Dear Stephen Strasburg,

Congratulations on your retirement, and most importantly, thank you for being a Washington National throughout your career. Frankly, I wasn't too surprised to hear that you were hanging up your cleats for good. You gave your all to the Washington Nationals, no questions asked.

In baseball, very few players can claim what you and Ryan Zimmerman have accomplished as the faces of the Nationals franchise for the first half of its history.

From the moment the Nationals drafted you in 2010, you became one of my all-time favorite Washington Nationals players. Your legacy will forever be tied to your unwavering commitment and dedication to the art of pitching. I will always cherish your Major League debut on June 8, 2010, when you faced the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In that memorable game, you secured a victory by pitching seven innings, allowing only two earned runs, walking no one, and striking out an astonishing 14 batters, setting a new team strikeout record previously held by John Patterson. You also became the first pitcher in history to strike out at least eleven batters without issuing any walks in their professional debut, coming just one strikeout short of the all-time record for a pitcher's debut.

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The 2012 season saw you achieve an NL-best 34 strikeouts with a second-best 1.13 ERA, with just six walks and no home runs allowed. Consequently, you rightly earned the title of NL Pitcher of the Month.

Now, let's fast forward to 2019...

In the 2019 season, you posted an impressive 18-6 record with a 3.32 ERA. You finished the regular season as the National League leader in wins (18) and second in strikeouts (251), behind only Jacob deGrom. Your performance on July 19th, when you hit a 420-foot home run against the Atlanta Braves and went 3-3 with five RBIs, is etched in our memories.

You made the fall of 2019 one of my most memorable seasons. Watching you emerge from the bullpen in the Wild Card Game, despite your limited experience as a reliever, was awe-inspiring. You delivered crucial outs and pitched three scoreless innings, keeping the game close enough for your teammates to score the two runs that secured our victory over the Brewers and advanced us to the NLDS.

During the NLDS, you stepped up in two crucial games against the Dodgers. In Game 2 of the 2019 National League Division Series, you allowed just one run and struck out ten batters, earning the win. Then, in the decisive Game 5 of the NLDS, you pitched a solid six innings and allowed three runs in a no-decision.

Your incredible efforts during the World Series and the postseason in 2019 earned you the well-deserved title of World Series MVP.

Throughout the 2019 postseason, you went 5-0 with a 1.98 ERA, a 0.94 WHIP, and a remarkable 47 strikeouts. That's an outstanding performance by any measure.

In 2019, you solidified your position as one of the greatest pitchers in Washington Nationals history and one of the best draft picks the team has ever made. You and Ryan Zimmerman will forever be an integral part of the rich history of the Washington Nationals.

I eagerly anticipate attending your official retirement ceremony at Nationals Park and the moment they place your number in the ring of honor, where it rightfully belongs. This is an event I wouldn't dream of missing.

Once again, thank you for being a Washington National.

Sincerely,

Richard

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