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MLB WORLD SERIES: NATIONALS VS ASTROS

October 30, 2019

Stephen Strasburg

Houston, Texas - postgame 7

Washington - 6, Houston - 2

Q. On a night like tonight after you look back at the whole arc of your career, the highs and lows, does all the adversity you went through make it even sweeter at this moment?
STEPHEN STRASBURG: Yeah, absolutely. Through all the adversity I think I've learned a lot about myself. When you have the ups and downs, I think you can learn just as much from the downs as you can the ups. And I think everything happens for a reason. I think I've really just become a stronger pitcher through all the adversity that I've had to go through.

Q. Just to follow up on that, what have you learned about yourself?
STEPHEN STRASBURG: I think I've really learned that if I focus on the things that I can control, and I think I've learned that I'm a perfectionist, I've learned that I'm a control freak. And in this game it's very hard to be perfect. It's very hard to control things.

But the one thing that you can control is your approach and how you handle your business off the field. And when you go out there and compete it's just about execution. And you put in all the work in the offseason, in between starts, to go out there and try and be the best version of yourself. And that's something you can control every time.

Q. Watching Max tonight, was it clear he wasn't a hundred percent and he just found some way to gut through it as best he could?
STEPHEN STRASBURG: I mean, you know, he's still popping 97, 98, a good slider.

But, no, seeing the condition that he was in a few days ago, I think it was definitely out of the ordinary for him. But I knew he was going to go out there and compete and leave it all out there on the field.

Q. Looking back now at the famous shutdown in 2012, do you understand it was to protect you to get for moments like today or does part of you still wish you could have seen what would have happened back then?
STEPHEN STRASBURG: It's so long ago, and I think you try not to look in the past and you try not to look in the future. I think it's much more of a challenge to not kind of see how it's going to all play out, especially over this last month.

But, again, it just comes back to trying to be in the moment and giving everything you have.

MODERATOR: What was the dugout like when Howie hit the home run?

STEPHEN STRASBURG: Oh, man, I mean, I don't know, like they were obviously -- all the fans were standing up for most of the game. Just kind of had a feeling that it was going to get real quiet in that inning, and it did.

Howie has been big for us all year. To go out there and hit another homer, especially after the big grand slam in the NLDS, it's just amazing to watch.

MODERATOR: What does this mean for Ryan Zimmerman who has been with the Nationals his whole entire career?

STEPHEN STRASBURG: Yeah, Zimm's been there from day one. And it seems like it was just yesterday that I got drafted and I signed and he was out there handing me my jersey.

I'm so happy for him and his family because he's kind of the face of the franchise. I mean, he is. He's dealt with the kind of losing seasons. He's been there through it all. He's dealt with his fair share of adversity.

And for him to be able to be back there in this moment and for us as a group to come together and get it done, just so happy for him.

Q. Your two daughters are here with us. No. 1 overall pick, and all the expectations that come with that. And like you said, there was a lot of ups and downs, a lot of trials and tribulations, and then here we are at this moment. What's your conversation going to be like with them? How are you going to use this moment to teach them some lessons?
STEPHEN STRASBURG: Yeah, you know, it's tough to say. They're pretty young still. I think they're just excited to kind of be around the other kids in the clubhouse and play and hang out together. Some day down the road if they ever ask me what it was like, I'll tell them it wasn't easy. There might be a lot of situations in their life where it's not going to go according to plan and it's not the easiest way, but we're going to go out there and fight through it and keep battling.

Q. A lot of what you do isn't really seen publicly in terms of the work you put in and all that kind of stuff. And typically kind of reserved publicly. What does it mean to you to be known as a good teammate above all and what you do behind the scenes to help this team do what it does?
STEPHEN STRASBURG: That was kind of put on me at an early age. My favorite player growing up was Tony Gwynn. And obviously his numbers were amazing. But growing up in San Diego and being -- playing for him, being around him, quickly realized that the impact that he had on the game was so much more than just the numbers he put up. And he took great care of me. He kind of showed me the ropes.

At the end of the day it's a team game. I think as a kid you're drawn to this game because kind of like being around a bunch of other kids and you want to go out there and play together and hopefully win. But it's the camaraderie, it's the brotherhood that is the most satisfying.

Q. Given the first eight weeks, the Wild Card game, the Division Series, now this, what is it about the makeup of this team that it has to fall behind before stirring to life in these backs-to-the-wall games?
STEPHEN STRASBURG: I don't know. It's almost like we've done it so many times that we have to get punched in the face to kind of wake up. I think it's just the MO. We don't quit. We never quit throughout the season despite kind of everybody saying that we were done.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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