How his lolo inspired baseball’s top pitcher

By Benjamin Pimentel, Inquirer.net Global Nation

Baseball season is here. For Filipino Americans, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area, it’s a particularly proud time to be a fan.

One of the sport’s best pitchers is Pinoy, after all.

Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants won the prestigious Cy Young Award last year, the sport’s top pitching honor. He was also the first player to win the award in his first two full seasons in the major league. (Filipinos will have a chance to see him in action on April 27 when the Giants celebrate Filipino Heritage Night.)

Lincecum is a second-generation Filipino American, his mother, the daughter of Filipino immigrants. I actually didn’t find out about this until recently, when one of my students in a Filipino-American communities class at Cal State East Bay mentioned it. I was already a Lincecum fan, having enjoyed watching his unique flowing style on the mound.

Lincecum has given the San Francisco Giants and their many Filipino-American fans a much-needed boost. He’s widely considered to be an unusual pitching sensation. He’s wiry and has a giant stride, earning him the nickname “The Freak.”

Lincecum’s gem spoiled by Phillies

The Giants nearly turned the outrage of the AT&T Park fans into euphoria Wednesday. That would have been a neat trick, since they lost this game more than once.

San Francisco scrambled to recover after yielding a run in the 10th inning and two more in the 11th to fall to the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-6. But the Giants’ extra-inning adventures didn’t seem as stunning as the events of the ninth inning, when they squandered the combination of Tim Lincecum on the mound and a 4-1 lead.

The stage was set for another celebration of Lincecum’s glorious skills. He was three outs away from becoming the first Giants pitcher to win not only his first five starts of the season but also five games in April since John Burkett in 1993. A complete game also appeared within reach for Lincecum, who had surrendered three hits, struck out 11 and thrown 98 pitches entering the ninth.

But after walking Shane Victorino on four pitches with one out, Giants manager Bruce Bochy yanked Lincecum in favor of closer Brian Wilson without hesitation

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Lincecum impressive in opening

Fil-Am Tim Lincecum led the Giants to their 5-2 victory by working seven shutout innings. Looking every bit like the two-time reigning National League Cy Young Award winner that he is, Lincecum surrendered four hits — all singles — and walked none while striking out seven.

The right-hander’s 98-pitch outing contrasted sharply with his three-inning, three-run dud against Milwaukee last April 7, which matched the shortest start of his career. This time, he asserted himself during a perfect first inning as he retired leadoff batter Michael Bourn on a first-pitch grounder before striking out Kaz Matsui and Hunter Pence.

“I was kind of really excited for this game more than anything, just getting that chance to get out there. This is where it matters,” Lincecum said. “You try to take it up a notch or do something to help the team win. Considering last year — I had that in the back of my mind, just go more than three [innings].”

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Lincecum strikes it rich

San Francisco Giants and their ace Tim Lincecum have finalized their US$23 million, two-year contract that avoided salary arbitration. The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner reached a preliminary agreement last Friday, and the sides have completed the deal.

Lincecum forged 2 yr deal with SF Giants worth $23m

According to san Francisco Chronicle, FilAm Tim Lincecum and the San Francisco Giants have forged a two-year deal that will pay him $23 million. The agreement came just before arbitration was to begin today, when the two camps’ representatives stepped out of the hearing room in Florida to try to reach a deal.

The 25-year-old, two-time Cy Young Award winner will receive $8 million in salary and a $1 million bonus this year and $13 million in salary and a $1 million next year. The bonus details differ slightly from what The Chronicle reported earlier this morning.

Lincecum asks $13M in arbitration

by Zoilo Bernardo, FilAm Sports

Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants ace pitcher, asked for $13 million in salary arbitration, a record for a player eligible for the first time.

San Francisco offered $8 million to Lincecum, who is 40-17 with a 2.90 ERA since he was promoted early in the 2007 season. He won the NL Cy Young Award in each of his first two full seasons.

Court hearing for star pitcher Lincecum becomes spectacle

by Laura McVicker, The Columbian

…After several minutes, Tim Lincecum, star pitcher of the San Francisco Giants and a two-time Cy Young Award winner, made his way through the barrage of media representatives and entered the courtroom.

Dressed in a dark gray suit and open-collared green shirt, a serious-looking Lincecum appeared nothing like his baseball nickname, “The Freak.” Still, he stood out in his sleek suit among the usual defendants who appear on misdemeanor crimes and small-claims matters in District Court.

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Baseball: SF Giants Lincecum could file for $23 million at arbitration?

From Yahoo Sports

Yahoo! Sports, reported Tuesday that Tim Lincecum and his agent, Rick Thurman of the Beverly Hills Sports Council, have considered submitting an arbitration figure o $23,000,001.

Why the extra $1? That amount would make Lincecum the highest paid pitcher in the game — by a McDonald’s double-cheeseburger — over the Yankees’ CC Sabathia. Read Full Article>>>.

MLB: Lincecum wins second Cy Young in a tight vote

FilAm San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum wins the CY Young award for the second year in a row

Baseball | Eugene Espineli

by Joseph Pimentel, Asian Journal

The tan skin Giant is one of the few Major League Baseball players with Filipino heritage. Along with teammate starting pitcher Tim Lincecum, who is half Pinoy, Chris Aguila formerly of the New York Mets, and Jason Bartlett of the Tampa Bay Rays, there aren’t a lot of Filipinos playing in America’s past time.

It’s a reason why Espineli takes a certain pride of being a full Filipino in the Major Leagues. Read Complete Article>>>