The Washington Nationals of the Major League Baseball (MLB) canceled right-handed pitcher Stephen Strasburg’s retirement press conference. The reason is the issue of remaining salary payment.
Local American media, including USA Today, reported on the 8th (Korean time), “Strasberg’s retirement press conference scheduled for the 10th has been cancelled.” Although the date of the press conference and plans for retirement were originally set, the club suddenly announced that He changed his mind.
Previously, on the 25th of last month, the American media ‘Washington Post’ reported on the 25th (Korean time) that Strasburg was considering retirement and would hold a retirement press conference at Nationals Park, Washington’s home stadium, on the 10th of next month. However, two weeks after the report came out, the situation changed completely.
Strasburg, who was selected first overall in 2009 and wore a Washington uniform, made his big league debut on June 9, 2010, against the Pittsburgh Pirates, allowing 4 hits (1 home run) and 2 runs in 7 innings while striking out 14 batters. There was a strong initiation ceremony.
Strasburg, who has been a part of the starting lineup since 2012, achieved double-digit multipliers for six consecutive years from 2014 to 2019, and in particular, in 2019, he recorded 33 games, 209 innings, 18 wins, 6 losses, and an average ERA of 3.32, his best since his professional debut. Went through the season.
The reason 2019 was a special year for Strasburg was because of the ‘World Series victory.’ At that time, Strasburg made two starts in the World Series against the Houston Astros and recorded an ERA of 2.51 in 14⅓ innings, giving the team two wins. He contributed greatly to helping the team reach the top of the World Series, and even experienced the joy of winning the World Series Most Valuable Player Award (MVP).
Strasburg, who was recognized for his contribution, signed a huge 7-year contract worth $245 million (approximately 324.6 billion won) with Washington after the 2019 season. Although there were concerns about the size of the contract, the club was confident that he would continue to play his role as an ace in the future.
Contrary to the club’s wishes, the concerns became reality. Strasburg was only able to pitch in two games in 2020 due to wrist pain, and the following year, due to poor shoulder and neck conditions, he left behind expectations with 5 games, 21⅔ innings, 1 win, 2 losses, and an ERA of 4.57. Strasberg also underwent surgery in July 2021 due to ‘thoracic outlet syndrome’, which was specifically a problem.
Even after the surgery, his physical condition did not improve much, and Strasburg only appeared in one game against the Miami Marlins on June 10 last year (4⅔ innings, 8 hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts, 7 runs). Ultimately, unable to overcome his long hiatus, he decided to retire from active duty this season.안전놀이터
However, after Strasburg’s decision to retire, the Washington team’s worries deepened. This was due to the remaining contract period and amount. The club requested the player’s remaining salary ($1.05 million over three years), but he changed his position without any explanation. The fact that Washington is feeling the burden of paying salaries because there is no insurance for renegotiated contracts, and the club’s austerity management policy appear to have influenced this decision.
While Washington hopes Strasburg will give up at least a portion of the amount, the player seems embarrassed by the club’s change in position. With the retirement press conference canceled due to unilateral notice, the tense tug-of-war between the two sides is expected to continue for the time being.