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Tim Lincecum becomes a household name tonight
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Tim Lincecum (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
You’d have to think that any of the secrecy surrounding Tim Lincecum would have dissolved by now. That winning the Cy Young Award last year in addition to his stint on the cover of Sports Illustrated and the detailed feature on the origins of his pitching motion would have served as a proper introduction to baseball nation. And that everything unexplained pertaining Lincecum is not about who he is, but how he does what he does.
In case those exist out there who remain unfamiliar, possibly fans in the Midwest or on the East Coast who tend to slip into bed around the same time the right-hander hurls his first mighty fastball for an evening start in San Francisco, Lincecum’s cloak of mystery will be shed for good today.
Lincecum (10-2, 2.33 ERA) starts for the National League in tonight’s All-Star Game at Busch Stadium, a fitting platform for the game’s best pitcher.
After winning 18 games last year and Cy Young hardware, Lincecum is even better in 2009, if you can believe that. He’s already thrown three complete games, which is one more than he tossed all of last season. And while the strike out still remains as his signature, he’s turning into a pitcher who values the economical at-bat, which has allowed him to keep his pitch count low and go deeper into ballgames.
He doesn't just rely on his blazing fastball, but a deadly changeup and curveball. Lincecum is by no means a finished product, but a pitcher continuing to take shape.
Among his many nicknames—“The Freak” and “The Franchise” are among a few, but “Seabiscuit,” which is his favorite, fits nicely this year because like a thoroughbred racing for the finish line, Lincecum now pushes hard to complete his starts.
He’s already thrown 29 straight scoreless innings, third best in San Francisco history behind Gaylord Perry’s 39 and 40 inning streaks.
Slated to throw two innings, Lincecum will face the American League's imposing trio of Ichiro Suzuki, Derek Jeter and Joe Mauer in the top of the first.
Lincecum spent last year’s All-Star Game in a Manhattan hotel due to the flu, unable to make it to Yankee Stadium.
If you listen to Jeter, Lincecum is still an unknown quantity, someone known more for his video game commercial than his pitching prowess.
And if you were to see him walking the streets of St. Louis, maybe wearing one of his trademark ski caps, his shaggy hair messy and unkempt, you’d probably stride right past him. Just another young teen or skater roaming about you might think, but certainly not baseball’s premier pitcher.
For Tim Lincecum, the disguise comes off tonight.
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