A John Lannan article/blog entry HammondsNats wrote last year (the day after Barry Bonds couldn't break the record against our JL)
John Lannan gets the best of Barry Bonds Monday night.John Lannan is a Better Man than I'll Ever Be. Pretty clever title, huh? One that's full of truth as well. Making his third start at the Major League level, Lannan had the daunting task of facing a Barry Bonds looking for his 756th career home run (that he would eventually hit off of Mike Bacsik the night after).
Instead of Lannan looking uncomfortable, it was the 43-year old slugger - who ended up going 0-for-3 with a walk - looking as if he were playing in his third career game.
In no way did Lannan overpower Bonds or anyone else in the Giants line-up for that matter, but he got the job done and he avoided being a part of history. In Lannan's line in the box score, you'll see he only gave up one run and one of his two strikeout's came against Bonds, in a very crucial situation.
If you haven't picked up on my point yet, just imagine being in his shoes. Twenty-two years old. Facing Barry Bonds for a piece of baseball history. Making your third Major League start. On the road, in front of 40,000 screaming fans and over hundred of media members. Not to mention the millions watching across the world on TV. And you get Bonds to go 0-for-3 and look silly in front of all those people, via a nasty curve thrown on a full count to 'K' him. That's all you can ask from a kid who started the year off in Single A.
It wasn't the first time the 22-year old Long Island, NY native was in the national spotlight this season. In his first big league start, Lannan unintentionally hit Chase Utley and Ryan Howard on back-to-back pitches, before being ejected (Manager Manny Acta was tossed as well).
With Philadelphia sports fans being, well the way they are, Lannan showed maturity and kept his cool throughout the whole process. He moved on to his next start, throwing a two-hitter in five scoreless innings (finished the night with 5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER) picking up his first career MLB win.
The John Lannan story is truly an amazing one. For a kid that rose quickly through three levels of minor league ball compiling a 12-3 record, 2.35 ERA, 42/72 BB/K in 122.2 IP to where he's at now and what he's gone through, it's one of those reasons why we all love sports.
A 11th round pick in the 2005 draft, who was a tiny fingernail in top prospects lists to start the year, is now one of the main left arms in the Nationals rotation. And while his 89-91 MPH fastball, nasty curveball and plus change-up will help him record outs at this level, it's the experience and the adversity he's gone through already that will take him a long way.
