New Lincecum book released

Two-time Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Tim Lincecum has joined forces with Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Deanne Fitzmaurice and award-winning writer Joan Ryan to release Freak Season: Behind the Scenes with San Francisco Giants Pitcher Tim Lincecum from Spring Training to the World Series ($29.95).

The 82-page, four-color book is an intimate portrait of Lincecum’s and his 2010 teammates’ stirring triumph in winning the Giant’s first World Series Championship since moving to San Francisco in 1958.

What is captured in Fitzmaurice’s images and Ryan’s compelling text is a behind-the-scenes’ view of the life of an extremely private man. Contrary to his public image of rock-star pitcher, Lincecum is an introvert who keeps company mostly with childhood friends and shuns the spotlight. What emerges is a fearless competitor whose knees buckle when he has to speak in public, a restless man who can’t sit still through a movie but has such hyper-focus on the mound that he sinks into what he describes as a sort of netherworld.

Lincecum allowed unprecedented access to Fitzmaurice during the 2010 season, commencing with spring training and culminating with the victory parade through the streets of San Francisco. Freak Season takes us into the clubhouse and the dugout, into Lincecum’s home and hotel room. We see him during unguarded moments with teammates, friends, and family.

Freak Season tells the story of one of the most remarkable and interesting athletes of our generation during the trials and triumphs of a historic championship season. It is told by a photographer and a writer who have covered everything from major sporting events to the ravages of war. For any fan of baseball, and for those who wonder at the skill of anyone who has risen to the top of their profession, Freak Season’s intimate images and taut text reveal the hopes, dreams, despair and, ultimately, the intensity that defines greatness.