Stephen Strasburg: Living Up To The Hype; So Far

This baseball season will forever be known as the year that concluded one of the best careers ever following Griffey's retirement, now it may also be known as the start to another. As much as I try to avoid enshrining a player in his sports Hall of Fame after just one game it is now clear Stephen Strasburg is on the scene and here to stay. The highly anticipated debut of one of the most hyped up prospects in baseball history has come and gone and it is time to provide some insight.

Stephen Strasburg, the number 1 overall pick in the 2009 MLB draft, carried his dominance to the big leagues. After making hitter after hitter and opponent after opponent look foolish in all levels from San Diego State to both higher minor league levels, AA, and AAA, the young stud brought his top game against the Pirates. Strasburg showed that he does not have to rely on his defense behind him, like many pitchers tend to do, he can get outs on his own. The future ace threw a devastating off speed pitch that made some veterans come up short time after time. This pitch only clocks 82 on the gun but can easily become the go to mark in his nasty arsenal. Strasburg calls it a slurveball while the pundits like border line hall of famer Orel Hershiser label it a curve. No matter what the pitch is officially classified as I think anyone who has had to face it will agree it is fierce to say the least.

During his debut Strasburg had to deal with several mental hurdles. His former coach and one of the best hitters in baseball history, Tony Gwynn, has stated many times talent can get you through the minors but you need to be mentally strong to have success in the pros. This all started with the very first pitch of his career, a ball. No problem, he was behind in his first count but it resulted in his first out just 3 pitches later. Strasburg showed mental stability through out his debut. His team squandered an early lead as he allowed a home run to Delwyn Young. This may have killed other less stable hurlers but did not phase Strasburg. The young stud composed himself, adjusted, and went right back to mowing down Bucco after Bucco. Some will say this could be due to having one of the best back stops to ever control a staff, Ivan Rodriguez, to lead him through the outing. That is certainly a fair point and it is true Pudge has proved throughout his career he can do wonders with a young, inexperienced, pitcher in a big moment (see Dontrelle Willis & Josh Beckett from the 2003 World Series) but Strasburg delivered every called pitch exactly where it was signaled and showed no signs of relying on the veteran catcher to bail him out. Strasburg had command of what he was throwing, both the off speed gems and a descent fast ball,  showing no signs of hesitating to shack off his catcher when he felt it necessary. Haters will also point to the opponent being lowly Pittsburgh. Yes, the Pirates are in the midst of their professional sport record 18th consecutive losing season but they are still professionals with veteran hitters. One of those vets, Ronny Cedeno did not shy away from sending big compliments the way of the man who made him fan twice. Cedeno when asked to compare Strasburg to a current major league pitcher responded "Ubaldo Jimenez, I think he can be like that." The Pirate shortshop then continued by saying "yeah, Ubaldo he's the best pitcher in the game" Cedeno replied. "But if this guy keeps it going he's going like that, he's got the stuff to be the best pitcher in the game too." You only have to read my previous post on the current Cy Young favorite to know how high of praise it is to be compared to Jimenez this season. There is a big jump from AAA to MLB and Strasburg showed he can handle it. 

Only a day after the National franchise drafted another highly touted youth, Bryce Harper (story for another day), with another number 1 overall selection, Strasburg brought life into a location and area that despite having baseball roots was left without a team for nearly 35 years. The Expos moved to DC following the 2004 season. The nations capital hosted the Washington Senators from 1901 to 1960 and then another version until 1970. Fans in Texas and Minnesota would not have their Rangers and Twins if it were not first for the Senators. While the Sens were mostly a losing franchise, this was even depicted in a film "Damn Yankees", DC did see baseball success over the course of its first life. The Senators franchise appeared in 3 World Series, 1924, 1925, and 1933, winning the Fall Classic in 24. Ted Williams even capped off his legendary career as player/manager for the Sens in one of their final seasons. Mr. Strasburg may have fully revitalized the DC baseball scene for the first time since before World War II.

Strasburg's final stat line saw him complete 7 strong innings, picking up his first major league win. He allowed 2 earned runs on 4 hits, 1 home run, compiled 14 strikeouts, (the 5th highest total ever for a single game), along with a very impressing goose egg in the walks column showing his command. Strasburg will bring a 0.57 WHIP and a 2.57 ERA with him to his next start. To put this start in historical context, all time strike out leader, Nolan Ryan, only put up 1 outing in his career with 14 or more K's and 0 walks. Yes, that's right Ryan only did what Strasburg did in his pro debut 1 time in his entire career! Strasburg may never duplicate this start and all he did was set expectation to an unreasonable level, regardless, it was an amazing night for not only the DC baseball scene but all of sports.

Of course once a good hitter faces a pitcher a few times he begins to learn his ins and outs and create a scouting report. However, it seems Strasburg may only see this as a challenge. It is also essential to remember he will soon have his own report on every future strikeout victim he plans to rack up. God speed to the next lineup who has to deal with his slurve curve combination, at least they will have a blue print laid out by the guinea pig Pirates.