Folks everywhere, this space included, are poaching Stephen Strasburg‘s notoriety.

All grills except ESPNZone’s are cooking up Strasburgers. David Letterman hopes to get a rating higher than Strasburg’s ERA when he brings the Nats’ pitcher on for a Top 10 reading next week.

And, um, blogs, present company included, are forcing obscene amounts of digital inches of Strasburg copy on their readers.

The only guy not trying to make a buck off the mania is Bill Corey. He was at Tuesday’s debut, caught the first home run ever given up by Strasburg, then threw it right back on the field.

Corey went on the Sports Junkies on WJFK yesterday to explain why he didn’t keep the ball for a later sale to the highest bidder. Estimates of the ball’s current worth hit $2,000. I’d take the over.

The radio show’s hosts and listeners and me agreed Corey was a tool for not cashing out.

But the wackiest Strasburg exploitation I’ve yet encountered comes from the Harlem Globetrotters. Last night the team announced it had conferred a special award upon Strasburg.

From the Globetrotters’ press release:

(PHOENIX, June 9, 2010) – Washington Nationals rookie pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg has been honored with a “Trotter Tribute” from the world famous Harlem Globetrotters in recognition of his “Globetrotter-esque” dominance in winning his major league pitching debut Tuesday night.

The “Trotter Tribute” honors professional and college athletes from all sports throughout the world whose play calls to mind the dazzling showmanship of “the world’s most famous team.”

Now I know I’m not the only one who, upon seeing that crew-cutted skinny white boy throwing a baseball thought: “But what does this mean for the Harlem Globetrotters?”

Amid all the commercial silliness, the Globetrotters’ release did have one good line.

“That kid dominated the Pirates like they were the Washington Generals,” said Globetrotters star Flight Time Lang.