After wearing No. 55 for his entire major league career, Tim Lincecum will switch to 44 with the Texas Rangers in honor of his late older brother.
Sean Lincecum's funeral was Saturday, which delayed Tim Lincecum from taking the physical needed to finalize his $1 million, one-year contract with the Texas Rangers. The two-time Cy Young Award winner passed the physical Tuesday and said he will wear the number his brother used as an amateur.
"I always looked up to my brother," Lincecum said. "He was an idol for me. He just had a lot of bad runs with the choices he made in life."
Texas General Manager Jon Daniels said the 33-year-old right-hander will be a reliever and could be the Rangers' closer as he attempts to pitch in the big leagues for the first time since 2016.
"I think it's a great opportunity," Lincecum said. "It was a difficult decision with the Dodgers and the Rangers, but it came down to those two teams. I thought the Rangers would be a better fit. The conversations that we had just made me feel a little bit more warm and fuzzy inside."
Lincecum is fascinated about becoming a closer.
"I feel like I could do that," the two-time Cy Young Award winner said. "I've done that in the Cape [Cod League] and at the college level. It is going to be, obviously, different, but I feel like I could tap into that mentality."
Protecting the QB
A student from the Florida high school where a gunman killed 17 people has committed to play football for a Massachusetts college because of the bond he formed with two recruiters during the shooting.
Tyler Goodman, a quarterback at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., announced his college choice on Twitter last month and confirmed to WFXT-TV near Boston on Wednesday that he has committed to Nichols College.
The NCAA Division III school in Dudley, about 50 miles west of Boston, wasn't one of his top choices at first. But during the Feb. 14 shooting, he hid in a room with his high school coach, several teammates and Nichols dean of admissions Paul Brower and assistant football coach St. Clair Ryan.
"Coach Brower and Coach Ryan kind of went into father mode and protected us," Goodman said.
Everyone in the office survived unscathed, but one of Goodman's best friends, Joaquin "Guac" Oliver, was killed.
"Being stuck with two recruiting coaches for three hours in such a tragic moment, we kind of formed that bond in a way ... like something special," he said.
A campus visit later sealed the deal.
"When I went to Nichols, it started snowing. I just thought it was a sign from the 17," Goodman said, referring to those killed, including one of his assistant football coaches, Aaron Feis.
Goodman wore No. 1 in high school, but he hopes to wear No. 17 in college as a tribute to those who lost their lives.
Nichols is a private school founded in 1815 with about 1,200 students known for its business programs.
Sports on 03/08/2018