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| Photo Credit: USA Today |
Long Island took a hit today when it was announced that Toronto Blue Jay’s RHP Marcus Stroman tore his ACL during a Spring Training fielding drill.
Stroman, the pride of Patchogue-Medford high school, had a terrific 2014 campaign in which he was 11-6 with a 3.65 ERA. As a starter, he had a 3.39 ERA over 120 IP. He struck out 3.81 batters for every walk and allowed only 1.14 base runners per inning.
Most impressively, in my opinion, was his ability to respond from a tough August. Many pundits believed he hit a wall and should be shut down for the season. Instead, he went 3-1 in September with a 2.61 ERA over 31 innings, while he struck out 26.
Entering the offseason, many people became high on him. ESPN writer Jayson Stark even devoted an entire column to him last week.
Now, less than one month before the season a non-contact injury occurs and puts him on the shelf for the entire season.
As we all know, Stroman is one of the most upbeat players in the sport. He is not afraid to let people into his world through social media. After being disappointed initially, he made it known that he is focused on the recovery and coming back strong in 2016.
Marcus Stroman
Here is a conversation I had with him in Fall ’13 as he was on the precipice of a big league promotion.
