In 2008, there was a ‘tanking’ competition in the American professional baseball Major League (MLB) that deliberately lowered team performance. The purpose was to capture right-handed pitcher Stephen Strasburg (35, photo) by receiving the first pick in the rookie draft given to the last-place team in the league. The winner of the tanking competition was Washington, which lost 102 of 162 games in one season.
Strasburg suffered from injuries, including undergoing elbow ligament repair surgery (Tommy John surgery) just 12 games after his MLB debut in 2010, but when he was healthy, he was an ace. In 2019, Washington won its first World Series (WS) championship trophy since its founding. The Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) was also his. When Strasburg qualified as a free agent (FA) after the 2019 WS, the Washington team gave him a seven-year contract worth $245 million (about 326.4 billion won), the largest ever for a pitcher.메이저사이트
It was a mistake. Strasburg has appeared in only eight games since signing as a free agent. And on the 25th of last month, he finally announced his retirement. At this time, the Washington team maintained a warm atmosphere by announcing that his uniform number 37 would be retired. In the 13 days since then, the atmosphere has become cold. American media such as the Washington Post reported on the 8th that ‘the Washington team announced that it would cancel Strasburg’s retirement ceremony scheduled for the 10th.’
The reason was also money. Strasburg’s side insisted on receiving the entire remaining salary of $105 million (approximately 140.1 billion won), while the club argued that negotiations should be repeated, leading to a falling out. The Athletic, a sports media outlet, said, “MLB clubs sign up for insurance in preparation for situations like this. However, because of Strasburg’s illustrious injury history, Washington was unable to obtain insurance.”