A brush with celebrity

As rookie Stephen Strasburg continues his path to greatness, people are starting to remember when the Washington Nationals pitcher wasn’t such a big deal.

OK, he was always a big deal. This week, Strasburg threw what many are saying was the finest debut game in baseball history, striking out 14 batters in seven innings.

But Utah Ute sophomore C.J. Cron can’t feel too bad about how he fared against Strasberg. As a freshman, last year, Cron was the only player in the country to register three hits off him in a game. Cron pitched for San Diego State.

Cron is proving to be quite a player himself. This season he was named conference player of the year and a Louisville Slugger All-American. He led the nation in RBI per game.

The only other college players to get three hits off Strasburg in a game were Santa Clara’s Ryan Conan and Utah’s Michael Beltran, both in 2008.

***

Speaking of brushes with fame , I was walking down the hallway beneath Rio Tinto Stadium, Wednesday night, along with several other reporters headed for the RSL locker room. At just that moment, security guards crowded us against one wall, saying, “Step back from the walkway, folks.”
I couldn’t figure out what was going on until I saw rocker David Cook coming down the hall with his entourage from the opposite direction. He was doing a post-game set, following the RSL-Los Angeles match.
I can’t say I know all Cook’s songs, but I knew who the former “American Idol” star was. As he passed, he saw us waiting for him to get by. “Sorry, guys,” he said humbly.
“No problem,” I said cleverly.
“I’m good with that sort of repartee with the rich and famous.
So my one close-up experience with him was enough to convince me he’s at least a pretty decent guy. He might not be Mick Jagger or Paul McCartney in the music department, but I’m doubting either of them would bother to apologize for holding up a few reporters.