First, you have to understand Nationals Park looks nothing like Busch Stadium on game days. I went to two Cardinals vs. Nationals games last year. The first time I paid $25, sat 10 rows back by third base and had a total of about 30 people in the general area around me. The next time, I was in center-right field but the stadium was similarly very NOT crowded. I think my ticket cost $10-15.
Tonight, I paid $33 for a right field, middle deck ticket. I had to wait in line for a hot dog and beer. There were few empty seats around us. And the game was sold out. All because of Strasburg.
I'm not a pitching expert and my seat didn't offer the best view of his pitches, but they looked darn good. He was consistently throwing 98-99 mph. (I'm curious whether the scoreboard is set up to show 100+ mph pitches since it appears to only have room for two digits.) And he was consistently stunning the batters. Lots of swings and misses.
And Strasburg set yet another record (the most strikeouts through three starts to begin a career — hey, there's a record for everything).
I was a little stunned to realize his batting average is .000. "Maybe that's for the game?" I thought when I first noticed it. Then I realized it was career. To be fair, he only had three at-bats in his career at that point (and, yes, he's a pitcher) but I guess I was hoping for SOMETHING. Perhaps he can set some record with that too? (How many at-bats has someone gone and kept a perfect .000?)
From the story on MLB.com (because they can give stats better than I can):
The highlight of the game was Strasburg, who lasted seven innings, allowed one run on four hits, struck out 10 batters and walked none. He threw 85 pitches and felt he could have gone longer.I don't have much loyalty to the Nationals, but they are my new hometown team (though the Cardinals are still tops!), and it is pretty exciting to have something to be excited about on the team. Maybe I'll even buy a Nats shirt one of these days.
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