In its first issue of 2024, the venerable Baseball Digest chose Stephen Strasburg’s 2010 debut, at Nationals Park against Pittsburgh, as the greatest first-game performance in MLB history.
Clearly, because of the hype surrounding Strasburg’s selection as the first player chosen in the 2009 draft, and his short but dominant two stops in the minors, his debut was easily the most anticipated. For a Nationals team about to suffer through finishing last in the division for the third straight season, it was a sign of better days to come.
On that Tuesday evening in early June, the 21-year-old phenom from San Diego State didn’t disappoint. He set an American League record for strikeouts in a debut by fanning 14 of the 24 Pirates who batted during his seven innings — and he didn’t walk anybody. As advertised, his fastball reached 100 mph. He gave up two runs on four hits but fanned the last seven men he faced. The crowd of 40,315, supplemented by more than 200 members of the media, knew immediately that Strasburg was special. They stood and cheered him on every time he got to two strikes. (Watching on MLB.TV from my home in New Jersey, I felt chills as it was clear he was the real deal. I regretted even more that a rainout had kept me from seeing him pitch for AA Harrisburg in April.)
Pitch after pitch, Strasburg kept his cool and kept pounding the strike zone.
“I thought I was going to be a lot more nervous than I was,” Strasburg told reporters after the game. “It’s kind of like when you get married. You go into it wanting to really remember everything, and once it is done, you can’t remember a single thing.”
Strasburg struck out the side in the second and had fanned six before yielding a two-out, two-run, homer to Delwyn Young in the fourth. But the fire-balling righty wasn’t rattled. He ended his night with the team-record-tying seven consecutive strikeouts.
The 14 punch-outs set a Nationals’ single-game record at the time. Several seasons later, Strasburg teammate Max Scherzer struck out 15 and then as many as 20, tying the MLB record for a nine-inning game.
Strasburg got support in the form of long-balls from Washington’s 3-4-5 hitters: Ryan Zimmerman’s solo shot in the first gave the Nationals the lead, Adam Dunn’s two-run blast in the sixth, followed by Josh Willingham’s solo homer put Washington up 4-2. Zimmerman and Dunn each had three hits. The final score was 5-2.
Catching Strasburg that night was veteran Ivan Rodriguez. “This kid is unbelievable,” the future Hall-of-Famer said. The rookie’s 94 pitches included a fastball that averaged 99 mph, a knee-bucking curve and a nasty change-up. His game score was 75. Tyler Clippard pitched the eighth and Matt Capps earned his 16th save in the ninth.
The headlines the next day and the day after in newspapers across the country were gushing: “Exceeding the hype,” “Dazzling debut, ” and the like. Before the week ended, Strasburg had appeared on David Letterman’s late night show. ESPN, which broadcast his debut, replaced its scheduled Sunday night game to feature Strasburg’s second start.
Baseball Digest had 20 players on its list of greatest debuts. Cecil Travis of the 1933 Senators, the only player in the 20th Century to get five hits in his debut, was ranked no. 10. He also was the only player on the list who debuted in the 1930s, farther back than any of the 20 on the list. The next oldest debut took place in 1942.
The Giants’ Willie McCovey (July 30, 1959) and Juan Marichal (July 19, 1960) were the only Hall-of-Famers whose debuts were on the list. They were ranked ninth and 10th respectively by long-time baseball writer Dom Amore.
Check out SABR’s Steven C. Weiner’s Games Project essay on Strasburg’s debut for a comprehensive look at game.
Strasburg’s rookie season was cut short in August by a torn UCL that required Tommy John surgery. He missed most of 2011, but helped the Nationals win their first N.L. East title in 2012. Even so, he was famously and controversially shut down that September.
In 2019, however, after helping the Nationals get there, his performance against Houston earned him the most valuable player award in the 2019 World Series, when a Washington team won its first championship since 1924.
He signed a long-term deal with the Nationals that off-season, but his career was soon cur short by injuries. Yet true Nationals fans know that Strasburg’s debut was a turning point for the team. Washington went on to post eight consecutive winning seasons (2012-2019) and capture four National League East titles during his tenure.
“You talk about an ultra-competitor, (he) wasn’t afraid to take the ball in the toughest and most unique situations and perform admirably.” Nats’ head honcho Mike Rizzo said of Strasburg in February 2023, when it was evident the end was near. “We built this franchise on the back of him.”
A version of this appeared on Feb. 10, 2024, in Here’s the Pitch, the daily online newsletter of the internet Baseball Writers Association.
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