The first pick in the 2009 MLB Draft, former San Diego State ace Stephen Strasburg is ready to challenge Major League hitters with his 103 mph fastball, 90 mph slider and off-speed pitches. His big-time stuff is than enough to lead the way on most big league rotations. But now the time has come for Stephen Strasburg to begin building his legend on the baseball world’s biggest stage: the Major Leagues. This evening at 7:05 p.m. Eastern on the MLB Network, Strasburg will get his chance against an up-and-coming Pittsburgh Pirates lineup that has given NL Central teams fits. According to MLB.com, the game has been sold out ever since the Nationals announced Strasburg’s debut date a month ago.
Wow, can Stephen Strasburg actually defy physics?
Clearly, The Washington Post’s recent blog post on Stephen Strasburg which claims that the 21-year-old can bend natural laws with his pitching repertoire is a joke. Legend goes that Stephen Strasburg’s pitches can freeze in midair or blink out of existence and all of a sudden appear behind the hitter’s hindquarters. The point of the humor is to poke fun at just how much hype has been placed on this young man, but the reality is that his has the pitches and also the poise to be successful. Yet all 200 of the press crew at tonight’s Stephen Strasburg start are equally to blame for how far this has gone.
Stephen Strasburg has carved up his competition
Stephen Strasburg had a Golden Spikes year at SDSU in 2009: 13-1, 1.32 ERA, 195 K and only 19 BB in 109 innings. That level of domination made a Golden Spikes Award inevitable. After college, Stephen Strasburg was snatched up by the Nationals and kept on rolling at Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Syracuse, places that 2010 MLB Draft pick Bryce Harper will see soon.
Innings could be limited, but not expectations
Nationals coaches may have Stephen Strasburg on a strict pitch count, but media and fans remain liberal in their expectations for the hurler. A sea of Strasburg merchandise can be out in force at Nationals Park. Perhaps some fans are already looking into faxless paydayloans with instant approval in order to finance the construction of their own Strasburg shrines. Hopefully, Stephen Strasburg has the perspective to remain above the waves. The young man certain has skill, but he needs room in this, the Strasburg debut. Maybe someday he’ll take the place of Sidd Finch and throw a fastball that – like his legend – simply arrives.
A lot more details on this topic
voices.washingtonpost.com/achenblog/2010/06/stephen_strasburg_debuts_for_n.html
mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100607&content_id=10913962&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
