What Strasburg has done that C.C., Verlander, and Beckett have not

by mattwelch on Jun 9, 2010 7:16 PM PDT

So, I was at the Strasburg game last night, and it was one of my very favorite baseball memories. Dude pitches to contact, but people can't make any. Crowd was geeked out of their skulls. That curveball is just unhittable. Great drama, and as in every Nats game I see, Adam Dunn homered. Awesome.

Stephen Strasburg struck out 14 batters in his debut game. Made me wonder, which strikeout pitchers have never struck out that many in a game? So I made a short list:

CC Sabathia (1601 Ks, top 10 six times)
Andy Pettitte (2201, top 10 four times)
Carlos Zambrano (1363, top 10 four times)
Tim Hudson (1436, top 10 four times)
Scott Kazmir (931, top 10 three times, led the league once)
Josh Beckett (1370, top 10 thrice)
Justin Verlander (817, top 10 twice, led the league once)
Roy Oswalt (1546, top 10 twice)
Aaron Harang (1170, top 10 twice, led the league once)
Kevin Millwood (1877, top 10 twice)
John Lackey (1242, top 10 twice)

Obviously plenty more where that came from, considering that only 51 players have accomplished the feat in the past two decades.

Baseball is cool.

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That must've been amazing!

I woudl’ve loved to be there!

Broken Wood...

by angelskid2210 on Jun 9, 2010 7:01 PM PDT reply actions

...and he got those 14 K's in 7 innings.

The guy is a freak…and I wish I had been there to see it!

BTW, I have heard some “critics” say that it was only against Pittsburg, as though that somehow undermines the achievement. This post is a nice rebuttal to that point of view.

by sothball on Jun 9, 2010 7:43 PM PDT reply actions

Well, Pittsburgh does suck

Leadoff hitter swings at a 2-0 pitch; #2 guy at a 3-1, both of which were about the last times he was behind in the count.

But yeah, he was something else. Best you can do is wait for his 90 mph changeup, looks like, though maybe that had lateral movement that I couldn’t see.

by mattwelch on Jun 9, 2010 7:50 PM PDT up reply actions

I caught the highlights on MLB.com...

…it seemed like every pitch had moderate to excellent movement. What struck me the most is his delivery seems effortless. I’m not sure it actually is effortless, but it sure looks that way.

He reminds me of LeBron James…a guy with talent well above and beyond the balance of us mere mortals.

by sothball on Jun 9, 2010 8:12 PM PDT up reply actions

Maybe he's a demigod? Son of Zeus?

Whatever he is, he brings a new level of excitement to baseball, and I look forward to watching him.

by Monkeyspanked on Jun 10, 2010 7:10 AM PDT up reply actions

Change is definitely the weakest pitch...

…but that’s because the movement on the others is so extreme. The lateral movement on his fastball is darkly comical.

A bit like saying a leopard is less ferocious than a lion – it’s all relative, either way you’ll want to run away in a hurry.

I see red people

by The Limey on Jun 10, 2010 4:05 AM PDT up reply actions

You rule.

I saw Ken Griffey Jr. in spring training in 1989, right before he began his major league career, and I remember thinking … there goes a future Hall of Famer. He was 19 years old and just had that aura.

What you saw yesterday topped that.

Rory Markas. Alex Chilton. 2010, you suck!

by LazorkoRules on Jun 9, 2010 7:53 PM PDT reply actions

I would say you should watch more Nationals games so Dunn can jack more HRs for my fantasy team

but I just traded him for Tex so you can officially not watch anymore ever again k thnx bai =P

I brought sexy back, but they only gave me store credit....

by PhiSlamma on Jun 9, 2010 9:26 PM PDT reply actions

incredible stuff

But to play devil’s advocate, how many times does a pitcher nobody’s seen do well? I’m not trying to diminish this great accomplishment, but should we wait to anoint him to the HOF before he’s seen teams a few times? We saw Lackey and Weaver dominate when they first came up, only to see batters adjust.

by yeswecan on Jun 9, 2010 9:43 PM PDT reply actions

Maybe like a certain RP coming up in the 02 postseason?
A pitcher will almost always get the advantage of being new because the opponent won’t know his delivery, his pitches, etc… K-Rod at least played against the best teams back in 02 (Yanks, Twins, Giants with Bonds), while Stratsburg got his 1st start against a top tier AAA team. He definitely is good, but how he responds against a real MLB club when they start catching up to him is another story.

by phoenix15 on Jun 9, 2010 10:08 PM PDT up reply actions

I was frequently reminded of '02 K-Rod, yes

The way they were totally defenseless against the breaking pitch, missing it by a foot and more.

by mattwelch on Jun 10, 2010 4:25 AM PDT up reply actions

They'll adjust eventually

but, much as I love Weaver and like(d) Lackey, they are no Strasburg in terms of raw talent.

by Caseys Kiss of Death on Jun 9, 2010 10:49 PM PDT up reply actions

Well, click the link

There are some losers among the 14-strikeout club — Jeff Fassero! Jeff Juden! Todd Stottlemyre! — but basically it’s a list of very good & Hall of Fame pitchers.

by mattwelch on Jun 10, 2010 4:24 AM PDT up reply actions

Not like Strasburg though

He didn’t set a record for most strikeouts in a debut (15, J.R. Richard and Karl Spooner), but 14 strikeouts without a walk has never been done before, at least since 1920. The previous high for most K without walking anyone in a debut was 10.

The HK-47 hitting droid is the finest line drive machine ever built

by RallyMonkey5 on Jun 10, 2010 5:51 AM PDT up reply actions