LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 01: Los Angeles Dodgers Pitcher Ross Stripling (68) looks on during a MLB game between the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 1, 2019 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Los Angeles Dodgers have continued to make postseason history while building one of the most sustained stretches of success in modern MLB.
Their latest milestone tied the league record for consecutive playoff appearances, extending a remarkable run that has several championships and numerous star players.
“The Los Angeles Dodgers marked their record-tying 14th consecutive trip to MLB’s postseason with a toast of bubbly after Monday night’s 4-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds,” ESPN reported on Monday.
The streak now stretches back to 2013 and includes several standout seasons from pitcher Ross Stripling, who announced his retirement last year and has since been struggling with his decision.
Former Los Angeles Dodgers Draft Pick Turned All-Star Struggles With Life After Baseball
Stripling retired after nine seasons in the major leagues, ending a career that began with the Dodgers when they selected him in the fifth round of the 2012 MLB Draft. He eventually became one of the more valuable swingmen of his era, capable of moving between the starting rotation and bullpen.
His breakout came in 2018, when Stripling made the National League All-Star team after posting a 3.02 ERA with 136 strikeouts over 122 innings for Los Angeles. MLB lists his eventual career totals at 40-54 with a 4.17 ERA, 741 strikeouts and 846 1/3 innings across 248 appearances.
But leaving baseball has now created an unfamiliar problem for the former Dodgers star, who opened up about his struggles in a recent interview.
“The right-hander retired last year after nine seasons in the majors,” The Athletic’s Stephen J. Nesbitt wrote in a larger feature about MLB players’ unique struggles with fatherhood. “A life that had revolved around baseball came to a standstill. He retired the same day his third son was born… After about a year, he felt increasingly agitated.”
That feeling has pushed Stripling to recognize that retirement had not necessarily provided the sense of fulfillment he expected.
“There’s some instinct habitually that understands that something is out of whack and I need to go do something,” Stripling told Nesbitt. “I’m slowly trying to figure out what that is.”
Los Angeles Dodgers’ 8-Year Veteran Sees Post-Retirement Chapter Takes Shape
Stripling’s retirement announcement came after the Kansas City Royals released him during spring training. He had struggled during his brief opportunity with the Royals, but his nine-year MLB career had already provided considerably more success than many players ever experience.
He spent more than four seasons with the Dodgers, reached the postseason multiple times and established himself as an All-Star before later finding success with the Toronto Blue Jays, where he produced a career-best 10-4 record and 3.01 ERA in 2022.
Now, Stripling appears to be confronting a different kind of challenge. Retirement removed the daily structure that had defined his adult life, leaving him to determine what should replace it.
For a pitcher who spent years adapting to whatever role his team needed, perhaps the next adjustment is simply figuring out what role he wants for himself.
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