Our Daily Dread: Strasburg's bonus, baby
My son was telling me about his pitching performance on Sunday -- a complete-game shutout, scattered eight hits, struck out 14. And he even went 2-for-3 at the plate.
It's an adult hardball league in San Diego, where he spends his weekends while going to school for his (extended) senior year at San Diego State.
Yes, he's an adult .... by all legal means. And with this sidearm delivery and harnessing a managable curve ball, he's enjoying the times he can mow down guys twice his age. I want to get in the box against him and .... try to make contact.
My son is by no means Steven Strasburg -- they won't be calling his name during the MLB Network's coverage of the amateur draft today in a 2 1/2 hour show that starts at 3 p.m. But I wonder about what could happened if my son, who had a decent finish to his high-school days as a relief pitcher, walked up to Tony Gwynn four years ago and offered to throw for him. Maybe he'd have been picking up a few saves during Strausburg's season that has apparently vaulted him to the No. 1 spot on the Washington Nationals' wishlist for today's draft.
And, years from now, my son could say he had something to do with him becoming one of the highest-paid pitchers in amateur draft history.
They will still be talking about Strausburg later this summer, when he could even be throwing in the bigs, right? Or years from now, when he's not lived up to all the hype?
Watch him strike out 23 Utah batters in a game on April 11, when he had a one-hit complete-game shutout:
The new issue of Sports Illustrated coming out this week has a piece where writer Lee Jenkins interviews several former phenoms who had that "can't miss" label pinned on them. And they kinda missed. Or at least, had mixed results.
Those interviewed: Paul Pettit (1950), Lew Krausse ('61), David Clyde ('73), Floyd Bannister ('76), Tim Belcher ('83), Bobby Witt ('85), Andy Benes ('88), Matt Anderson ('97) and Mark Prior ('01) -- each was the top overall pitcher selected in his draft.
Here are some excerpts:
== From Pettit, a "bonus baby" with the Pittsburgh Pirates who ended up as a first baseman after his arm betrayed him: "They didn't have radar guns when I was coming up. They didn't have the draft either. But I would have been what you call the No. 1 pick. There was a producer in Hollywood--a foreign guy named Frederick Stephani--who wanted to make sports movies. He had the idea of picking out an athlete who would become famous, quote unquote. He knew I would be cheap compared to Ted Williams or Joe DiMaggio. That's how I became the first player with an agent."
Pettit, for what it's worth, got into education and was the assistant principal at my high school in the late '70s.
== From Benes: "I got the largest bonus at the time, $235,000. We were sitting at dinner last night talking about the million-dollar bonuses first-round picks get now, and my son said, 'I bet you wish you could get that?' I told him, 'I'll take my 235 [wins] and 15 years in the big leagues.' It's very hard when you always have to validate what you've been paid."
== From Clyde: "My last game was in the instructional league with the Astros. I've thrown my eighth warmup pitch, and as I give that O.K. sign to send it down to second base, I asked myself, What are you doing here? Never in my life had I asked what I was doing on a baseball field. At that point, I knew it was time to walk away. I didn't realize I was 27 days from my pension, but at that point it didn't matter. Obviously, I'd love to have it now."
(Here's a link to a story on the Bleacher Report with the headline: "Even If He's The Next David Clyde, Nationals Must Draft Steven Strasburg")
== From Krause: "I still sometimes have these dreams where I'm pitching that day but can't find my glove or my hat and am late to the ballpark and missed the bus and can't catch a cab. I went to counseling when I was out of baseball, and they said, 'Lew, it's because in your mind you left the game before you were mentally ready, and you have to accept the fact that you had a good career and did things other people wish they could have done.' This kid in San Diego sounds like he's got all the physical tools. God, I hope they take care of him emotionally."
Then you've got the story still lingering of Matt Harrington.
The former Palmdale High sensation with a 97 mph fastball, a first-round pick in 2000, holds the record for most times being chose in the amateur draft --five, through 2004. Six years of botched negotiations. He finally signed as a free-agent with the Cubs in 2006. Without a signing bonus. Without a guarantee to make the team out of spring training.
He turned down a $3.7 million deal with Colorado. Then $1.2 million with San Diego, when Scott Boras stepped in as his rep.
Harrington got lost pitching for independent teams in the minor leagues. According to a recent ESPN magazine story, he's now changing tires at a Costco store outside of Dallas.
Boras represents Strausburg -- not to muck up the process or anything. And there's word that Boras won't settle for anything less than a $50 million package for Stasburg, putting the pressure on the nation's capital to come out with some extreme bailout money for the local franchise. The Nationals are in the same state of mind as the Rangers where when they picked Clyde out of high school. Except Strasburg has proven himself at the next level -- college.
Please, listen to what the former big-league hard-ball signees have said and let the kid not have to live up to tremendous expectations. It's not that easy.
Especially not as easy as striking out 14 in an adult league. But, at least there's no pressure to live up to a contract, and you still get to enjoy the game. Even icing down the arm and taking Advil the next day.
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