Hitting The Cutoff Man

We all remember when we were kids and the athletes we followed and rooted for seemed larger than life and awe-inspiring. Meeting one of our heroes was enough to nearly cripple us.

As fans, this can persist even into adulthood. Through my experience in journalism, I've been fortunate enough to cover a fair amount of MLB games as a reporter, and after a while you get used to talking to the players. Nonetheless, the first time I interviewed Albert Pujols, it required all of my will power to keep my composure and some form of professional demeanor.

You would figure things would be different for the athletes themselves, especially one like Tim Lincecum who has spent the past two seasons coolly mowing down opposing hitters. Think again.

From ESPN.com's Spring Training blog comes this anecdote:

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Lincecum, a Seattle native, was taking to reporters after throwing an inning against the Mariners when Ken Griffey Jr. -- a player he rooted for as a boy -- dropped by to say hello.

"Lincecum, what's up? I just wanted to say hi," Griffey said, extending his hand.

"It's a pleasure," Lincecum replied, looking awestruck as he shook Griffey's hand and watched him walk away. "It was nice meeting you," he added as Griffey headed for the Mariners' clubhouse.

Lincecum paused, let out a breath and said, "Man. Wow. He just came over. That was pretty cool."

He paused again. Then, he asked the media surrounding him, "What were we just talking about?"
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It's a pretty great image, a two-time Cy Young Award winner briefly turned back into a little kid, pleasantly shaken by a meeting with his baseball idol.

Even if we can't relate to someone throwing 95 miles per hour, we can certainly relate to that.

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