Rookie Sensation Stephen Strasburg Already Game’s 4th Most Marketable Player
He came into the league being regarded as the Lebron James of baseball, a sensation right out of high school and the next big thing in the game. Drafted first overall in 2009, Stephen Strasburg hasn’t played a whole lot of games in his major league career, yet he is already one of the most marketable players in the game.
Strasburg was recently polled ahead of Alex Rodriguez and is number four in marketability. His electrifying fastball has already won over the hearts of many baseball fans and has given the Washington Nationals hope for the future.
Since his major league debut on June 8th, in which he pitched 14 strikeouts, Strasburg has had an immediate impact on the game of baseball and has attracted many more fans to Nationals games.
The Sports Business Daily has already ranked the 22 year-old at number four in the game’s most marketable players.
The Daily asked 49 corporate brand managers, marketing and branding executives, agencies and baseball media, to list the top five most marketable players in MLB.
The survey ranked Derek Jeter as the most marketable by far, followed by Albert Pujols, Joe Mauer, Stephen Strasburg, and Ryan Howard.
“That is pretty stunning,” said The Daily's assistant managing editor Brian Helfrich. Strasburg did not even begin the season on the Nationals’ 25 man roster.
"It is fascinating how corporate America has shown how marketable a player he is. He really is ranked number four on potential alone because he has only been in the big leagues for a short time," said Helfrich.
The remaining four in the top five are all established stars in baseball, with Derek Jeter, Joe Mauer, Albert Pujols and Ryan Howard.
Helfrich says the reason Strasburg is so marketable right now is because his reputation is squeaky clean. He is respectful to managers, players and fans, and is seen as baseball’s good guy. He also believes that Strasburg can bring in more fans to the game and may one day be the face of baseball after the league’s current top stars begin to age.
It’s no secret that the sports world is in search of a new “good guy” after seeing the likes of Tiger Woods and LeBron James this past year. Helfrich believes Strasburg can be that guy.
There is no foubt that Strasburg has brought the Nationals more interest from baseball fans around the league. He is clearly going to be a star in this league for years to come.
The Nationals are not used to being on the right end of headlines in the baseball world. The only times they were part of important news were when Barry Bonds' hit his record-setting home run and when the Nationals picked number one in the draft.
Now the Nationals are finally being noticed for something they've done on the field, and that is a big deal.
The only question may be if Strasburg’s amazing pitching will be enough to eventually get the Nationals to the playoffs. After all, Roy Halladay gave the Toronto Blue Jays many great years of pitching, but it still wasn’t enough for the ace to get a start in the playoffs. What if the same happens with Strasburg down the road? If the Nationals don’t actually get a lot better, who’s to say that Strasburg won’t want the opportunity to pitch for let’s say, the Yankees, Red Sox or the Dodgers?
He has a long career ahead of him and he may one day be the most sought after free agent. The Nationals have to hope they start getting better in the next few years or Strasburg may do the inevitable and seek some support in gunning for a World Series Championship.
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