In most people's minds you think of Washington D.C. as a football town with the Redskins. With deserved honor of this the Redskins considered to be one of the greatest NFL franchises with many trips to the playoffs, Hall of Famer's, the great coaches of ages past, and the Super Bowl wins.
For most people, the Washington Nationals, were more considered to be the opposite. Before the Nationals came to Washington, they were the Montreal Expos, established in 1969. Since they were moved to Washington in 2005 they've never had a winning season. Their only .500 season was their first, and things haven't improved from 2006 to 2009 the win totals for the Nationals are: 71, 73, 59, and 59 again. The hardships have also brought new light to Washington Nationals baseball fans, in this case a 1st round draft pick.
Last year's MLB Draft, the Nationals were on the clock for the first pick, with most experts chosing Strasburg to be #1 overall, the Nats chose thus. Starting the season off the Nationals made the prospect work for a spot on the rotation for the Nationals. After months of hard work and strive and dedication the kid from San Diego will make his first Major League start on June 8th, 2010, a day that perhaps all baseball fans will watch, and perhaps Bud Selig will watch, of course if Strasburg goes perfect he would have to give him the perfect game after all (wink, wink).
The numbers he has posted in the Minors goes like this (combined from his AA-AAA starts):
ERA: 1.30, W-L 7-2, 65 Strikeouts, pitched for 55.1 innings, allowed 13 walks, 31 hits, 14 runs, and 8 earned runs.
If Strausburg does well as the draft experts predicted that he would, he would be a formidable pitcher in the Majors and a piece for the Nationals to use for years to come. Of course 1 team doesn't become a World Series winner with one piece, it has to be a team-oriented piece and it will take the Nationals a few years to be competitive in the National League East. It will help the Nats get there however. If he doesn't succeed then a wasted draft pick will befall the Nationals. Not the storybook ending for a Nats fan to endure.
The last time a baseball team actually won in Washington seems like a distant memory to most people, even to our generation. If the Nationals succeed, it will be the first time since 1924, when Walter Johnson's Senators brought him the championship that he deserved. Johnson arguably the greatest pitcher who ever lived is on a different cloud than Strasburg at least as of tonight. Tomorrow night, the future of Nationals baseball will come to a head.
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