In an interview about his seven-year, $175 million contract extension with the Washington Nationals, Stephen Strasburg discussed some of the motivation behind the decision.

Strasburg wants to follow in the footsteps of Tony Gwynn, his childhood hero and coach at San Diego State, and play for one team during his Major League career.

"He definitely had that sense of loyalty," Strasburg said of Gwynn. "I think there were certainly times in his career where he could've gone other places, but the city, San Diego, kind of grew on him, and he became an icon in that city. I'm not about to say that I'm going to be on his level here in D.C., but I think you do have some sort of sense of loyalty to the team that did draft you, at least speaking for myself. So, when the opportunity presented itself that, here's a fair deal presented to you, it didn't really take long to make my mind up."