A Letter from the Nationals

Here is a copy of the e-mail that the Nationals sent out to their subscribed fans. It warms my heart. Enjoy:

Dear Nationals Fans:

We are absolutely thrilled to announce that we have signed Major League Baseball's 2009 Number One draft choice, Stephen Strasburg to a long-term contract. Stephen, as we are sure you know, has been widely touted as one of the best big league pitching prospects to be draft eligible in years. The big, 6-4, 220-lb. right-hander, was a consensus All-American and College Player of the Year while leading San Diego State to its first NCAA Regional berth since 1992, posting a 13-1 record with a 1.32 ERA, and averaging 16.1 strikeouts per nine innings. Last summer he also pitched for Team USA in the Beijing Summer Olympics, becoming the first collegiate member of that team since professional players were permitted to participate in the games.

Stephen Strasburg is a special talent with unlimited potential. He will be joining our other MLB Top 10 draft choice for 2009, pitcher Drew Storen, as the newest member of what we believe is one of the most interesting, and deepest staffs of young pitching prospects in all of baseball. John Lannan, Jordan Zimmermann, Craig Stammen, J.D. Martin, Ross Detwiler, Garrett Mock, Collin Balester, Shairon Martis, Sean Burnett, Tyler Clippard and now Strasburg and Storen, along with a group of other young minor league talents, promise to represent an intimidating rotation for the Nationals for years to come.

We are extremely proud of the strides the Nationals have made on the field since the 2009 All-Star break and believe some of the roster moves we've made only complement the fine young talents that have been the nucleus for our team since baseball returned to the Capital City. Adam Dunn, Josh Willingham and Nyjer Morgan have brought excitement, power, veteran leadership and respected run production to a team that already offered threats like Ryan Zimmerman, Cristian Guzman, Jesus Flores and Elijah Dukes. From the top of the batting order through the eighth spot, the Nationals now have the kind of offense that is capable of scoring runs with anyone in the National League.

The signing today of Stephen Strasburg represents, we believe, another important step towards building a winning franchise in Washington DC. He represents our commitment to building a pitching staff that can become one of the best in baseball and, coupled with our offensive weapons, should make the National Pastime in the Nation's Capital the absolutely most intriguing place to watch baseball in all of America.

We all enjoyed our recent eight-game winning streak. We believe the signing today, plus the building blocks we have been steadily assembling over the last three years, promises to make that kind of winning more frequent.

There are still plenty of major league thrills left in the 2009 season at Nationals Park. Please join us as we encourage the new young stars of NatsTown as they grow into some of the brightest talents in the game. You'll want to say you were there at the beginning.

-The Lerner Family and the Washington Nationals Baseball Club