Motivational Story - Stephen Strasburg (Washington Nationals / MLB)

Greetings! If you watched the 2019 Major League Baseball World Series, you would have seen one of the greatest pitching performances ever by one Stephen Strasburg. He led the Washington Nationals to the Championship. He became the first pitcher ever to go 5-0 in a single post-season and struck out 71 batters in 55 innings pitched. He was the runaway choice for World Series MVP!

This week’s piece is again going to show you that being a top ranked prospect or veteran player brings no guarantees or greatness? That at some point you have to learn how to ADAPT to your surroundings and deal with DISTRACTIONS? That you will need to FINE TUNE YOUR MECHANICS in order to stay productive. You will need a solid SUPPORT SYSTEM to take with you regardless of your competitive level – people that can help keep you grounded and focused!

Now back to Strasburg. When he played college ball at San Diego State, he was seen as a "lights out flame thrower" that had radar guns flashing three digits (100 mph) on most pitches and baseball people in awe of his talents! Evaluators hailed him as a “once-in-a-generation phenom!” He was acclaimed to be the best pitching prospect in baseball’s draft history!

The press had seemingly put him into the Hall of Fame as soon as the Nationals drafted him with the very first pick overall in 2009. Strasburg couldn’t get away from the oversized expectations early in his career. If he didn’t strike out ten hitters in a game or shut out the opponent, it was viewed as a disappointment?

He would blow out his elbow 11 starts after his big league debut in June, 2010 and be shut down for a year from Tommy John surgery. It was the start of a parade of nagging injuries he would suffer through in his first eight seasons that earned him the dreaded reputation for being injury prone. The Washington Post even ran a feature story once on Strasburg’s many trips (10) to the disabled list early in his career.

During that period, he also had a difficult time dealing with surprises? Ryan Zimmerman, his Nationals’ teammate, once said that Strasburg had to learn to stop “letting the little things bother him?” He was the type that would unravel if the pitching mound wasn't manicured just right? Or if the national anthem wasn’t sung at the normal time? If a strike wasn’t called by the umpire? He admitted later into his career, that those moments did affect his game concentration.

“I’ve learned that the ups and downs only makes you stronger mentally,” Strasburg said. It took him a quite a few years to learn how to deal with all the scrutiny and to be just the best version of himself. "I had to remind myself what was most important," he said. "It was my teammates, my wife, my two daughters and my family. I needed to focus more on my support system and take care of my personal life.”

With that stated, he also began a strategy of living in the moment to help rebuild his confidence. It came by not looking too far back or too far ahead. Just control his effort rather than be concerned about the outcome?

Strasburg labeled himself “young and dumb” when reflecting back on those early years of his pro career? His stats were better than average but never to a level that matched his draft hype? But, he wanted more out of himself and learned to evolve and adapt his game in the past three seasons (2017-19) from changing pitches to throwing the ball out of a stretch motion. He felt this new approach would simplify his mechanics for all of his pitches... and he guessed right!

Now, at the age of 31, many feel Strasburg will run the table for a number of years ahead and quite possibly get into the discussion of Hall of Fame worthy?

ALWAYS REMEMBER: “It is not the mountain we have to conquer but ourselves” – stated by Sir Edmund Hillary, who in 1953, became the first climber confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest.

Jim Loria