Tim Kurkjian, my favorite of all the baseball commentators, interviewed rookie goldenboy Stephen Strasburg after his MLB Debut. Strasburg who was the #1 overall pick in the 2009 MLB Draft, was given a boatload of money in signing bonuses and has a lot of expectations tied to his very young professional baseball career. And rightly so. Strasburg is being called the greatest pitching prospect of recent memory (if not all-time) and in one college game he struck out 23 batters - an amazing feat. Being drafted by the Washington Nationals, a perennial cellar-dwelling team, may not have been what Stephen was hoping for but the Nationals have treated him right and a couple of days ago when he made his MLB debut the stadium was packed (a rarity) and some 200 press credentials were issued.
Up until the 7:05pm first pitch, Strasburg was all conjecture and hype. 23 strikeouts in college was awesome but it was college. He has been dominate in the minor leagues but minor league hitters swing at anything. Years and years of "phenoms" have come and gone with many ending up pumping gas by the time they are 25. Sadly, experience tells us that rarely, if ever, does "real life" live up to our expectations. Many times our hopes and dreams are all too lofty to ever fully manifest themselves in reality. For every lottery winner there are countless numbers of folks who were sure their numbers were golden and the money was already spent in their minds. Sadly sometimes hype is just hype...except when it isn't.
Stephen Strasburg took the mound for the Washington Nationals and proceeded to dominate the Pittsburgh Pirates. Over 7 innings Strasburg struck out 14 batters, one shy of tying the MLB Debut record of 15, and looked better and better as the game went on. Fanning 9 of the final 10 batters he faced, Stephen was nothing short of amazing. In Kurkjian's post-game interview of the shaving-cream covered Strasburg, Kurkjian asks Strasburg if reality has lived up to his dreams. Watch the interview to see Strasburg's answer.
What are our dreams? Are they fodder for reality? Do we pin unrealistic expectations and hopes on individuals and situations only to come away disappointed? Certainly there are some who saw Strasburg's outing and walked away upset that he didn't perform like they wanted. Today is a good day to ask ourselves what can we do to make our dreams into hope. Dreaming of loosing 150 pounds can be anchored in the hope for a healthy future and a better body image. When we deal in hope we can find strength in the transformative work of the Holy Spirit, who transforms all things into a fuller and truer expression than we could ever accomplish on our own.
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