LOS ANGELES – It's a tale as old as time. Today's friends can easily become tomorrow's foes. It's currently playing out at the box office in Marvel's new film Captain America: Civil War, which pits former friends and Avengers, Steve Rogers and Tony Stark, against each other.
On Friday night at Dodger Stadium, a similarly storyline played out on the diamond as former friends and college roommates Ross Stripling and Michael Wacha opposed each other on the mound.
Their story begins in 2010 when Wacha began his college baseball career at Texas A&M where sophomore Stripling had already cemented himself as the ace of the staff.
The two right-handers competed in the rotation, but their rivalry soon turned to friendship as they became roommates at College Station for the next two years, leading their team to the College World Series in back-to-back seasons.
Both then opted for the Big Leagues in 2012, when they were selected in the 1st and 5th rounds, respectively.
Wacha was taken number 19 overall by the St. Louis Cardinals, and his best friend Stripling, was selected 176th by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Their dreams of playing professional baseball had come true, something that they often talked about late at night in their dorm room.
"It was never a discussion of 'when we get to the Majors,' it was always, 'what if we get drafted and both make it,'" Stripling told of those early talks. "We might pitch against each other some day and that would be pretty incredible. We even talked about what if we got drafted by the same team."
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But they didn't get drafted by the same team. Instead, they got drafted by two teams who are considered baseball royalty, and postseason rivals. Wacha led the Cardinals past the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series in 2013, and was an integral part of St. Louis's World Series run as a rookie.
A year later, St. Louis once again played spoiler, shocking Clayton Kershaw in Game 4 of the NLDS with a game-winning, three-run home run by Matt Adams that sent the Cardinals to the NLCS.
Meanwhile, Stripling's story took a tragic turn as the minor leaguer underwent Tommy John surgery in 2012, a procedure that derailed his career by nearly two full seasons.
Stripling recovered and was a pleasant surprise in spring training this season as the rookie earned a spot in the Dodgers Opening Day starting rotation.
In his first career start at AT&T Park in San Francisco, Stripling nearly reached baseball immortality as he carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning before he was removed from the game with one-out by manager Dave Roberts.
Despite his immaculate impression on the Major Leagues in his first outing, Stripling was still in search of his first career win when he was told he'd take the mound on Friday in the first of a three-game series against St. Louis.
"I texted him [Wacha] after we had just pitched on the same day and asked him, 'With the off day, are they going to push you back one?' He was like, 'Yeah they are. I was like, 'Dang, we're going to miss it. Then he texted me the next day, 'Things have changed…" Stripling said about the possibility of facing off against his friend on Friday. "He texted me and said, 'I'm pitching Friday.' That started an onslaught of trash talk. Mostly it's not even about how we pitch. It's how we're going to hit off each other. Then the head coach at Texas A&M got involved."
The former roommates embarked upon a friendly wager before the game: the first person to get a hit off the other would have to pay for dinner after the game. Surprisingly, it was the player with the least amount of experience at the plate that won the bet when Stripling recorded his first career hit off Wacha with a single to right field in the second inning.
"I'm definitely getting the lobster," Stripling said smiling after the game. "Maybe I'll get a nice bottle of wine. Maybe a steak to go."
Wacha wasn't as thrilled by the hit, or the outcome of the game for that matter – Dodgers won 8-4 – but still enjoyed the experience facing his friend.
"It was very cool facing him and seeing him up in the big leagues," Wacha said. "He's a great guy, great competitor, great pitcher. Good for him, but I wish it wouldn't have come tonight."
After the game, Stripling showed off the two game balls that immortalized the first hit and win of his career. He even showed off the lineup card from the day's game.
"I'm definitely gonna get Wacha to sign the first hit ball, I already texted him that he's going to do that," Stripling said proudly afterwards. "But my first win is going to be the one I will cherish more in the long run."
Win No. 1
📷: @JonSooHooPics pic.twitter.com/7HPkAB5Ztw — Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 14, 2016
Thankfully, this story as a happy ending as both players went to dinner after the game, and will remain friends, despite their newborn rivalry on the field. One day, both players will look back on this long after their careers are over and reminisce about the time that two roommates became rivals, in a game filled with a hint of history and lifelong memories.
