BOISE, Idaho — THIS DAY IN SPORTS…June 8, 2010:
The most anticipated big league debut of the new century does not disappoint. Amid relentless hype that had followed him for a year, Washington’s Stephen Strasburg went seven innings and struck out 14 batters, the most by a pitcher in his inaugural appearance in 39 years, in a 5-2 win over Pittsburgh before a rare capacity crowd at Nationals Park. Strasburg whiffed the last seven batters he faced, and he did not issue a walk while displaying a fastball that topped 100 miles per hour.
Strasburg has been great when healthy, but that has been an issue. His first major injury came several months into his rookie season. Strasburg underwent Tommy John surgery and was out for a year. When he was fully healthy again in 2012, he shined, going 15-6 and making the National League All-Star team. Strasburg led the NL in strikeouts in 2014, and in 2019 he posted the best season of his career. He logged a career-high 18 wins and 209 innings pitched and was World Series MVP, leading the Nationals over the Astros for the franchise’s only world championship.
After the Series, Strasburg was rewarded with a seven-year, $245 million contract. That’s when the injury bug changed things. There was a nerve issue in his pitching hand, right shoulder inflammation, and a neck strain. Strasburg’s 2021 season ended with surgery to alleviate a condition called thoracic outlet syndrome. A stress reaction in his ribs limited him to one start in 2022, and he hasn’t pitched this year after being shut down with “severe nerve damage.” Strasburg is 113-62 in his career with a 3.24 ERA, but he’s made only eight appearances since that stellar 2019 campaign, going 1-4.
Strasburg played college baseball for the late Tony Gwynn at San Diego State. At first, he was overweight and out of shape to the extent that the Aztecs’ conditioning coach called him “Slothburg.” But Strasburg buckled down, lost weight, and became a fearsome starter for SDSU as a sophomore. He played for the USA in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and by 2009 he was named National Pitcher of the Year by the College Baseball Association. Strasburg entered the draft following his junior year and was taken No. 1 overall by the Nationals in June of 2009.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
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