Here are 10 of the main storylines in baseball this season that will dominate the rest of spring training as we inch toward Opening Day.
Spring Training Questions to Prepare For Opening Day
Showing posts with label baseball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baseball. Show all posts
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Why Strasburg should be in the All-Star game
Major League Baseball has an opportunity this month to parlay some built-in star power and extend the excitement of Stephen Strasburg’s rookie season.
Two losses, including Monday’s poor 7th inning, aside, the Washington Nationals' phenom should be on the National League roster for the All-Star game in Anaheim, Calif.
The traditional format of an all-star game makes it easy for Charlie Manuel of the Phillies to select Strasburg. Most pitchers go one inning – so the Nationals shouldn’t have to worry about a pitch count – and the overriding reason for the exhibition in the first place is it’s a treat for the fans.
Speaking of the fans, check the turnstile at Monday's game in Atlanta for Exhibit A of how much fans care. In the days between Strasburg's last start and Monday, the Braves sold more than 21,000 tickets, and nearly 10,000 on Monday alone. It's not like this was Chicago or Philadelphia. Atlanta is arguable the most apathetic sports town in the country, especially on a non-holiday Monday. But they showed up for the Strasburg sensation.
His numbers are historic. In his first four starts, he broke a 55-year strikeout record when he recorded 41 strikeouts.
That came after he fanned 32 in his first three starts, the most since J.R. Richard struck out 29 in 1971.
He has superstar power rarely seen in baseball. As Mark Bradley wrote in the AJC, it's usually seen in the NBA.
Don't give me the tired, old man argument of "paying dues" or he hasn't been in the majors long enough. If you're all-star caliber and the fans want you there, you should be there. There should be 15 pitchers on the roster. Not only is Strasburg among the top 15, he’s probably in the top five.
Strasburg's stats further help the argument. Despite virtually no run support in two losses, Strasburg has struck out 48, walked seven in 31 2/3 innings. How is he not among the best 10-12 pitchers in the National League? Before Strasburg's debut, Curt Shilling said he might be the best pitcher in the league, and not many have argued against that in his first five starts.
The National League’s 13-game losing streak in the All-Star game should be more of a reason to select him.
Major League Baseball has fallen behind the NFL and NBA in the way it markets its superstars. Well, this is its best young superstar in at least 30 years, and to grow the game and bring in both the traditional and casual fan, MLB needs Strasburg in the Midsummer Classic.
Especially because home field advantage is at stake, the NL has a better chance of winning if he’s on the mound. He should be there, regardless of his age or experience.
Two losses, including Monday’s poor 7th inning, aside, the Washington Nationals' phenom should be on the National League roster for the All-Star game in Anaheim, Calif.
The traditional format of an all-star game makes it easy for Charlie Manuel of the Phillies to select Strasburg. Most pitchers go one inning – so the Nationals shouldn’t have to worry about a pitch count – and the overriding reason for the exhibition in the first place is it’s a treat for the fans.
Speaking of the fans, check the turnstile at Monday's game in Atlanta for Exhibit A of how much fans care. In the days between Strasburg's last start and Monday, the Braves sold more than 21,000 tickets, and nearly 10,000 on Monday alone. It's not like this was Chicago or Philadelphia. Atlanta is arguable the most apathetic sports town in the country, especially on a non-holiday Monday. But they showed up for the Strasburg sensation.
His numbers are historic. In his first four starts, he broke a 55-year strikeout record when he recorded 41 strikeouts.
That came after he fanned 32 in his first three starts, the most since J.R. Richard struck out 29 in 1971.
He has superstar power rarely seen in baseball. As Mark Bradley wrote in the AJC, it's usually seen in the NBA.
Don't give me the tired, old man argument of "paying dues" or he hasn't been in the majors long enough. If you're all-star caliber and the fans want you there, you should be there. There should be 15 pitchers on the roster. Not only is Strasburg among the top 15, he’s probably in the top five.
Strasburg's stats further help the argument. Despite virtually no run support in two losses, Strasburg has struck out 48, walked seven in 31 2/3 innings. How is he not among the best 10-12 pitchers in the National League? Before Strasburg's debut, Curt Shilling said he might be the best pitcher in the league, and not many have argued against that in his first five starts.
The National League’s 13-game losing streak in the All-Star game should be more of a reason to select him.
Major League Baseball has fallen behind the NFL and NBA in the way it markets its superstars. Well, this is its best young superstar in at least 30 years, and to grow the game and bring in both the traditional and casual fan, MLB needs Strasburg in the Midsummer Classic.
Especially because home field advantage is at stake, the NL has a better chance of winning if he’s on the mound. He should be there, regardless of his age or experience.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Wooden and Strasburg offer some perspective
In the last week, we’ve recalled the unparalleled career of John Wooden with all of his wisdom-drenched quotes, and then given tremendous hope for baseball in Washington D.C., which has starved for this kind of baseball success in the form of Stephen Strasburg for more than 30 years. It's been an end of an era, and the beginning of another, within days.
Wooden's graciousness was highlighted when he welcomed nearly every autograph seeker, and continued to write love letters to his wife decades after she passed away. While his 88-game winning streak and 10 National Championships are eye-popping, it’s his humble and soft-spoken personality that resonates today.
Perhaps because it’s so rare.
With 14 strikeouts in seven innings, Strasburg lived up to the impossible hype of today's social media and 24-hour news cycle culture where everything is magnified.
In a time where there is incredible divide and conflict in news and politics, it's refreshing, once again, to be reminded that sports is the place to go for hope, wisdom and perspective. It's lessons on how to handle yourself with all of life's adversity and ups and downs. Through it all, we are reminded that simplicity and focus are most important. If you listen to Wooden's wisdom, you make it routine to help someone every day, to make your small slice of the world a better place.
“You can’t live a perfect day,” Wooden once said, “without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.”
It’s important to note that in the age of multi-million dollar contracts for college and pro coaches and players, one of the top five coaches of all-time, in any sport, made less than $40,000 per year in the peak of his career.
If you observed Strasburg, who by the way signed for $15.1 million last summer, I hope you took away his sharp focus to simply do his job, while using a rare combination of God-given ability and work ethic. That in front of more than 40,000 fans in the stands, and millions more on TV and radio, he kept the blinders on.
It’s nearly impossible to live up to the pre-game hype, and only the 2006 Texas-USC National Championship, and the sustained careers of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady come close to doing so in recent memory. But Strasburg exceeded the hype in a revolutionary way.
Given the passing of one great contributor to sports and life lessons, and the hope and optimism of the dawning of a new superstar, stop and realize the era that we live in and how these types of things rarely come along in a week’s time.
Wooden's graciousness was highlighted when he welcomed nearly every autograph seeker, and continued to write love letters to his wife decades after she passed away. While his 88-game winning streak and 10 National Championships are eye-popping, it’s his humble and soft-spoken personality that resonates today.
Perhaps because it’s so rare.
With 14 strikeouts in seven innings, Strasburg lived up to the impossible hype of today's social media and 24-hour news cycle culture where everything is magnified.
In a time where there is incredible divide and conflict in news and politics, it's refreshing, once again, to be reminded that sports is the place to go for hope, wisdom and perspective. It's lessons on how to handle yourself with all of life's adversity and ups and downs. Through it all, we are reminded that simplicity and focus are most important. If you listen to Wooden's wisdom, you make it routine to help someone every day, to make your small slice of the world a better place.
“You can’t live a perfect day,” Wooden once said, “without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.”
It’s important to note that in the age of multi-million dollar contracts for college and pro coaches and players, one of the top five coaches of all-time, in any sport, made less than $40,000 per year in the peak of his career.
If you observed Strasburg, who by the way signed for $15.1 million last summer, I hope you took away his sharp focus to simply do his job, while using a rare combination of God-given ability and work ethic. That in front of more than 40,000 fans in the stands, and millions more on TV and radio, he kept the blinders on.
It’s nearly impossible to live up to the pre-game hype, and only the 2006 Texas-USC National Championship, and the sustained careers of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady come close to doing so in recent memory. But Strasburg exceeded the hype in a revolutionary way.
Given the passing of one great contributor to sports and life lessons, and the hope and optimism of the dawning of a new superstar, stop and realize the era that we live in and how these types of things rarely come along in a week’s time.
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