Last winter, we wondered why Tim Lincecum maintained such a low-profile after the San Francisco Giants' big World Series win. The afterglow, after all, seemed like an opportune time for Tim to really raise his profile and make some real endorsement money.
But as we see in this preview of Wednesday night's "The Franchise" episode on Showtime, it looks like the two Cy Young wins, occasional Red Bull spot and identity as a countercultural hero has given The Freak all the fame he can handle:
Even though the shots of those frenzied crowds were taken at the team's offseason fanfest (I think), it's hard to comprehend an everyday existence like that. The other behind-the-scenes special that Lincecum did this season didn't illustrate any of that Michael Jackson in Budapest-type madness, but you can see why Lincecum chose to hide out at a his new condo in Seattle for a big portion of that program. (Maybe he really does have more in common with the King of Pop than we previously thought. )
At any rate, I should take this opportunity to say that I've really been enjoying "The Franchise" since expressing some doubt after that first rushed hour. The looks at individual players have been as detailed as I hoped they'd be and there's been plenty of funny stuff mixed in — Cody Ross playing around with Aubrey Huff's missing credit card, in particular — to make it a must-watch every week.
