I made a promise to myself before the baseball season started that I would attend Stephen Strasburg’s major league where ever it was. Of course I was betting on the fact that there was a 99.9 percent chance that Strasburg would make his debut at home, so a trip from New York to DC was no big deal.
So when Washington Nationals’ GM Mike Rizzo announced that Strasburg will make his major league debut on June 8, I immediately got excited. That is until I checked my calendar.
On June 8th, I will be in Orlando attending a Salon/Spa tradeshow for work. Seriously, just kill me now.
While I won’t be able to attend next Tuesday night’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, I would imagine there will be around 35,000 plus who will. The Nationals average 20,760 a game, which ranks 24th in baseball, and Strasburg should give them a tremendous attendance boost.
If you think about it, how many people would attend a Nationals/Pirates game on a Tuesday night if Strasburg wasn’t pitching? 15,000 at the most? Strasburg’s debut will be a nice revenue boost for the Nationals.
Not only was it smart for the Nationals to start Strasburg on a Tuesday night, but it was also smart for the Nationals to start Strasburg against the Pirates. The Pirates are 15th in the NL in runs scored and 15th in OPS, so Strasburg is getting almost the worst of the NL has to offer.
In 10 minor league starts between Double A and Triple A, Strasburg is 6-2 with a 1.43 ERA and has 60 strikeouts in 50.1 IP.
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