Nationals fans will not see or hear from pitcher Stephen Strasburg before the 21-year-old makes his much-anticipated major league debut Tuesday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The hype surrounding Strasburg’s ascension from the minor leagues has grown to epic proportions. Journalists from all over the country will be at Nationals Park to see last year’s No. 1 overall draft pick. Nats officials expect as many as 200 credentialed reporters — more than the team’s first game at Nationals Park in 2008. Strasburg only fueled the anticipation when he tore through Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Syracuse with a 7-2 record and a 1.30 ERA. That forced the team to create a media plan for Strasburg, who threw a scheduled bullpen session in Syracuse before his expected arrival in Washington on Sunday night.
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So far, the team has limited interviews to select media outlets and granted 15 minutes or so after each minor league start. He will not speak at all before his start Tuesday. That takes care of things off the field. But what about on it?
“Protect him? No. He’s a grown man,” said Nats catcher Ivan Rodriguez, who hopes to return from the disabled list to start Tuesday. “He’s going to be fine. He knows what he’s doing. The most impressive [thing] to me and pretty much all the guys here and the coaching staff is his attitude and his preparation and his focus when he’s pitching.”
