Stephen Strasburg: From Finished to Unhittable
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If you are a baseball pitcher the chance that you make it to a division one college to play is slim. The chance that from there you proceed to the major leagues is even more rare. But to go from thinking of quitting baseball to work at a hardware store and then going on to become the number one major league prospect in America; impossible, or is it? It was not impossible for San Diego State’s Stephen Strasburg. The 6’ 4” 220 pound right-handed pitcher has potential to be the most dominating pitcher in the MLB in the future. Currently he is pitching at San Diego State as a junior. His fastball that tops out at 103 miles per hour along with his devastating slider and pinpoint accuracy makes Stephen Strasburg virtually un-hittable to most batters.
In my opinion the thing that makes Strasburg the most valuable, more valuable than his physical abilities is his sheer work ethic. Strasburg was not always the stud pitcher that he is now. At one point his career in baseball was suffering and quitting became an option. As a junior in high school although he threw low 90’s Strasburg was not on any team’s need to have list. This is because he was not anything special and out of shape. Stephen was 250 pounds and would have trouble with his body’s weakness out on the mound. This would be a problem that most people would not be able to fix. For this reason Strasburg considered quitting the game to get a simple job. Fortunately for the game of baseball, he did not. Strasburg’s incredible determination and desire to get in better shape has gotten him where he is now. When coaches and trainers told him to quit and that he would never make it, Strasburg worked harder and proved them wrong. He was not born being able to throw 103 miles per hour. The only reason he can do that now is because he worked extremely hard.
Strasburg played for team USA in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and was the only college player to do so. He is the projected number one draft pick in the upcoming Major League Draft. The Washington Nationals have the first pick in the draft. With the opportunity to pick a starting pitcher who could be a team’s ace in a couple years, the Nationals would be crazy not to pick Strasburg.
Strasburg struck out 23 batters in one game last year and is only getting better. Some people believe that Strasburg has bad mechanics similar to those of Mark Prior. This could cause him to have arm problems in the future. Hopefully he will not throw any harder than he does now as it could cause serious health problems. Strasburg has created a very bright future for himself through hard work and determination to get better. Has Strasburg reached the peak of his career? Will his faulty mechanics get him into trouble? Does he have records to break and batters to fan in the future? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Photo Credit: San Diego Shooter, Malingering
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