EX-CY YOUNG WINNER TAKES MOUND FOR THE EXPRESS
Cy Young winner Lincecum loves the game too much to quit.
Tim Lincecum has ROUND ROCK — pocketed two Cy Young Awards, three World Series rings, struck out 1,736 batters and earned $101 million in his major league career.
So what was the 33-year-old doing in a Round Rock Express uniform pitching in relief against the Iowa Cubs on a Monday night before a couple thousand fans? “I love the game too much to give it up,” he said.
Lincecum, one of the most dominant and colorful starting pitchers from 2008-11 with San Francisco, is trying to reinvent himself as a reliever and signed a one-year, $1 million contract with Texas in March.
The slender right-hander hadn’t thrown a baseball in live conditions for 20 months, and, for a few shaky moments at Dell Diamond, it looked like he nearly forgot how to do it.
Lincecum failed to throw his first pitch in time and was flagged for the delay. Ball one. He walked that batter, threw a ball off the backstop, lost his glove on another pitch and allowed an RBI double.
“It was pretty nerve-wracking — about as bad as it can get,” said Lincecum, aiming to join the Rangers by Memorial
Day. “I’ve been out there a thousand times, but it almost felt like the first. I got the penalty, gave up the walk. Once I calmed myself down, I was OK.”
Lincecum, who came on in the fifth inning to a big ovation, retired the last three batters he faced on a ground ball and two swinging strikeouts. He was charged with two runs on one hit, one walk and one wild pitch in a game the Express lost 6-5.
When he walked off the mound with his first outing in the books, Lincecum muttered to himself, “That was effing terrible,” about the start to the inning. The finish was better. “He went from cold turkey to seeing batters for the first time in nearly two years,” Express manager Jason Wood said. “There was a lot going on internally, and the game sped up on him. He had to get a feel for baseball again. In the end, I thought he was competitive.”
This is no longer “The Freak,” a 5-10, 165-pounder with rock-star-like shaggy hair who blew away batters with an unorthodox delivery and 95-96 mph laser beams.
The long locks are gone, and so is the heater. His first pitch Monday was his fastest, at 90 mph. His 15 pitches ranged between 83 and 90 mph. His darting, diving 84 mph changeup was his best pitch.
“It was obvious he was a little over-amped at the start,” Express pitching coach Brian Shouse said, “but I saw sliders with movement and a changeup that dropped.”
In an age when so many relievers come out of the bullpen throwing gas, Lince- cum will have to make do with craftiness, deception and location. He still con- torts his body in a windup where batters get a better look at his back than his arm slot.
“His fun ky delivery could play up some (in the majors),” Shouse said. “He can provide a different look.
“As a reliever, there is no setting up hitters. You imme- diately go on the attack. Tim will have to figure out his best two pitches on a given night and keep hitters off balance.”
Lincecum will pitch another inning tonight at Dell and work every other night until he builds up enough endurance to go three innings.
“The biggest difference in relieving is preparing to pitch a lot,” Lincecum said. “That’s the point I need to reach.”
He is on the 60-day disabled list and cannot be acti- vated by the Rangers until May 28. Lincecum has been dealing with inactivity and a nagging blister.
“We took a calculated gamble with Tim,” Texas general manager Jon Daniels told reporters. “He hasn’t pitched in a long time, and we’re putting him in a new role. We liked some of the things we saw physically, but this was not based on recent track record. This was based on body of work.”
The four-time All-Star who threw two no-hitters for the Giants saw a brilliant career gradually erode because of hip surgery and other arm woes. He joined the Angels in 2016 for an ill-fated, ninestart stint that produced a 2-6 record and 9.16 ERA. Lincecum then took a year off.
“I was constantly wrestling with it,” he said. “Do I need to stay in the game? Can I accomplish something else? In the end I realized how deeply I care about baseball. It’s part of who I am.”