This is the story of Stephen Strasburg, a senior at San Diego State. A couple of years ago he was, “…a good 30 pounds overweight. He couldn’t run a few laps without getting sick. He didn’t know how to bench press. The school’s conditioning coach nicknamed him “Slothburg†and told him he ought to quit on the spot.” (Steve Henson, Yahoo! Sports)
But Strasburg’s coach, Hall-of-Famer Tony Gwynn, stuck with him and was rewarded with his pitcher’s emergence as one of the most dominating pitchers in college baseball today. He now can throw a fastball as fast as 103 mph. (The all-time record is 104.8 (Baseball Almanac).)
In a recent game against Utah, he struck out 23 batters (there are only 27 outs in a game). Here’s a video of each strikeout…it takes awhile, but if you like to watch good pitchers, it’s worth the time.
[youtube]8pVyw2JlloM[/youtube]Steve Henson of Yahoo! Sports wrote a nice article on the kid – “Strasburg is on the all-time fastest track” – it’s worth a read.
