Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
June 11, 2009, Washington Post

Nationals Go for Star Power in Draft

The Washington Nationals selected Stephen Strasburg, a pitcher from San Diego State University, as the Number 1 pick in the Major League Baseball draft Tuesday.

So does that mean Strasburg will be a star for the Nats? And will the sad-sack team finally start to get better?

Let's take a look.

Strasburg does seem special. He had a record of 13 wins and 1 loss with an earned run average of 1.32 as a junior at San Diego State this past season. (An earned run average, called an ERA, is the average number of earned runs a pitcher allows over nine innings.) Strasburg throws his fastball at more than 100 miles per hour! That's really fast. The average major leaguer throws his fastest pitch around 90 miles per hour.

Any pitcher who strikes out one batter every inning is terrific. This season Strasburg struck out 195 batters in just 109 innings. And Strasburg has good control; he walked only 19 batters.

Still, there are no guarantees, even for the first player picked in the draft. The best college or high school player does not always make the best pro. Just like the best player in fifth grade is not always the big star in high school.

Of course, some of the best players in baseball, such as Ken Griffey Junior, Alex "A-Rod" Rodriguez, Chipper Jones and Joe Mauer, were once the Number 1 pick. But have you ever heard of Steve Chilcott, Al Chambers or Matt Bush? They were Number 1 picks, too.

It's even trickier when a pitcher is the top draft choice. Between 1965 and 2005, 10 pitchers were the Number 1 pick. Only four of them won more than 100 big-league games during their careers. And none of those 10 pitchers became Hall of Fame members or big stars.

Even if Strasburg turns out to be terrific, it won't mean that the Nats automatically will be a great team. Remember: A starting pitcher plays only every fourth or fifth game. He can't help his team win the other games.

In 1972, future Hall of Fame pitcher Steve Carlton had a record of 27-10 for the Philadelphia Phillies. But that year the Phillies were the worst team in the National League, with a record of 59-97. Carlton stuck with the Phillies as they got some better players, including Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt. The Phillies, led by Carlton and Schmidt, won the World Series in 1980.

Right now, the Nationals are the worst team in baseball. They will need lots of good pitchers and other good players to get better.

The Nats, and their fans, are hoping Stephen Strasburg can be one of those good players.

Fred Bowen writes KidsPost's sports opinion column and is an author of sports novels for kids.

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