019, then went 5-0 in the playoffs in 36.1 more IP. WS MVP. Terrible luck with injuries and ineffective surgery. I don’t begrudge the guy a time.
Couldn’t they make him earn a bit of it by him going around talking to fans or PR work? It would at least make him and the team feel a bit better. Never mind, the Union would probably whine about it.
Strasburg is, by all accounts, *very* shy. He’s always been that way. He never liked doing interviews as a player, and has become even less public since his last comeback attempt failed.
According to people in the organization and around Strasburg, he was absolutely *not* happy about ending his last comeback attempt last year. Unfortunately, the nerve damage progressed to the point where he can’t do daily tasks, and often loses feeling in his arm just by standing or sitting too long. He literally has to lie down.
He’s not mentally or physically in a place where coaching or doing PR would benefit him or the Nats. Maybe it’ll happen someday, but not now.
Wow. now you are just making stuff up.
He screwed the Nationals badly
He just offered himself that contract, huh
How? He can’t control how his body broke down. The Nats would be bad regardless and it’s not like the Lerners would be spending it on the team to improve anyways
actually the Nationals doctors or training staff screwed the Nationals badly by not doing a full workup when handing out that enormous contract or the owner ignored all the advice given to him not as it was super high insurance and that the gm was against it knowing the injury history.
How about getting off your knees?
$245M? Not $345M. Correct?
As Hillary Clinton said “What difference at this point does it make”?
Right. And she was talking about dead people too.
Billy Ray: Yeah…I think I will, uh, retire.
congratules him over a great career and completely raping the system
He’s on the payroll. They should have him do laundry in the clubhouse to earn his paycheck.
That’s not how contacts work, pal
Gee, thanks for the legal lesson Captain Obvious.
So your comment was what, a really great joke?
@Jim Anchower he was born with 2 arms. Force him to get back to the majors with his left hand. Make him work for his money. A dog will do anything once they get hungry
Heartbreaking. But I’m glad the Lerners and he have worked this out, given how debilitated Stras is.
Retired?? Umh. When was the last time he retired a batter? 2022 4.2-IP 7-R 7-ER
Stinks that the conversation with Stras will always be marred by the contract talk. Dude was incredible and 2019 should be what he is ultimately remembered for.
The Nats giving him that contract shouldn’t be what defines the conversation about him. His body broke down. What is he going to do?
The MLBPA is the best in sports with managing to keep contracts guaranteed. That’s not on Stras either and him taking the money still is his right.
As a Nats fan I’m glad he is getting the money instead of the Lerners just pocketing it while the team is bad. The team isn’t bad because of his contract by any means. It’s not preventing other moves with where the payroll has sat the last few years.
I wish he could have reached his potential and been without injuries.
I wish I could retire and still get paid my full salary.
First step is to unionize your workplace.
Workers of the world unite!
You can retire from posting here for nothing.
It is actually easy.
First, develop a rare skill that someone is willing to pay you lots of money to do.
Second, negotiate a contract that guarantees your pay whether or not you can continue to perform that skill. This may involve finding someone with lots of money and questionable judgement who is under a lot of pressure from fans to sign people with the rare skill you have.
Third, get injured while performing the skill you are paid to do, injured so bad that recovery is not possible. Quite easy to do except for developing that rare skill.
It is funny how heated the posts are given that owners have way too much wealth, often inherited wealth, and players are overpaid.
The biggest question to me is how did the Angels miss out on signing him to that deal? I mean, it is what that team seems best at doing.
After reading all these comments and having been in San Diego for 10 years via hometown DC area I can tell you Strasburg knows he’s going to need every penny he can get. San Diego County is not DC. It’s expensive here so cut him some slack. Haha
It was a $245M contract, not $345M.
Those billionaire owners at it again…
Do these writers ever proofread…345 mil?
A phenomenal career? Really? He spent 13 years generating 36 fWAR. Nobody says James Sheilds had a phenomenal career. He spent 13 years generating 32.3 fWAR.
Zach Wheeler has been a better pitcher for a similar length of time, and he has had a season that was far better than what Strasburg ever produced.
Sheilds needed to pitch 1150 more innings than Strasberg to achieve that fWAR. Strasberg’s avg bWAR per 162 gams was 4.3, Sheilds’s was 2.5.
Well at least Shields COULD pitch 1,150 more innings! Which is about how many Stras might’ve managed during the life of his 7-year contract.
Congratulations on stumbling upon reality. Shields was good, occassionally very good innings-eater. Strasberg was often dominant but often injured. Completely different kinds of pitchers.
Next, you’ll be making the case that Sandy Koufax and Jamie Moyer were basically the same because they had similar WARs.
Thank you. You understood my point about comparing Strasburg to Shields. I wasn’t comparing pitcher performances when on; I was comparing the overall impact of their careers given the equivalent number of years they were in MLB.
But Koufax, despite his short career, had multiple seasons which, if he had spread each of them over twice as many innings, i.e., over two seasons, would have been equivalent to two of Strasburg’s best seasons.
“[Wheeler] has had a season that was far better than what Strasburg ever produced.”
Objectively false
Wheeler in 2021 was better than anything Strasburg put up.
fangraphs.com/players/stephen-strasburg/10131/stat…
fangraphs.com/players/zack-wheeler/10310/stats?pos…
How do players retire in the middle of their contracts and still get paid the remaining money?? Isn’t that a breach of contract or something? Someone explain.
simple … they come to a mutual agreement.
He can never play again but he is technically still under contract and he can go see the doctors per terms of his contract and major league rules and hold a roster spot hostage during the offseason until his contract ends or the team and him can come to an agreement and they pay him to basically retire and go away and get back said roster spot
Just like with Prince Fielder, there’s an exception if the player is forced into retirement for medical reasons.
“If in the event that Player A is unable to physically perform his duties on the playing field at an acceptable professional level, said agreement between Player A and Team B will be terminated, and Team B will no longer be legally responsible for paying the remainder of Player A’s contracted salary following the conclusion of the current season.”
Why isn’t this in baseball contracts?
I don’t think it should be included.
For one thing, you’d have to limit it to medically incapable players, or else teams would be able to release any player still under contract for more than a full season who they think sucks without having to honor most of the remainder of their contracts.
Second, I think the rare exceptions of players like Fielder and Strasburg getting paid the remainder of their contracts is quite reasonable.
Because unions exist. And also stop simping for owners.
“Why isn’t this in baseball contracts?”
The power of collective bargaining. Organized labor gets the best deals for its workers.
Hopefully everyone is satisfied. Still weird to me the team didn’t/couldn’t insure the contract? I don’t know how negotiations go, but this situation seems like one I’d want to avoid as a player as well.
Insurance companies like making money. They don’t like paying it out.
Neither do casinos, but it’s how they both stay in business.
And if casinos are likely to lose, they dont let you play. Kind of like how if an insurance company is likely to lose, they wont insure you…
I don’t think anyone should be able to retire in the middle of a contract. You should still have to show up to work everyday, whether it be rehabbing from injury, coaching, community relations, front office, Etc…
As I understand it, there are benefits for the Nationals to work out an agreement whereas he retires but gets paid as opposed to he shows up for work.
Less money or most of it deferred!
Today”s ballplayers should get on the ground an pray to the old players that changed the system. Denny McLain had the strasburg stats beat in his 8 years in Detroit. 117-62 those 8 years, and he made peanuts compared to Strasburg, what a shame. Oh well.
McLean is an interesting comparison to Strasburg. Denny averaged 299 innings a season from his age-23-25 seasons. He never pitched well again after that, he was mediocre during 1970-71 and was atrocious after that. Strasburg had 5 excellent seasons after his age-25 season.
Orioles LAVS: Leave McLean Stevenson out of this.
Chipper jones wanted to retire while playing but later was talked out of it since he’d lose his remaining salary.
Strasburg Only #1 mlb pick to be ws mvp. Wonder what could have been if Strasburg wasn’t on the innings limit when the gnats were on their 1st play off run.
“. Wonder what could have been if Strasburg wasn’t on the innings limit when the gnats were on their 1st play off run.”
He injures his arm sooner and the Nats never win the 2019 World Series.
I am not seeing the Chipper comparison. Chipper is a HOF player who was productive late into his career and the Braves absolutely made lots and lots of money on him.
Worst contract in MLB history other than Rendon’s contract with the Angels, of course.
Second worse after Chris Davis. At least Strasburg didn’t actively hurt his team by sitting on the IL almost all the time.
I’ve been saying this for years, Stratsburg should be in jail. Hes fooled many people into believing thats hes just a “hard working guy that had his career ended by nasty injuries that he endured because of the World Series run”. This guy is a dog. Hes even worse than Chris Davis. Stratsburg had this all planned for a long time. He got hurt every year till his contract year in which he was magically healthy for the whole season. The answer is plane and simple. He wants to get paid for doing nothing. No other job in this world rewards you for doing nothing. I work a 9-5, when I get promoted does that entitle to do nothing but sit on my couch and eat potato chips? Absolutley not but this dog does. The Nationals should force him to clean the bathrooms at the ballpark and sell hotdogs throughout the stadium. Hes getting paid, he can be the most expensive janitor/food and beverage seller in the world
So he basically held lerner at gun point and told him you have to give me this insane contract and ignore all the warning signs his arm is about to fall off?
I would think any team handing out a large contract would give a player physicals and tests to check that an arm will last more than 6 games especially after being very injury prone. That and no one would give any kind of reasonable insurance on the deal and the gm himself didnt like the deal. If anything this is on the Nationals staff and/or owner.
*yawn*
How is it possible to fake so many injuries, including a career-ending one?
This Stratsburg guy sounds bad. But what are your thoughts on Stephen Strasburg
Paying someone that retires? LOL! I hope I get that treatment… LUDICROUS.
He was forced to retire for medical reasons, just like Prince Fielder, so they both got paid in full.
I think we can now officially called Strasburg’s extension the 2nd worst contract in MLB history to date. The only reason why Chris Davis’s is worse is because Davis actually posted significant *negative* WAR during the terms of his deal (-2.8 bWAR, -3.3fWAR).
A lot of people calling it the worst contact in history
Brainwashed bootlickers
How about Trout’s first six years in the league where he made a fraction of what he was worth
Or Ohtani who would have signed for hundreds of millions if the rules didn’t prevent it
THOSE were bad contacts
Correct me if I’m wrong: Wasn’t the Strasburg contract for $245M over 7 years? The story says $345M.
don’t worry .. the fans will ultimately pay for this .. sure there will be methodical price hikes on tickets .. food .. merch and parking during those deferred years
You do realize this contract has been on the books for several years already. They’ve already accounted for this contract. Including the Strasberg contact, the Nats are only 19th in payroll this season. Not to mention the owners hike up prices regardless of what is happening at any given moment. Imagine taking up the side of spoiled billionaire nepo-babies (Ted Lerner’s kids) instead of the ballplayer who permanently injured his body in service to them.
And when teams reduce payroll fans see a reduction in prices, right??
I don’t get the Strasburg negativity. He was injured due to his profession, injuries that no money in the world can compensate for if you can barely open a door at age 35. Nats signed the contract. They choose the risk. I i was unable to work due to a workplace injury no one in the world would dispute me getting the full whack. People only bent out of shape due to the money he is making. Good on him. He was in the 1% in the entire world at his profession. Take your money and hope retirement isnt too much of a heartache for him
You can always open the door using the other arm and many places not only have door people but those handicap buttons. I’m sure there’s a few that still have the Covid kick stand apparatus installed
Not a Nats fan. But, I always find it unfortunate when a player has to retire early. Felt the same when Prince Fielder called it quits.
Deferral? Not renouncement? Perfect crime.
On a weekend where Bieber needs surgery, Strider has UCL damage and Loaisiga needs surgery, how many reminders do we need that these players do not have infinite careers. They sign contracts, they get paid. That’s the nature of the CBA. in this era, where the sport demands max effort on every pitch…do you want to return to lower speeds more pacing, longer hooks?
@ Mike. Absolutely yes. Maddux was one of the most fun pitchers to watch. His control was usually amazing in his prime and he made batters look like fools. Give my 5 mph less and less pitchers get elbow surgeries. I am in.
Maddux was great, and if the conventional wisdom changed to want more Maddux-style pitchers, that would be great. But looked at how analytics value prospects,,,,a lot of speed and rotation.
M’s almost had him, but for a final weekend sweep in 2008.
And it’s a good thing we didn’t get him! He could have ruined our streak of never making the World Series, like he did to the Nationals. sorry Nats!
Surprised at all the comments discussing the remainder of his contract rather than congratulating the man on his career and impact on baseball. Albeit a shortened career and me being a Mets fan, I have a lot of respect for Stephen and the ball player he was/is. At the time he was one of the best pitchers in the league and seemingly an upstanding human being. In a sense his career is parallel to that of Johan Santana.
Congratulations Stephen, I hope youre able to recover your body so that you can now enjoy time and life with your family; you deserve it. I will forever remember you domination of the NL East.
He sacrificed the rest of his career for that playoff run, and it resulted in a title. Nothing but respect. I’m a Braves fan, but enjoyed watching him pitch.
Enjoy retirement big fella. See you in Cooperstown!
Tickets are $29.99