Washington Nationals: Stephen Strasburg setting future trends
In 2017, Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg did away with pitching from the windup. The National League’s third-place Cy Young winner found success while performing exclusively from the stretch. Will this trend catch on?
When I played little league baseball, the coaches got the odd idea to let me pitch sometimes. I wasn’t amazing, but I did strikeout a handful of ten-year-olds during my tenure. Due to laziness and not ingenuity, I never threw a single pitch from the windup. Every ball I tossed to home plate came from the stretch. It never caught on with my peers.
Years later, Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg decided to do the same. He spent last season sans windup. The results were far better than what I did back in 1998 while representing a local fuel company. Strasburg’s statistics were amazing enough to land him a third-place finish in the Cy Young voting.
Stephen Strasburg’s numbers
The numbers speak for themselves. Stephen Strasburg delivered a 15-4 record and a career-best 2.52 ERA. Maybe most noteworthy of all, Strasburg held batters to only 0.7 home runs per nine. On a team with Max Scherzer throwing regular gopher balls despite his dominance, there’s something to this. I wonder if more pitchers will try the Stephen Strasburg Way.
Although Strasburg struck out batters at a slightly lower rate, he gave up far fewer hits than we are used to. Is the stretch the only reason why? Or has Strasburg finally reached his prime?
Thoughts on why the stretch works
All pitchers throw from the stretch throughout a game. Whenever a ball drops in for a hit or an umpire has a vendetta against the pitcher and gives the batter a free pass, the windup transforms into the stretch.
For me, pitching from the stretch always felt more locked in. The windup requires a couple of dance moves on the mound. The stretch is one quick step forward, toward the target. Mentally, this was far less exhausting.
Whether or not this is why Strasburg succeeded remains unknown. However, he did have this to say earlier this offseason at WinterFest:
“I think it benefited me most by just being more consistent to home plate. It opened up different ways to attack guys. There were guys that kind of had my number, and facing them again, giving them a different look, kind of showed me that maybe I was doing something that was giving them an advantage, so I don’t know whether it’s something that they see with me tipping my pitches, or my timing to home plate, there are a variety of things, but I think as a pitcher you’ve got to focus on what you can control, and that’s doing everything you can to keep them off-balance.”
Washington Nationals should find a guinea pig
Following the success Strasburg had, the Washington Nationals should consider finding a guinea pig in their minor league system. A talented pitcher in need of a change would be the perfect candidate.
Off the top of my head, Joan Baez is a prospect who could benefit from a change. The young righty finished 2017 with 65 strikeouts as opposed to 66 walks. Though he limited batters to only three home runs, Baez’s control issues will limit his advancement.
Strasburg and the Nationals may have stumbled on the next big trend with pitchers. What works for one man, may not work for all. Even so, getting this version of Strasburg for the rest of his career will surely help them reap the rewards of this experiment.