Stephen Strasburg's Debut: Getting Caught Up In The Moment

Written by Aaron Torres | 09 June 2010

I choose write about sports for a living for three reasons:

1. I Love Writing: Always have, always will. The first time I realized it was when my third grade teacher gave my class a free writing assignment, and I wrote a piece called, “The Top Newcomers in College Basketball.” Everyone else decided to write about their summer vacation, the Tickle Me Elmo they got for Christmas or the color orange. I went in a different direction. Their loss I guess.

2. I Love Sports: I suppose that goes without saying. Whenever you rearrange your Saturday afternoon to catch the College Softball World Series (And you’re not related to any of the players), you know you’ve got a problem.

3. I Love Sharing My Opinion and Getting Feedback From My Readers: That alone is the biggest reason I get up every day, and write on this website. The idea that one person, somewhere, is typing my domain name into their browser and hoping to get my opinion on the World Series, Final Four or Tiger Woods’ latest dalliance is what drives me. Hearing back from all of you- whether you agree or disagree- is my favorite part of this job.

But today, I’m putting all that aside. I’m not writing to provide any insight, or to stir up a debate or argument.

I’m writing for myself. Writing so that in 10, 20 or 30 years, I can look back in my archives and tell my children and grandchildren everything about Tuesday night: The sights and sounds, and most importantly the emotions of Stephen Strasburg’s first career Major League start.

Because Tuesday wasn’t just about Strasburg, but about you and me too. About being a sports fan, and about watching history unfold in front of our eyes.

So excuse me this morning if I’m being selfish by choosing to write for myself. But these are memories I want to have forever.

When breaking down Strasburg’s start, we can look at the numbers and be overwhelmed. As I tweeted on Tuesday night, “Strasburg’s final line was 7IP, 4H, 2ER, 14K, 0BB and 278 Walter Johnson references. At least 270 of which were justified. Good start I'd say.”

(For those of you who missed the game, watched in a bar, got the local broadcast or have no idea what I’m talking about, here’s the story behind that statement: During the broadcast on MLB Network, announcer Bob Costas must have referenced Walter Johnson at least 500 times in comparison to Strasburg. I’m not kidding. It’s almost like it was mandated in his contract or something.

And while I’m sure it was flattering for Strasburg, I for one could have done without most of it.

I mean, I get that it's an easy link, you know, since the “Big Train,” played in Washington and all.

That to me is where the comparisons end though. Especially since, well, Johnson was born 100 years before Strasburg, played when there were like 12 teams in baseball, no one carried more than three starting pitchers, teams traveled by train rather than charter plane, and pitchers smoked cigarettes between innings. I guess what I’m trying to say is, next game can we go a little easy on the comparisons? Please).

Beyond just the raw numbers though, was the historical significance behind them. Yes, one start into his career, we’re already talking about history with Strasburg.

On Tuesday, Strasburg became only the 36th pitcher in MLB history to strike out 14 or more batters in seven innings or less. Not bad for his first time out.

He became only the fifth pitcher EVER to strike out 14 in seven innings or less, and do it with zero walks. He joins names like Randy Johnson and Roger Clemens in that category, although I'm pretty sure neither did it in their MLB debut.

Strasburg had the most efficient 14 strikeouts in MLB history, getting them on just 94 pitches. No one else had ever done it in less than 96.

Looking past those numbers though, was the sheer dominance and command with which Strasburg pitched on Tuesday.

In the second inning, Strasburg struck out Garrett Jones (The Pirates leader in home runs and RBI) on a fastball that was literally by Jones before he even started his swing. It was seriously like watching a bad baseball movie. The next batter- Delwyn Young- struck out too, on maybe the best curveball I’ve ever seen. Again, I’m not lying. You know how scouts describe a good curveball’s movement as “12 to 6?” Well forget 12 to 6, this one went from eyeballs to ankles in a split second.

Later in the game Strasburg struck out another Pirate on an equally filthy curveball in the dirt. In the truest sense of the moment, in his first career start, Strasburg started his walk back to the dugout even as catcher Ivan Rodriguez was throwing the runner out at first. Pure, unadulterated, filthy stuff. All with the confidence to back it up.

In all, every Pirates starter struck out at least once against Strasburg, and none had more than one hit.

Maybe the most impressive thing about Strasburg’s start though, was that he only seemed to get better as the game went on.

According to a stat I heard on Mike and Mike this morning, after giving up a fourth inning home run to Young, Strasburg threw 39 pitches the rest of the night, 30 of which were strikes. Only two balls were even put into play after the homer. Oh, and by the way, he struck out the last seven batters he faced, the last on a 99 mph fastball.

Strasburg didn’t just beat the Pirates on Tuesday night, he broke their will. You could see it in the eyes of the last few batters: They really just wanted nothing to do with him. Most were simply hoping for the path of least resistance back to the dugout.

By the time that last strikeout came, everyone was thinking the same thing: There aren’t words to describe this guy.

The texts started flowing in from my buddies:

My buddy John: “Strasburg. This is not Earth.”

My buddy Steve: “I’m watching in disbelief. This is not real.”

My buddy Finn: “Never seen anything like this.”

And it’s reactions like those which made Tuesday night truly special.

As fun as it is to play with numbers, that’s not why most of us watch sports, and certainly not why I do. Numbers lie. Numbers tell us that Zach Randolph averaging 20 points a game is more important than Rajon Rondo averaging 10. Numbers tell us that Drew Brees throwing for 400 yards in a regular season game is more significant than him throwing for 200 in a playoff game. Numbers tell us that a 500 foot home run is the most important thing that happened in a baseball game, when a suicide squeeze might have been bigger.

Most of us like the numbers, but don’t watch sports because of them. We watch sports for the moments, to see something we’ve never seen before, to see something, again, to tell our grandkids about.

Now don’t get me wrong, is it cool knowing that Strasburg threw the most efficient 14 strikeout game in baseball history? Sure. But did knowing that alone make or break the experience? Of course not. If Strasburg had struck out 14 on 99 or 100 or 101 pitches instead of 94, I promise you, I would have enjoyed the game just the same.

My favorite part about Tuesday night wasn’t about the trivial facts and figures, but the moment.

When it comes to sports, we spend hundreds and in some cases thousands of hours a year in front of the TV, hoping and praying to be caught up in a moment. We watch basketball and baseball, golf and tennis, preseason, regular season and postseason games, college, pro, Olympics and the World Cup. And you know what? Ninety-nine times out of 100, we leave a little disappointed. A game ends in a blowout or a bad call, or with the superstar missing the big putt or shot. And we wonder to ourselves why we wasted the time.

Well Tuesday night is why.

When you know you’re watching something special, whether it was David Tyree’s helmet catch, Federer vs. Nadal at Wimbledon, or Vince Young’s Rose Bowl, there’s nothing like it. You never know when or where it’s going to happen, but when it does, it makes all those hours in front of the TV worth it. It’s what keeps us coming back for more. That’s why sports are the greatest entertainment anywhere, no scripts or timed endings. The drama isn’t over until the buzzer sounds or the last pitch is thrown.

Strasburg gave us one of those moments Tuesday night.

Again, stats are important, but would the feelings from Tuesday be any different if say, Strasburg had only struck out 12, or walked one, or hit a batter? Will they change going forward if he isn’t as dominant next start, or next year or isn’t the savior of the Washington Nationals franchise? Don’t be silly, of course not.

It doesn’t matter if Strasburg goes on to be the greatest pitcher of all-time, a good but not great All-Star, or a flameout who peaked in his first career start. None of that changes what we saw Tuesday night.

Strasburg provided one of those rare moments in life (and rarer in sports), where you’ll remember everything about Tuesday night. You’ll remember where you were, and who you were with, and how you reacted as the strikeouts kept piling up.

You’ll remember high-fiving your buddies, and telling your girlfriend or wife about it all, even if, let’s be honest, she truthfully didn’t care. You’ll remember the text messages and e-mails, staying up late to watch the postgame coverage, and talking about the whole thing around the water cooler this morning.

You’ll remember it all, and it's those memories which made Strasburg's performance on Tuesday so great, and what makes sports great too.

I can't wait to tell my grandkids.