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Tim Lincecum absent from World Series base-line introductions
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A tradition like few others in sports, the base-line introductions at the World Series often are good for riling up the stadium crowd. It's also fun to see who gets booed, who gets cheered and how much.
Only the starting players for the San Francisco Giants and Kansas City Royals were introduced on Fox TV before Game 1 on Tuesday night, and it's a good thing for Giants right-hander Tim Lincecum. He missed the introductions because of unspecified matters inside of the visitor's clubhouse at Kauffman Stadium.
[Photos: Best of World Series Game 1 - Giants at Royals]
"I just didn't make it down in time," Lincecum said after the game. "I didn't want to run out there in the middle of everybody else getting introduced. That was just ... it."
The Giants beat the Royals 7-1, getting a leg up on their third championship since 2010. As they have done for the entire postseason run starting with the National League wild-card game, the Giants won without Lincecum, who has not pitched since the regular season.
Lincecum and the Giants would have been more embarrassed if the public-address announcer called his name and he wasn't there. In the old days, every player, coach and staff member (along with, perhaps, their families) would be mentioned on the ballpark loudspeakers — and it was all televised on TV live.
Later in the game, TV cameras showed Lincecum sitting in the Giants bullpen, but he got no closer to the action.
[Related: Who's that Marlins fan sitting behind home plate during Game 1?]
It was noticed that Lincecum wasn't out there for the introductions, so speculation ran around, if not amok, as to why.
"Did the Giants not want him out there wearing a hoodie?" and questions of that nature could be found on Twitter, and perhaps elsewhere.
"No, it was nothing more than I just wasn't down there in time," Lincecum said.
Was he in the bathroom? Hey, it happens.
"No, I was doing some stuff in the training room," the two-time NL Cy Young Award winner said.
"Doing some stuff." That's it? That's the explanation? Oh, Timmy.
It's the kind of thing that might earn a fine the next time the club does a "kangaroo court," but it's also possible Lincecum's transgression will be overlooked just because it's the playoffs.
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David Brown is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rdbrown@yahoo-inc.com and follow him on Twitter!
