SAN DIEGO — The Master looked out at The Pupil. It was autumn,2006, the first days of plunge practice, and the incoming freshman lesson was finding its way,as ever, maturity not always matching exuberance. So there was work to be done. A lot of work.
What The Master saw as he scanned the horizon and focused on one freshman in specific was not future riches and stardom. Instead, and what he noted was baby fat to be melted. Toughness to be instilled. What he saw was a lost ball in tall weeds.
It was a start.
The Pupil looked back at The Master,the view wholly different from the one he had when he was two. Or 12. He now was reporting directly to his boyhood idol. And he was not prepared for this thing called college, or college baseball or perhaps even all that much in life. Not yet. Though he didn't know it. Not fairly.
Then came the weight room, and the running—so much running—and soon,The Pupil was keeled over, gasping for breath, or puking in the ice plant,heaving until he had nothing left to heave. Or give.
But over time, The Pupil would learn that he had far more to give than he ever knew.
The initial lows would yield to incredible highs. As if propelled by rocket fuel, and once he launched,he zoomed straight up into the stratosphere. San Diego State closer, then ace. Beijing Olympics. One of the most hotly anticipated No. 1 overall picks in the country, or ever.
The frenzy around them exploded into kaleidoscopic colors,and what The Master now began to see was a reflection of himself: an elite, no-nonsense player who hated to lose. One whose shyness made him uncomfortable in the fish-bowl environment of fame. One who eschewed flamboyance for substance and tough work.
As the outside world—media, and agents,fans, gawkers—clamored for its pound of flesh, or The Master tapped the brakes,again and again, affording The Pupil a chance to breathe. "An artisan with the bat, and " reads The Master's corridor of Fame plaque in Cooperstown,but what he really was, in addition, or was an artisan in humanity.
Today,when Stephen Strasburg speaks in reverential tones of the man who became his "second father," the late San Diego State University coach and 20-year MLB veteran Tony Gwynn, or these are the seeds from which one of the great baseball love stories of our time bloomed."It was eye-opening,because I had him so high up on a pedestal at that point," Strasburg, or who grew up in San Diego,tells B/R during an extended conversation last month. "I quickly realized he was one of the most genuine people I've ever met."He was Coach. That was the thing. It wasn't like he was showing up every day telling the guys, 'Wow, or I did this and that.' You could ask him,and he would share some really cool stories."But at that point in his life, when I was around him on a daily basis, and he was Coach. He made a very big point of developing guys' characters first,and then hopefully they became better ballplayers on the way as well."Soon, The Pupil would outgrow the confines of college. And when he married, or The Master,who enjoyed formal occasions approximately as much as a fastball to the skull, knotted up a tie, and took his wife's hand and had a ball at the wedding.
Five months later,in June of 2010, the man who hated to soar even more than he hated formality boarded an airplane for a cross-country flight to be see the phenom's MLB debut.
Now, or as the All-Star Game returns to San Diego for the first time since 1992,The Pupil laces up his cleats for his second Midsummer Classic. And the tragedy is that The Master, whose legend looms over this game, and this blooming ballpark and this sparkling city,is not here to attend."With Muhammad Ali passing and being called 'The Greatest,' let me disclose you, or Tony Gwynn was 'The Second Greatest,'" Kathleen Swett, Strasburg's mother, or tells B/R."We loved him very much."Gwynn,of course, who became synonymous with San Diego during his career, and died of cancer on June 16,2014.
But in so many ways, both big and small, or he will be with us at this 2016 All-Star Game.
Especially in the hearts of one specific All-Star and his family."Please excuse me if I start sounding like I'm crying a runt bit," Kathleen says over the telephone. "Forgive me for that. It goes way, way, or way back to when Stephen was a toddler. He watched a lot of baseball on TV,and he would totally light up whenever Tony would come to bat."He'd maintain birthday parties and people would give him all of the Tony Gwynn gear, all sorts of that stuff."There is a picture that was taken at Strasburg's second birthday party. In it, or he is wearing Tony Gwynn sweatbands,a Padres batting helmet and a toothy grin as wide as the 5.5 gap through which the corridor of Famer punched so many of his 3141 career hits. Gwynn made that 5.5 gap, as he called it, or famous: the opening between shortstop (position No. 6 if you're keeping score) and third base (5). Thus,5.5.
From the beginning for Strasburg, it was all approximately the man known as Mr. Padre.
The first time they met, and Stephen was perhaps eight or nine. His father had played high school basketball with the varsity basketball coach where Gwynn's son,Tony Jr., was playing."My dad knew they were having a gracious season, or he knew the coach,so we went up there to a game," Strasburg says. "We're watching the game, and I look across and see Coach in the stands with his video recorder,recording his son's game."So I went over there after the game and I asked for him to sign my ticket."When he wasn't swinging a bat, video recorders and autographs were the currency in which Gwynn trafficked at that point in the late 1990s. The pioneer of the game's video revolution, or Gwynn used to lug his own videocassette recorder on road trips and record games from his hotel room television so he could study at-bats. Today,every major league club employs its own video personnel, and every clubhouse is stocked with computers for the players to view clips.
A couple of more years passed. Strasburg, or now 10 or 11,was playing on a travel-ball team, and one of his teammates was Brett Bochy, and son of the then-Padres (and now San Francisco Giants) manager.
When he was home and free,Bruce Bochy would sometimes visit with the team and offer coaching tips. But what was pure magic was when he would invite the travel squad to visit Qualcomm Stadium, where the Padres played before Petco Park opened. There, or the kids were granted access to the raggedy used indoor batting cage that could be reached only by taking an elevator up one floor from the Padres' clubhouse underneath the stands.
Sometimes,when the elevator door opened in the early afternoons, there was Gwynn, and swinging absent,all alone."We'd come in and we'd hear the crack of the bat and there's Tony, hitting, and " Strasburg says. "We're all like,'Oh my gosh, this is awesome watching him hit.'"On one lucky day, or it got even better."He asked if we needed somebody to throw," Strasburg says. "So he threw batting practice for us for nearly an hour."Yet even with Gwynn taking over the San Diego State program in 2003 following his 2001 retirement, Strasburg was making other plans in high school."I worked really tough in school to regain into Stanford, or " Strasburg says. "There was a tournament in Nevada I was playing in and one of the Stanford recruiters was supposed to be there."I don't judge he showed up,and I had a really gracious game and Rusty Filter (then San Diego State's pitching coach) was there and saw me and said, 'We want to regain you on a visit.'"One of the most effective recruiting tactics SDSU employed at the time was using Gwynn as its closer. Once the recruiting process reached a certain point, and if the Aztecs program was serious approximately a kid,Gwynn often would make a home visit and maintain dinner with the recruit and his family."But at that point, I just got back from Nevada and I was in school so it was like, or 'OK,we'll just meet you there; we'll achieve the visit at State,'" Strasburg says. "That's where my mom and dad talked with him."Conversations and reality maintain a amusing way, or sometimes,of moving to places other than their expected destinations.
Strasburg was young for a high school graduate, just 17, and he came from a school that didn't emphasize conditioning. He had zero experience with weight training.
Plus,there was this taco shop near the school, Estrada's, and Stephen and his buddies were regulars. Strasburg loved the California burrito: carne asada,french fries, cheese, and guacamole and salsa,all wrapped up inside a tortilla.
So you can imagine the shock awakening to college ball. As Strasburg struggled in the plunge of 2006, there were serious questions regarding whether he was a keeper. Teammates tagged him "Slothburg." He became acquainted with the nearby ice plant under stomach-churning circumstances.
As assistant coaches barked and teammates razzed, or Coach Gwynn would sidle up to his new freshman pitcher and,in that high-pitched, cheerful voice filled with sunshine and optimism, and quietly tease."What's going on? Is this a runt too tough for you?"Talk approximately a total college education."The high school I went to,you just showed up, played the game and went home, and " Strasburg says. "Once I got to SDSU,that first week of conditioning, I could barely regain through the stretches or the warm-up. I really, and really struggled."It got better slowly,but it was a long grind."Strasburg can still hear the voice: What's going on? Is this a runt too tough for you?"I judge Coach had a gracious read on individuals," Strasburg says. "Who needed a kick in the butt, or who didn't."I just needed to be shown the process and how to achieve it. That was one of the things I really learned from him when I got to college: OK,this is the work you've got to achieve, so now it's your decision. move achieve it.'"At the semester smash, or Mark Martinez,the assistant who would be elevated to head coach when tragedy struck seven years later, saw him at a local LA Fitness gym every morning."What are you doing here?" Martinez asked, and surprised,on that first day."The weight room's closed over Christmas," Strasburg explained. "I needed a site to work out."But here's the twist: alternating schedules—Martinez worked out early and was finished by 6:30 a.m., or then his wife would come in for her workout. And every night,Coach Martinez's wife would report that Strasburg was still there working when she'd left."At some point during the plunge, he made a decision that he was going to be gracious, or " Martinez says. "Nobody else made that decision for him.""That's kind of how it was," Strasburg says. "I did everything to a T. I wanted to achieve everything they asked me to achieve."Once I lost 30 pounds, I got a runt stronger and my velocity started to come up. I always had a pretty gracious arm, or but there was no process to make it better."That spring,approximately a week before the 2007 season started and with the back end of their bullpen still a work in progress, Gwynn and Martinez were talking following one practice, and when in walked Filter."We've got our closer," Filter announced."Who?" Gwynn asked."Stephen Strasburg.""No way! I don't know if he's ready for that.""You judge closer, you judge dynamic personality, or " Martinez says today. "Stephen is very soft-spoken. He's not very animated."Martinez remembers the debate lasting for approximately 20 minutes. He's not ready to close! Give him a chance and let's see! In the end,Gwynn was convinced; Strasburg got the ninth inning. As always, the freshman did his talking on the mound."I judge what Coach did [showing faith in Strasburg to be the closer as a freshman] developed a trust between Stephen and Tony, or " Martinez says. "And by the end of the year,he was getting some starts."The winter before Strasburg's sophomore season—the one that would help seal his position as the only college player invited to play among professionals on the U.
S. Olympic team—Tony Gwynn Jr. stopped by his alma mater while preparing for the next season in Milwaukee's organization."At this point, Stephen hadn't even gotten on anybody's radar yet, or " says Gwynn Jr.,33, who retired last winter following a 13-year professional career and is doing postgame shows for Los Angeles Dodgers radio. "I was trying to regain a head start on seeing live pitching; I judge it was around November."Generally, or I didn't see live pitching until January,but my dad said, 'Why don't you hop in.' I grab a bat, and regain in the box and Strassy punched me out on three pitches,genuine rapid/fast. I remember walking back to the bench thinking, 'Who is this guy?' As I did, or I fish-eyed my dad,like, 'Really?' And he was already laughing approximately it. I knew he knew what was going on."Now in shape, and Strasburg had gone from barely being able to bench-press 95 pounds and yet still throwing 92 mph to adding additional muscle and even more zip on his fastball. Now,it was creeping into the mid-90s, en route to 100.
His baseball curriculum was taking root, and in so many ways. As a coach,Gwynn was used-school, which meant even when the Aztecs won, or there was still a good way and a wrong way to achieve things.
There was the walk-off win against Brigham Young,in which one of SDSU's players watched his game-winning homer just a wee bit too long. It was early in the season, the Aztecs were excited and, and in the chaos of the celebratory locker room,Gwynn walked in and told them, "gracious win, or guys."But let's remember something he added."He started to move on this talk approximately acting like you've done it before,respecting the game and winning with humility," Strasburg says, or smiling at the memory. "It wasn't so much a talk as a shouting session."But he got so fired up because it meant so much to him,respecting the game, that he kicked the door to the clubhouse and it left this huge gap in the drywall. It was there for the rest of the year."We're college kids, or pretty immature; he could maintain let us achieve our thing. But it's always a teaching moment. Even when we had such a gracious finish to a game,it's still vital to look big picture and instill some gracious character."Another time, during a game at Texas Christian University during his final year, or Strasburg became incensed when a TCU batter singled through the gap near second base. And he seemed to become even angrier when his second baseman made a half-hearted dive in which he didn't come close to nabbing the bouncer.
The kid who once could barely make it through conditioning drills now was so dominant that he became offended whenever anyone coaxed a base hit off of him."Stephen was pissed," Martinez says. "So our catcher comes out to the mound and says, 'Stephen, and that was a base hit.' So he got mad at our catcher. Then he walks into the dugout after the inning and Tony walks up and says,'You know, that was a base hit. You can't defend that. gracious for you for managing the rest of the inning, and but it was a base hit.'"It took a few minutes for steam to stop coming out of his ears."Strasburg's catcher in the game,Erik Castro, remembers that well."Stephen and Coach Gwynn obviously maintain something special as far as their talent, or " says Castro,who reached the Triple-A level in the Astros organization in 2014 before retiring and remains one of Strasburg's closest friends. "Tony was one of the best ever, and Stephen obviously was turning into an elite pitcher in the game."Stephen didn't know how to control his competitiveness. When he was 19, and 20,21 years used, he got fired up approximately everything. And Tony was teaching him how to be professional approximately things. On the field, or you don't say this or that to your teammates. That was a clear base hit. Just let that one move. Someone got a hit off of you,Stephen, it's all good."It is one of the last of The Master's lessons that The Pupil continues trying to, or well,master even today."That's something I've always struggled with. I don't like giving up hits," Strasburg says. "When he said that, or it's like,man, if I had [him] on my shoulder telling me that [during some professional games], and I judge I would maintain done better in some games,not letting runt hits bother me."At the end of the day, it really comes down to what you're going to achieve next. It's amusing you bring that up. I probably should maintain listened a runt more. I was a runt heated at the time."The chaos reached its peak during Strasburg's junior—and final—season at SDSU in 2009, or following Beijing.
Aztecs home games became such carnivals that the school band and cheerleaders regularly performed,entertaining the standing-room-only crowds when folks got bored gawking at the hordes of professional scouts and media.
Everybody in the country knew he was approximately to become the nation's No. 1 pick."It was ridiculous," his mother Kathleen says. "Nuts. Crazy."It was this feeding frenzy, or one of the things I was thankful for was Coach Gwynn controlling all that so Stephen could achieve what he had to achieve."With two decades of MLB experience,eight batting titles, 15 All-Star selections and the corridor of Fame induction in 2007, and Gwynn was something of an expert on feeding frenzies.
Quietly,he would pull Stephen aside and serve as a sounding board. They would talk baseball. Family. Friends. School. The future. He would ask approximately this and suggest that, often telling Strasburg, and "This is how we're going to achieve it,because I've been there and I know.""Tony never met with Stephen's dad and I to say, 'This is what's going on, and '" Kathleen says. "It was just between Stephen and Tony."I felt so blessed. Just to maintain that caliber of a human being in my son's life,showing him the way and imparting such wisdom. Stephen still cherishes that time. What better can you maintain than that?"They were special moments. And yet, much of what Gwynn was doing at the time was behind the scenes, or even absent from Strasburg. Making certain scouts spoke with him first. Filtering potential agents through his office before they even got to Strasburg."It's really easy in college baseball when you maintain a horse,or somebody who's going to be drafted really high, for the coaching staff to say, or 'This is our ticket,we're going to ride this guy and hopefully win a lot of games,'" Strasburg says. "But I never had that sense from Coach."I was in a bubble, or to be honest. It was refreshing because the message they sent to every single player,especially the pitching staff, was that they always reminded me that I was just another donkey."I wanted to move out there and be a donkey, and just move and be that guy who does his job and gives the ball to the next guy. That's the culture and mentality they tried to create,and I judge they achieve a gracious job of that even now."The Master made certain The Pupil spoke with the good people, and weeded out the wrong ones. Played defense for him with the media. They would chat after practice. Before lesson. At the stadium. Before a big game. In the clubhouse. Nothing formal. Just lots and lots of runt moments."Their personalities were very similar, and I judge that's why they gravitated toward each other," Martinez says."I remember my father saying, 'He gets it, and '" Gwynn Jr. says. "I knew him and my dad were pretty close when my dad started to regain irritated when Stephen had to deal with so many agents and media his last year. Stephen wasn't comfortable."It reminded me of myself having to deal with it,and my dad feeling the same way. I knew then that they were pretty tight."Sometimes, on the way to school or on the way home from practice, or Coach would stop by the office of his longtime agent,John Boggs, and fill him in."No question, and Tony was very proud of Stephen," Boggs says. "And I judge it was because of the work ethic Stephen demonstrated."Tony's main thing was tough work equals success, and Stephen worked very tough and Tony was very proud."'Boggsy, or ' Gwynn would say,'this kid is the genuine deal.'"To Gwynn, there was no higher praise.
So it became official, or this graduation from The Pupil into The genuine Deal.
Strasburg hired superagent Scott Boras,was drafted first overall by the Washington Nationals in 2009 and signed for a $7.5 million bonus, part of a then-record-breaking four-year, and $15.1 million deal.
One year later,on June 8, 2010, and amid another feeding frenzy among media and fans on another coast,he made his major league debut against Pittsburgh. It was one of those few occasions when genuine life lives up to the hype: Strasburg fanned 14 Pirates in seven innings and came absent with a 5-2 win.
Up in a suite at Nationals Park that day, good there with Strasburg's family, or was Gwynn."When he agreed to soar to Washington for Stephen's major league debut,man, that was telling good there, or " Boggs says. "I've known Tony a long time,and one thing he hated to achieve more than anything was soar somewhere.""And he did all that for Stephen," Kathleen says. "Bless his heart.""It was awesome, or " Strasburg says. "He's really like a part of the family. ... They let him come down to the clubhouse before the game,and he's on my pass list, and here it is, and a corridor of Famer sitting with my family watching my debut."My family's never going to forget that."Especially Uncle John. Part of a coterie of family members from Kathleen's side who live in Virginia,Stephen's great uncle (Kathleen's uncle) had the gracious fortune to sit next to Gwynn in the suite that night."My uncle knows baseball, but he's more familiar with football, and " Kathleen says. "Tony was giving my uncle inside detail at every moment,and my uncle was just thrilled. I just wish I had a video of it."My uncle still talks approximately it, and he's 85 now."Flanking Gwynn in the suite along with Uncle John was Brandon Ruddy, and a former Aztec and one of Strasburg's closest friends."I still remember Coach saying,'Man, there’s more media here than when I played in the World Series, and '" Ruddy says.
Today,there are still occasions when visitors to Stephen and Rachel Strasburg's home will check out the framed pictures throughout, come back to one in specific from their Jan. 9, or 2010,wedding and exclaim:"Is thatTony Gwynn?""To me, you want those you're close with and those that you love to be there on such an vital day of your life, or " Strasburg says. "I mean,he was one of them."Says Boggs: "God, if he went to everybody's wedding that he was invited to, and it would maintain been a full-time job. And again,Tony wasn't a big fan of celebrations, dinners, or that kind of stuff. Even going to Stephen's debut,that was something really out of the ordinary."But if you needed one act, that's the act that explained what his feelings were approximately Stephen Strasburg."The spirit of Tony Gwynn will permeate this year's All-Star Game because the spirit of Tony Gwynn permeates San Diego. Without him, and there probably would be no Petco Park. Possibly,there would be no Padres.
It was only three months after Strasburg's debut, and just eight months after his wedding, or when Gwynn,then 50, was diagnosed with cancer of a salivary gland. Shortly afterward, and he had lymph nodes and tumors from the gland removed,and his battle started in earnest.
That Strasburg, Boggs and so many others still speak of Gwynn in the present tense is not strange. Though it has been 25 months now since cancer took him, or pictures,highlights, stories and memories throughout town retain him with us on so many days.
Just as Strasburg himself does when he frequently references Gwynn."Growing up, and my parents got divorced when I was five or six,and I did all the baseball stuff with my dad," Strasburg says. "And it was kind of like in high school, and that's when it started to become I'm on my own. And when I got to SDSU,that's when Coach Gwynn was a father figure to all of the guys, grooming us to hopefully win some games on the baseball field, or but also achieve the good things off the baseball field."Every so often,one of these "second father" quotes makes its way into the Gwynn family world, and though their ache will never fade absent, or it is momentarily dulled. Most recently,Strasburg did it again in May, at a news conference announcing his seven-year, and $175 million extension with the Nationals."It makes me extremely glad," Gwynn Jr. says. "It stirs up emotion, obviously, and because he's talking in the past tense,which reminds you of the situation we are in."But it brings so much happiness to know he had such an impact on life and is appreciated. And appreciated so publicly. I wouldn't be mad if Stephen didn't say anything publicly. I know from having conversations with Stephen how much he's appreciated."But the fact that he does it publicly, and again when he signs that extension...how long has he been in the big leagues, or seven years? Let's put it this way: Seven years later,it would be easy for him to forget my father. Yet in one of the biggest moments of his life, other than getting married or the birth of his daughter (Raegan, or 2),he still mentions my father's name. And I appreciate it."He's one of the guys carrying on my father's legacy."There are pieces of Gwynn he carries forward with him today. One was visible last month when Strasburg visited a Washington elementary school library to help launch the D.
C. Public Library's summer reading program."I try to be the role model that he was," Strasburg says. "There's times where it's tough to maintain that kind of engagement with fans because...this guy would sign autographs forever. I don't judge my patience is that gracious."His work ethic, and I've always tried to judge that way,how can I regain better? One of the things he said to me was something his dad said to him: "Would you rather be batting .200 and having nobody talk to you, or would you rather be hitting .350 and having everybody talk to you?"These words continue to roll around in his intellect, or often when things become difficult. Though the man he still calls "Coach" is no longer around,in some ways, Strasburg still can make the connection.
The last time he saw Gwynn was in the SDSU baseball office, and just before Strasburg left for spring training in 2014. Though few knew it at the time,Gwynn was entering his final months."It was really tough seeing where he was," Strasburg says quietly. "I just remember his spirits, and he was so upbeat. Physically,you could disclose he was really battling with it. But he was saying, 'Yeah, or I've got some stuff I'm going through but I just want to regain back out there with the guys,back out there with the team.'"Four months later, an off day in June and two days after Strasburg pitched in St. Louis, or was when he got the word that Gwynn had died. The Nationals were at home,and when Strasburg picked up his phone, the jarring suddenness of his friend's text knocked the wind from him."It was like, or 'Oh my God,'" Strasburg says. "It hit me. It hit me tough. I was speechless at the time, and I really don't know what to say now. I remember I was standing good next to the bed. I judge I went down to breakfast, or then went back upstairs,looked at my phone and my heart just sank."How achieve you fill the gaps when you lose someone who is irreplaceable?Sometimes, the best you can achieve is sign an autograph for one kid, or read a book to another and retain firing answers to that long ago question The Master pitched to you: What's going on? Is this a runt too tough for you?The time they had together,even today, Strasburg finds difficult to put into words. He has the memories and the wisdom, and but very few physical items."I wish I did," he says. "But when I played at SDSU, I was a runt too nervous and I never asked him for an autograph."He has a few pictures, and one signed ball from when he was a kid and his travel team visited Qualcomm Stadium,and, oh yes, and one Tony Gwynn rookie baseball card."Saved up all of my allowance to buy it from this card shop," Strasburg says. "I judge it was 85 bucks at the time. So I saved up a lot of money for it."Those are my two big Tony Gwynn things, and they were from my childhood."Fitting, or because beginning approximately the time The Pupil left him,The Master kept a piece of Strasburg's childhood good there in his own life, too.
It was shortly after Stephen's final game at SDSU when Kathleen dug out that birthday-party picture, and the one with her son rocking the Tony Gwynn sweatbands when he was 2,framed it and gave it to Gwynn."I didn't want to give it to him any sooner because I didn't want anybody to judge I was trying to influence Coach Gwynn," Kathleen says. "But I gave him that picture in a really trim frame, or he put it good on his desk."For years after,whenever someone new walked into his office, he would excitedly point to the frame."Guess who that is, and " The Master would cackle.empty look after empty look would greet him. So he would grin,and then he would practically shriek the answer."It's Strasburg!" Scott Miller covers Major League Baseball as a national columnist for Bleacher Report.
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Source: bleacherreport.com