It’s over, Strasburg has made his debut, and he’ll never do that again. Except possibly in 2 or 3 stops in the minors as well as in the majors at some point this year. At each stop the debut will may not get bigger, but certainly if he goes to the minors, his first start will be bigger than this one, and whenever he gets to the majors that will be quite the show as well. I’m sure you’ve seen all of the numbers. What impressed me the most was that the velocity does seem to be there already, which I wasn’t expecting. Also, the 3-0 count where he worked it to 3-2 and then laid in a curveball for strike 3. That takes talent, but it also takes confidence. His control wasn’t that good, although he said he’s always more nervous for his first appearance every year, all the way through high school, so he wasn’t worried.
Alright, first one’s in the books, what do you think?
Of Course, Some Superlatives
Here are some things I heard on the radio broadcast:
- “Ordonez bounces out on a 98 mph fastball”
- “How about a 97, 98 mph fastball and he threw an 84 mph breaking ball?”
Here are some things I heard Jason Stark say on Mike & Mike this morning:
- Miguel Cabrera said that when Strasburg throws the ball it’s like an explosion
- One scout said that compared to Strasburg, Tigers’ start Rick Porcello looked like he was playing catch with his sister
The Tigers in general were complete effusive when talking about him, and Stark goes over that in his article today.
Boswell has a few things to say as well, such as
- “Perhaps two dozen hurlers in [the last 30 years] have had the same general stuff, poise and command at age 21 that Strasburg showed in his spring training debut.”
- “Scouts, who came assuming [Porcello and Strasburg] might look equivalent in mound presence, were stunned.”