It is one thing to be humbled when you hang a curveball and a big-league hitter hammers it into the second deck.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s another thing when your words of wisdom are called into question by a group of 11- and 12-year-olds.<\/p>\n
Stephen Strasburg is the father of three young girls \u2014 Raegan, Reese and Rebecca \u2014 and these days finds himself sharing some things he has learned over the years.<\/p>\n
Or at least he\u2019s trying.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a pretty humbling experience,\u201d Strasburg said, \u201cespecially when they\u2019re among their peers. Especially on the softball field and some of the girls are like, \u2018Does he even know what he\u2019s talking about?\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
Strasburg is 3 1\/2 years removed now from his last appearance on a major league mound. He returned to San Diego two years ago with his family. The girls, and their friends, are mostly too young to know that Strasburg does, in fact, know a thing or two of what he speaks.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy oldest, Raegan, she remembers quite a bit from when I was playing,\u201d said Strasburg, whose 13-year career included three All-Star appearances. The highlight was being named 2019 World Series MVP after helping the Washington Nationals to the title.<\/p>\n
As for his younger daughters, Strasburg said, \u201cI think their biggest memories of watching me play was more eating popcorn and hot dogs in the stands.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is a photo following that championship season that brings back a particularly memorable family moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s of my middle daughter Reese,\u201d Strasburg said, \u201cthrowing an absolute fit in the White House after we won the World Series because we wouldn\u2019t let her play on this antique piano that the King of France gifted the President. She was pretty young.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"FILE](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SUT-L-hall-0111-02.jpg\")
FILE \u2013 Washington Nationals pitcher and World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg, center, celebrates the World Series baseball championship during a rally following a parade to celebrate the team\u2019s World Series baseball championship over Houston Astros, in Washington, Nov. 2, 2019. (AP Photo\/Jose Luis Magana, File)<\/p>\n
The girls could get a better idea of their dad\u2019s accomplishments on Monday night, when highlights of his career are presented during the 78th annual Salute to the Champions event at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla. Strasburg and former A\u2019s and Giants pitcher Barry Zito, a graduate of USDHS (now Cathedral Catholic), will be inducted into the Breitbard Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n
Joe Harper, CEO of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, is being honored with a Lifetime Achievement award for his five decades at the seaside racetrack.<\/p>\n
The Ron Fowler Community Champion award is going to the Miracle League of San Diego, which provides children and adults with special needs the opportunity to play baseball. The Alex Smith Courage in Sports Award is going to Helix High School football player Jeremy Davis. The event also will acknowledge San Diego\u2019s 2025 professional and college stars of the year and month.<\/p>\n
\u201cI take a lot of pride in being from San Diego and seeing the athletes, not just in baseball, but all the professional athletes that came from this area and which high school they went to,\u201d Strasburg said. \u201cThis is such a cool city that has produced so many world-class athletes in so many sports, and to be amongst them is an honor.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, as a kid, you grow up getting into the game of baseball because of the athletes that you\u2019re seeing play the game at a high level and it goes back to all these memories that I have as a kid growing up here and going to Padres games. Obviously, watching Tony Gwynn and watching the pitchers like Jake Peavy and Trevor Hoffman. \u2026 Having those role models in the community really left an impact on my career. To be considered amongst them is really special. It\u2019s amazing how time flies. It really is.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was two decades ago that Strasburg graduated from West Hills High School and stepped onto the campus at San Diego State. He served as SDSU\u2019s closer as a freshman in 2007 before moving into the starting rotation a year later.<\/p>\n
![\"FILE](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SUT-L-hall-0111-03.jpg\")
FILE \u2013 San Diego State\u2019s Stephen Strasburg tossed a no-hitter in his final home start at Tony Gwynn Stadium. (AP Photo\/Lenny Ignelzi, File)<\/p>\n
Strasburg emerged as one of the nation\u2019s top pitchers in 2008, highlighted by a 23-strikeout game against Utah, and he was the only collegiate player selected that summer to the U.S. Olympic team.<\/p>\n
In 2009, Strasburg had a season for the ages, going 13-1 with a 1.32 ERA and 195 strikeouts with 19 walks in 109 innings. He threw a no-hitter against Air Force in his final home start. Strasburg received the Golden Spikes Award as baseball\u2019s top amateur player and was selected No. 1 overall in the 2019 MLB Draft by the Nationals.<\/p>\n
Strasburg was 113-62 with a 3.24 ERA and 1,723 strikeouts in a career shortened by injuries. Late in his career, Strasburg suffered from thoracic outlet syndrome, which led to surgeries that included removing a rib and two neck muscles. He made several comeback attempts before retiring after the 2023 season.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was definitely not fun, for sure,\u201d Strasburg said. \u201cThe hardest part is it\u2019s still pretty evident the damage that has been done to my arm. I guess that\u2019s something that I\u2019m trying to work through and deal with the best that I can.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the same time, being a dad is one of the greatest joys in my life. I\u2019m making the choice to focus on all of the good memories that I had in this game. I wish I was still pitching, for sure. \u2026 Now you\u2019re just in this realm of, how do I stay connected to the game? It\u2019s a new challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"San](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Stephen.Strasburg.HOF_.jpg\")
San Diego State right-hander Stephen Strasburg\u2019s career included a 23-strikeout game against Utah and a no-hitter against Air Force. (SDSU Athletics)<\/p>\n
In October, Strasburg was named special assistant to new SDSU baseball coach Kevin Vance. Strasburg is intent on improving the facility at Tony Gwynn Stadium. He donated money to replace SDSU\u2019s outfield wall.<\/p>\n
Strasburg also will make himself available as often as possible for Aztecs players to pick his brain \u2014 assuming, of course, that they don\u2019t question his knowledge like a certain group of 11- and 12-year-old girls.<\/p>\n
78th Annual Salute to the Champions<\/p>\n
When: Monday. Reception starts at 5:30 p.m., dinner at 6:30 p.m.<\/p>\n
Where: Hyatt Regency La Jolla, 3777 La Jolla Village Dr.<\/p>\n
Honorees: Breitbard Hall of Fame inductees Barry Zito and Stephen Strasburg, Pro Stars of the Year Adrian Morejon and Anders Dreyer, Amateur Stars of the Year Lucky Sutton and Oliver Tarvet, Lifetime Achievement Award winner Joe Harper, Community Champion Miracle League of San Diego<\/p>\n
More online: sandiegosportsassociation.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It is one thing to be humbled when you hang a curveball and a big-league hitter hammers it…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":128560,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[181,74,76,75,305,127,1696],"class_list":{"0":"post-128559","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-latest-headlines","9":"tag-san-diego","10":"tag-san-diego-headlines","11":"tag-san-diego-news","12":"tag-sdsu-aztecs","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-top-stories-sdut"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128559","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128559"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128559\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}