Stephen Strasburg

Stephen James Strasburg (; born July 20, 1988) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who spent his entire 13-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Washington Nationals. Strasburg was selected by Washington with the first overall pick in the 2009 MLB draft. He was a three-time All-Star.

A talented but unpolished high school baseball player at West Hills High School, Strasburg played college baseball for the San Diego State Aztecs. There, he became one of the best collegiate pitchers in the country. Strasburg pitched for the United States national baseball team at the 2008 Summer Olympics, winning the bronze medal. Two years later, he was called the "most-hyped pick in draft history" by ESPN and the "most hyped and closely watched pitching prospect in the history of baseball" by ''Sports Illustrated''. Strasburg's major league debut in June 2010 produced a franchise-record 14 strikeouts.

Several months into his major league career, Strasburg tore a ligament in his pitching elbow. The injury required Tommy John surgery and a year of rehabilitation. He rejoined the Nationals on September 6, 2011, but was only able to pitch 24 innings that year. Strasburg's 2012 season marked a successful return to form; he was selected to play in the 2012 MLB All-Star Game. Strasburg led the National League (NL) in strikeouts in 2014, pitching an average fastball of 94.8 miles per hour that year. In the 2019 postseason, he recorded five wins, tying the record for most victories in a single postseason, shared by Randy Johnson and Francisco Rodríguez (as well as Nathan Eovaldi, who accomplished the feat four years after Strasburg in the 2023 postseason with the Texas Rangers en route to winning the 2023 World Series). Strasburg also became the first pitcher in MLB history to win five games in a single postseason without recording a loss (with the second being Eovaldi), as Johnson and Rodríguez lost one game in each of their five-win postseasons. Strasburg was awarded the World Series MVP award, as he helped lead the Nationals to victory over the Houston Astros. Provided by Wikipedia