Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg believes the All-Star Game threw him off last season, and he doesn’t intend to let that happen again.
Strasburg said Sunday that he may skip future All-Star appearances, feeling that his appearance this season threw him off his routine and led to arm issues after the break.
“I think I felt like at the All-Star break, it was a tough situation,” Strasburg said, via Pete Kerzel of MASN. “Might have to rethink about if I’m going to actually pitch or not pitch in an All-Star Game, whether I’ll actually go altogether. That was the issue I felt like was the reason why I got hurt. I was on such a good program with the training staff and massage therapists – I was in this routine. Then all of a sudden you’re asked to throw, potentially pitch – maybe not – but not have any access or ability to really stick to your routine.
“Once that’s over, it’s like right back into it. Bullpen, day off, game. I just know that little lapse, for whatever reason, it pushed me back a bit. It started making my arm hurt. My arm felt good before that, then it was like after that, it just didn’t feel right. I’m glad at that point I kind of tried to put my pride aside and say ‘Hey, I want to be there in the end.’ So we just had to get it right. No point in pushing through it. I’m glad it worked out that way.”
Strasburg worked through some issues after the break, but given his lengthy injury history, one can understand why he’d want to avoid any further situations like this one.
