It was a normal day in the life of Nationals rookie Stephen Strasburg. August 21st, Strasburg's official 12th career start, when one pitch changed all of Major League Baseball.

Aroldis Chapman throws a 104 mile-per-hour fastball. Thats enough to turn heads. But what separates him from the rest is the story that brought this flamethrower to our country.

Stephen Strasburg was born on July 20th, 1988, to Kathleen and Jim Strasburg. In Satee, California Strasburg first began playing baseball as a child with aspirations to play professionally one day.

Aroldis Chapman was born on February 28th, 1988 in Holguin, Cuba. Growing up in the communist Cuba, challenges arose, even when it came to baseball. At age 18 Chapman began his career for a pitcher on a Cuban team. Although Chapman had dreams of pitching in the United States one day, he was declined a request to be defected.
Finally, a year later, Chapman was allowed to be defected. He then successfully petitioned to become a free-agent.

Stephen Strasburg struck out 14 batters in 7 innings in his notorious major league debut. This was perhaps the most anticipated pitching performance, ever. Everyone wanted a glance at the pride of Washington D.C., other than that other attraction, who lives in a big white house, rather than the nationals ballpark.
Over the next couple of months, Strasburg struck out 92 batters, walked just 17, and posted an impressive era(earned run average. Although he was dominating, he was still on one of the worst offensive teams in the MLB, which let him fall to a 5-3 record.

It was another promising start for Stephen Strasburg versus the Philadelphia Phillies. Things were rolling for the flame-throwing right-hander. In the forth inning, one man had been retired and the Phillies had a prospect of there own at the plate, named Dominic Brown. At a 1-1 count, Strasburg threw a change up. After a wince or two, the Nationals decided to take him out. From here on, the franchise went down hill.
Just over a week later, on 31st, 2010, Chapman made his major league debut. He pitched a perfect inning, striking out one batter versus the Milwaukee Brewers.

Today, Strasburg had one of the most severe and time consuming surgeries a baseball player can have. This procedure will leave Strasburg off a mound for more than a season.
While a new star was shining, another was falling. Both franchises have a promising future, but the question is the success of these two flame- throwers. It will be quite a time to witness these two stars, and many questions need to be answered.
Only Time will tell.