Inside the Majors

Ninety-four pitches is all it took for Stephen Strasburg to turn in one of the most high pressure pitching debuts in the history of Major League Baseball.  Strasburg missed Pittsburgh bats left and right fanning 14 batters in just 7 innings on his way to his first career win.  Even more impressive, he seemed to heat up as the game carried on, striking out the last 6 batters he faced.  Perhaps equally encouraging for Washington fans, and almost unheard of for a first time pitcher, was the zero walks issued by Strasburg. A lone 2 run homer by Delwyn Young was the lone blemish on what would’ve been a clean sheet, but the young fellow responded with the poise of veteran, retiring the next 10 players to step to the plate.

So, now a few weeks into his career, how great was his opening act and how bright is Strasburg’s future?  The performance in and of itself was no less than legendary, but those calling for a Cooperstown career shouldn’t be so certain just yet.  Not to take away from Strasburg or discredit what was an outing that will go down in baseball history, but he isn’t the first young pitcher to burst onto the scene with an awe-inspiring introductory game.  In 2008, former 11^th overall pick Max Scherzer made his major league debut for the Arizona Diamondbacks while on the road against the Houston Astros.  Coming out of the bullpen, Scherzer pitched a perfect 4 and 1/3 innings without allowing a hit or walk.  At one point, he retired  13 consecutive hitters (still the high mark for a debut game) on his way to racking up 7 Ks.  Starting out as a reliever, Scherzer was no doubt under less scrutiny than Strasburg, but the on-field portion of his performance stands up to that of the celebrated rookie sensation.  For the record, now in his 3^rd year of service, Max Scherzer currently has a less than stellar 12-21 career record with a 4.37 ERA.  This season his ERA has ballooned to 6.14 on the way to a 3-6 start.  Not to say the fire-baller won’t be one of the better pitchers in the league one day (already boasting his own 14 K game last month), but so far Scherzer has learned it’s a long road to stardom.

Scouts have hyped the National’s new guy as arguably the greatest pitching prospect of all time.  Analysts across the airwaves are singing his praises, and rightfully so, but bear in mind we are still only 2 games into what will hopefully be a long major league career.  When he takes the mound Friday, let Strasburg continue to earn his big league reputation, pitch by pitch, before listing among the all-time greats.

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