Written by Kenny Ducey at SI.com
Before he was even in uniform, Lucas Giolito’s major-league debut was already unforgettable.
The 6’6″, 21-year-old flamethrowing righthander sat at his locker in the Nationals clubhouse on Tuesday afternoon in a pair of maroon athletic shorts and a black MLB Players’ Association T-shirt, resting a bottle of water on the floor between his feet. The proceedings started off mellow—he sipped his water and enjoyed a chat with young starter Joe Ross, who was seated to the right of his locker.
“I was trying to just keep [Giolito] loose before the game. I guess he’s not a music, headphones, lock-in kind of guy,” Ross told SI.com. “I was just trying to bear with him those five hours that he was here before the game … He seemed not-too-nervous.”
Things quickly became more lively. Starting pitcher Max Scherzer came over to Danny Espinosa, seated to the left of Giolito, and quickly shot down the second baseman’s idea of wearing shorts at batting practice on a hot afternoon. “We’ve all got to wear the same thing!” he told him. Giolito glanced over, smirked, and took another swig of water.
Then, reliever Jonathan Papelbon entered the clubhouse, commandeered the speaker, and switched off Boston’s “Peace of Mind” in favor of a pair of country songs, which he would play twice each at near-maximum volume.
All the while, Giolito sat at his locker without music, or a magazine, or newspaper, or streaming video on his tablet. He prepared David Puddy style, sitting, staring, and consumed with his own thoughts. He took in just about everything that happened around him—advice from starting pitchers, writers conversing with other players, loud music and the brand-new Nationals gear draping in his locker.
“I just try to stay as normal as possible,” Giolito said.
After fully soaking in a major-league clubhouse, Giolito got out of his chair and walked by the vibrating speaker, smirking. This was the top prospect in baseball, the man who thousands paid to see on Tuesday, and he was merely an extra in a clubhouse filled with colorful personalities.
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