Strasburg set to make MLB debut for Nationals
Nearly a year to the day after being drafted as the No.1 overall pick in the MLB draft by the Washington Nationals, Stephen Strasburg will make his debut today against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Such is the anticipation of Strasburg’s debut the Nationals have had over 200 applications for media accreditations and have had to turn a dining area into a work space for journalists. As soon as Strasburg’s debut was announced, tickets for the June 8th game became hot property with the cheapest tickets on Stubhub going for $50.
Strasburg has sold out minor league games and now he’s sold a major league game and Nationals manager Jim Riggleman is waiting for some of the hype to die down.
"I'm looking forward to that first outing or two being out of the way, I know the attention's not going to go away completely, but the anticipation of the thing has been building since the draft - and before the draft - last year,” Riggleman said.
The anticipation has been building simply because of the stuff Strasburg possesses. A fastball with movement which reaches 100mph, a curveball that breaks sharply and freezes batters and a changeup that simply fools batters. There has never been so much hype about a pitcher coming out of college.
Having amazing ability is one thing, using it is another and Strasburg seems to have no problem with the latter. Going 7-2 with a 1.30 ERA with 65 strikeouts and only 13 walks in 55 1/3 innings combined in Double and Triple-A, the 21-year-old had nothing left to prove apart from at the big league level.
"It's my major league debut. What more can you say? It's something I've dreamed about my entire life, and now it's starting to become a reality," Strasburg said.
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