-
Anyone Still Believe Me?
May 21, 2013 | 30 comments
-
What Those Who Boycott Israel Really Want
May 14, 2013 | 143 comments
-
Mitt on Marriage
May 8, 2013 | 38 comments
-
The One Constant
May 1, 2013 | 118 comments
-
Trudeaus and Terrorism
April 22, 2013 | 15 comments
Sports Arena
The Prince and the Pauper
A tale of two major league rookies.
Last week two rookies made a dramatic entrance to mark their debuts in Major League Baseball.
Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg set D.C. and the rest of the nation abuzz by striking out fourteen Pittsburgh Pirates over seven innings without walking a single batter en route to a 5-2 victory for the Nationals.
A few days later, Boston Red Sox outfielder Daniel Nava set Red Sox Nation abuzz by hitting the very first pitch he saw in the big leagues for a grand slam homerun into the Red Sox bullpen at Fenway Park to help the Sox blow out the defending National League Champion Philadelphia Phillies 10-2. Nava became only the second player in Red Sox (and fourth in MLB) history to hit a grand slam in his first plate big league appearance.
This is where the similarities between Stephen Strasburg and Daniel Nava end.
Strasburg was arguably the biggest college baseball star in decades when he pitched for San Diego State under the tutelage of Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn. Nava was cut from the baseball team at Santa Clara University and then became the team’s equipment manager. Among his duties was doing the team’s laundry.
Strasburg was selected by the Nationals as the number one pick in the 2009 MLB Draft. Nava went undrafted by all thirty major league clubs.
Last August, Strasburg’s agent Scott Boras negotiated a four-year, $15.1 million contract with the Nationals with only minutes to spare. The Red Sox purchased Nava’s contract in January 2008 from the Chico Outlaws of the independent Golden Baseball League for $1.
Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo announced Strasburg’s MLB debut more than a week in advance to increase ticket sales. Strasburg’s debut was greatly anticipated by baseball fans everywhere. Nava found out he had been promoted to the majors less than 24 hours before he took his first swing. The only people who greatly anticipated Nava’s big league debut were his parents.
Even before he threw his first pitch, Nationals fans were sporting Strasburg jerseys on their backs. When Red Sox fans saw Nava’s name in the lineup for the first time they probably asked, “Who is this guy? Nava heard of him.”
Unless Strasburg absolutely falls flat on his face he is in the majors to stay. As for Nava, he could be sent back down to Pawtucket once Jacoby Ellsbury and Jeremy Hermida (who hit a grand slam in his first big league at bat) return from the disabled list, even if he continues to play well.
That is, unless the Red Sox have another Wade Boggs on their hands. Boggs dominated the American League in batting for most of the 1980s, winning five AL batting titles in six seasons. But there’s a good chance that opportunity might have never come Boggs’ way had Carney Lansford (who won the 1981 AL batting title while with the Bosox) not been injured. When Boggs got the call to the majors in 1982 he had been toiling in the Red Sox farm system since 1976.
While sometimes success recedes due to an inexplicable loss of ability (e.g., Dontrelle Willis), at other times a major league player’s time at the top can come to an abrupt end due to an injury. During Strasburg’s second start against the Cleveland Indians over the weekend he slipped several times on the pitcher’s mound at Progressive Field which the ground crew had to fix on two occasions. Despite getting the win, Strasburg walked five batters. But Strasburg is lucky those five walks were his only trouble. He could have twisted an ankle, hyperextended a knee, or severed an Achilles tendon.
Given that the game was in Cleveland, I could not help but think of the career of Herb Score and what could have been. In the mid-1950s, Score excited baseball fans the way Strasburg is today. The southpaw would win 16 games as well as lead the American League in strikeouts with 245 batters en route to becoming AL Rookie of the Year. Score was even better in 1956, winning 20 games and once again leading the league in strikeouts with 263. By all appearances, Score was the second coming of Bob Feller and a destined to be a first ballot Hall of Famer.
But in May 1957, a month before his 24th birthday, Score was struck in the face by a line drive off the bat of New York Yankees infielder Gil McDougald. Score sustained facial fractures and was nearly blinded. Neither Score, nor for that matter McDougald, was the same player again.
Although Score returned to the Indians the following season, he never regained his earlier form and only won 17 more games over the next five seasons before hanging it up in 1962 while a member of the Chicago White Sox. Score would later return to the Indians — as a broadcaster.
While Strasburg appears destined for greatness and Nava appeared destined for obscurity, both men have played their way into the spotlight. For the moment what we have here is a tale of two rookies.
No one can guarantee what will happen next. Perhaps Strasburg will win 300 games and be inducted into the Hall of Fame and Nava will become an answer to a trivia question. Or perhaps Strasburg won’t live up to lofty expectations and it will be Nava who gets a plaque in Cooperstown. Then again perhaps Strasburg and Nava will simply be among the thousands of major league players who have good careers but not receive any special recognition once their careers have ended. What they might lack in greatness will be more than made up for with a lifetime of great memories playing in the majors. In which case, perhaps Stephen Strasburg and Daniel Nava might not be so different after all.
About the Author
Aaron Goldstein writes from Boston, Massachusetts.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (24) | Leave a comment
More Articles by Aaron Goldstein
More Articles From Sports Arena
http://spectator.org/archives/2010/06/16/the-prince-and-the-pauper
Follow us:
ADVERTISEMENT
Current Issue
- Hannah and Her Friends
- The End of the Castros?
- Downton’s Class System — and Ours
SPONSORED LINKS
FLASHBACK TO: 1995
-
Pope Culture
A man of faith in a godless age is hitting Americans where it hurts.
-
Why the GOP Does Not, Like, Totally Suck
Mr. and Mrs. American Spectator Reader, let P.J. O’Rourke talk sense to your kids.
-
Dames at Sea
-
In the Absence of Guns
In Britain, defending your property can get you life.
-
The Metaphysical Martini
-
Counting the Costs of Clintonism
The debacle of this president’s administration is both a cause and a symptom of the decline of American values. Unless Congress impeaches him, that decline will go on unchecked. An eminent jurist surveys the damage and assesses the chances for the recovery of our culture.
-
Chuck McHagel
It won’t take long for conservatives to scratch this presidential wannabe off their 2008 scorecard.
-
The Legacy of Old John and Mother Fresh-Roasted
-
It’s the Best Time of the Year
The American Christmas, like the songs that celebrate it, makes room for everybody under the rainbow. Is that why so many people seem to be hostile to it?
-
The Bush Crack-Up
Was the President done in by the economy, or by the politics of the economy?
Clip of the Day
ADVERTISEMENT
Steve| 6.16.10 @ 7:41AM
Superb article, well done. Thanks, Aaron.
Bob K.| 6.16.10 @ 7:50AM
So Strasburg is represented by the genius Scott Boras?
Boras has represented an awful lot of supposedly talented ball players who turned out to be overpaid, underachievers. Give Strasburg time to develop and see what he is. He isn't Greg Maddux yet! (Who Boras picked up in the middle of an already great career.)
And good luck to Nava! His story is reminiscent of Larry Bowa's struggle to get into the Majors!
Bob K.| 6.16.10 @ 7:56AM
And good point on Boggs! Boggs didn't make it to the majors until he was 26. Very late for a great hitter.
JohnD| 6.16.10 @ 8:05AM
I watched Stasburg pitch in Syracuse in AAA (on TV). I was skeptical about hard throwing phenoms. They usually get to the majors, and when they can't throw their fastball past hitters they panic (see Ben McDonald).
Not this kid. He knows how to pitch. In addition to his 100 MPH heater (with movement), he's got a nasty curveball, and a solid changeup. He works hitters, moves the ball around, changes speeds, and keeps the hitters off balance. When he gets in trouble, he doesn't try to overpower hitters, he continues mixing his pitches.
He also has a very nice, fluid, flawless delivery (which suggests he will not develop arm problems like many hard throwers).
Because of the above, when he hits 30 and his fastball slows down, he'll still be able to get hitters out, changing speeds, moving the ball around, and working the hitters.
This kid Strasburg is the genuine article. He's Washington's 21st Century Walter Johnson (Johnson was 5-9 his rookie year, and was a first ballot hall of famer - Strasburg is already 2-0).
Bob K.| 6.16.10 @ 11:37AM
It's a little bit early to compare him to Walter Johnson who ended up with 110 shutouts and who also threw sidearm and never had arm trouble. (Not only that, I believe he also holds the major league record for home runs HIT by a pitcher!)
Let us see if he gets as good as Tim Lincecum has been over the last 3 years or so. Or Roy Halladay has been over the last 10 years.
Johnny Crockett| 6.16.10 @ 7:31PM
No, Bob K. the late, great Warren Spahn (winnest left hander in baseball history, despite 4+ years as an Army Air Corps. pilot in WW2) has the major league record for home runs by a pitcher.
Ammo Guy| 6.16.10 @ 9:14AM
Then again there is Karl Spooner. But, for the sake of professional sports in DC, I hope he is the 2nd coming of old Walter.
Bill| 6.16.10 @ 9:21AM
Herb Score was the guy Gil McDougald hit in the face with the line drive! I couldn't get that incident separated from the Red Schoendienst incident. I heard that happen on the radio when I was a kid; I never forgot it. It affected my baseball play when I played baseball in pickup games with my friends. Thanks for naming the guy whose misfortune I remembered.
Bill| 6.16.10 @ 9:26AM
Getting old, I guess, or maybe I finally forgot it. There was no Red Schoendienst incident that relates. Sorry, disregard my fatuous message.
Ken in People's Republic of MD| 6.16.10 @ 9:26AM
Actually, JohnD, you are a little off base regarding Ben McDonald. The Orioles picked him number one of the 1989 draft and he made his ML debut the year he was drafted.
He put together a couple of good years with mediocre Orioles teams, 13, 13, and 14 games from 92 to 94. In 1994, he was 14-7 for the second place Orioles, and he might have won 20 had it not been for the strike. But, we could already see that his arm was wearing down.
He went to LSU and in his senior year, they pitched him almost everyday in their quest to win the College World Series. There were questions about whether he would hold up and some thought he should not have been picked number one for that very reason. He certainly was the top pitcher of the draft, the only other first round pitcher who did anything was Cal Eldred, who put together a couple of nice years with Milwaukee.
So McDonald's failure to become a Hall of Famer had less to do with his reliance on his fastball than it did with his arm just wearing out. I had occasion to talk to Big Ben a couple of years ago, he's a great guy and would make a great pitching coach, and he agreed that his overuse in college really hurt his ML career.
BTW, other first round picks that year include, Frank Thomas, Mo Vaughn and Chuck Knoblauch.
JohnD| 6.16.10 @ 10:27AM
But I think you would have to agree he didn't live up to the hype. He was called "the greatest prospect ever" and he never really lived up to that.
You are right that they wore him out at LSU, and he was probably rushed to the majors by the Orioles.
Northern Rebel| 6.16.10 @ 12:52PM
It's never a good idea to call any kid a sure thing, can't miss player.
David Clyde
Tedh754| 6.16.10 @ 2:04PM
Sometimes players stay in the minors too long, always one year away from replacing a star (Think Greg Brock and Steve Garvey). Some come up right away and are successful (Think Dwight Gooden, before the personal problems). Boggs once said it is possible a player won't reach his potential until he comes up to the Bigs. Let's hope Strasburg stays healthy, he will be something to watch in the years ahead.
Faffnir| 6.16.10 @ 2:06PM
Let us not forget Mark Fydrich of the Detroit Tigers. Truly a phenom, he had a great rookie season, then I believe he injured himself and did not finish out his second. Rest in peace, Big Bird, I saw you pitch a great game.
Jack Smiles| 6.16.10 @ 9:28PM
Score swears the line drive didn't ruin him. He claims he hurt his arm the next spring.
Mark MacInnis| 6.17.10 @ 12:12AM
Ahhh. Baseball. The AMERICAN game. Betya Obama hates it....
Robert Ingold| 6.18.10 @ 6:11PM
Since Mark Fydrich has been mentioned, let me mention my all time favorite Detroit Tiger phenom: Al Kaline. He became the youngest player ever to win the AL batting crown and then went on to have a great twenty year, Hall of Fame career.
fdsj| 7.1.10 @ 5:08AM
beijing massage