Stephen Strasburg gave a small smile to the camera when it found him on the third base line before the All-Star Game on Tuesday at Petco Park. As he was introduced here for the umpteenth time in his career, the San Diego crowd gave him one of the biggest ovations of any player other than members of the hometown Padres.

The All-Star Game was supposed to be Strasburg’s homecoming, and in moments like that, it was. But he chose not to pitch at the midsummer classic so he could open the second half for the Washington Nationals, who announced him as their starter for Friday night’s game against the Pirates.

“My allegiance is to the Nationals,” Strasburg said, explaining the decision not to pitch Tuesday night.

After nearly eight years in the Nationals organization, after signing a contract extension that could keep him in Washington for seven more, he is not just San Diego’s anymore.

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The San Diego area still holds a part of him, of course. He probably could have found takers for dozens more than the 15 tickets he eventually secured for the game. “I didn’t feel like my requests weren’t that extensive, but it wasn’t until [Sunday] that I was able to get them,” Strasburg said. “I didn’t know if it was going to happen.”

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Strasburg was not always a hot ticket in San Diego. He played high school baseball about 18 miles from Petco Park, on fields tucked behind West Hills High. That was where he grew from an awkward up-and-comer into gawky Division I potential. He realized it as college player at San Diego State, where the foliage and fences around the school’s Tony Gwynn Stadium — 10 miles from Petco — could not keep out the attention forever.

But he knew the San Diego baseball world, and it knew him, so there was comfort in the hype. Strasburg smiled as he remembered beating up on Chicago Cubs star Kris Bryant’s alma mater, the University of San Diego, in a series that momentarily flung his Aztecs into college baseball’s top 25. He shook his head as he remembered seeing the first overall pick in this year’s draft, Mickey Moniak, play catch during his sixth-period gym class at La Costa Canyon High a few minutes north of here. He fits here, always has.

Most thought Strasburg would return to Southern California when he became a free agent, if not to small-market San Diego, then to Los Angeles or Anaheim. Then, in May, he signed a seven-year extension with the Nationals — which stunned everyone except the people who know him best. His father, Jim, for example, was not surprised at all.

“I laugh at all the comments. I knew for some time that both Rachel and Stephen like the D.C. area,” Jim Strasburg said of his son and daughter-in-law, when the Nationals were in San Diego in June. “It’s a great place for young people. He’s in a fortunate situation where they have a nice place, and they have things to do other than baseball.”

He has strong loyalties

When Strasburg was drafted first overall in 2009 and headed east to begin his professional career, the East Coast did not provide a soft landing. Despite being surround by the attention that came with being the No. 1 overall pick, Strasburg remembered “that feeling of being isolated a little bit.”

“It was hard on me, but I had teammates and stuff. You build those bonds quickly,” Strasburg said. “I think it was harder on my wife. She’s from [California], too. All her family, she came from a very big family, so it was a little bit of a struggle for her to adapt to the lifestyle and make friends. But it’s amazing how time flies. She’s kind of one of the veterans and really comfortable.”

As Strasburg grew into a staple of Washington’s rotation by 2012, he found his own foundation in the clubhouse — built on teammates and staff who, for the most part, were there since the beginning.

“Other than the coaching staff kind of changing over the years, the players have been pretty much constant. The clubbies have been pretty much the same,” Strasburg said. “They’ve always treated me so well.”

Strasburg’s father said his son has “strong loyalties,” so consistency like that matters. Stephen still heads up to Stanford each offseason to help his old San Diego State pitching coach Rusty Filter with a pitching clinic.

“He likes to go about his business a different way,” Filter said. “Not too outgoing when you first meet him, but I think as you get to see him and realize how focused he is, you start to see it as a strength.”

Teammates, coaches and reporters noted a more comfortable Strasburg early this season. To be fair, everyone had noticed the same thing for a few spring trainings, only to see Strasburg wall himself off somewhat during the regular season, when starts began to matter more. He remains the only starter in the Nationals’ clubhouse unwilling to handle media requests the day before a start, as well as on that day itself — though he is far from the only starter around MLB to adhere to those rules.

“Not everybody deserves to see who you are. I think you have to reserve that for certain people. To hold on to that like he does, he picks the right people and the right times he wants around him. I respect that,” said Ian Desmond, Strasburg’s former teammate. “He does it very well. He doesn’t disrespect anybody, just goes about his business in his own manner.”

Only three pitchers have a higher strikeouts-per-nine innings mark than Strasburg since 2012. Opponents’ .201 batting average against him is ninth best in the National League. In most statistical categories, Strasburg has been a top 10 starter for the past five seasons.

More fan friendly now

Desmond said once he got to know Strasburg, he became “sneakily one of my favorite teammates.” Bryce Harper said Strasburg has “a great sense of humor, though he doesn’t show it to many people outside his teammates or inner circle.”

Jim Strasburg said he hasn’t seen his son change much over the years but has noticed him letting the fans see more of him, too.

“I think Stephen is more fan friendly than when he first came up,” his father said. “He was thinking, I haven’t done anything. Okay, I was the number one pick in the draft, but I’m not accomplished, I haven’t done anything. When he had the year off for Tommy John [surgery], they didn’t get anything out of him, and he got paid.”

As Strasburg validated the hype and replaced potential with performance, he grew more at home — with the organization, the fans and the city. But it wasn’t until “last year sometime,” when he and his wife signed a two-year lease instead of a short-term rental and bought furniture to fill it, did he begin to think of the D.C. area as home.

“I wish we did that from day one, but you live [and] you learn,” said Strasburg, who still trains in San Diego each winter. “Once we had our own place, it was like, ‘Oh, we have our stuff here’. It’s not just packing up and moving in.”

Strasburg could have pitched in his home town this week, celebrated his heritage there with an inning or two. His decision not to pitch puzzled many around baseball. So did his decision to sign that extension with the Nationals, though those close to him say it shouldn’t have surprised anyone. But Strasburg finally found comfort a country away from here and will fly back to D.C. fully rested to open the second half at home.