The Sunnyvale Sun

Sports

Tulowitzki coming home--as a Colorado Rockie

By MIKE BARNHART

There was an air of anticipation among some observers at Diesner Field last Saturday night, but it had nothing to do with Fremont's football game against Willow Glen.

"He's coming to town this week," said Fremont junior Rob Ramer, a varsity baseball player working the down marker during the Firebirds' football game. "He just skipped Triple-A."

The buzz was regarding former Fremont baseball and basketball star Troy Tulowitzki, who likely will be playing shortstop for the Colorado Rockies during this week's three-game series against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. Since being recalled from the Double-A Tulsa Drillers on Aug. 30, he played in all 11 Rockies games and started 10, before getting a day off on Sept. 10.

Tulowitzki undoubtedly will have a large contingent of family and friends rooting him on in San Francisco. After two night games, Sept. 12-13, a 12:35 p.m. contest is set for Sept. 14. He has been making fans smile by hitting .333 (10-for-30) heading into the Giants series.

The 2002 Fremont grad played three seasons at Cal State Long Beach before Colorado selected him in the first round of the June 2005 amateur draft. He played at Class-A Modesto last summer, before moving to Double-A for his first full professional season.

He had a rough debut against the New York Mets on Aug. 30, striking out three times in four at-bats. The next day, he struck out two more times, but picked up his first Major League hit and scored his first run.

Three days later against the Los Angeles Dodgers, he went 4-for-4. The next day, Sept. 4, he hit his first home run at San Diego's Petco Park. On Sept. 7, he garnered his first two stolen bases in Denver against Washington.

Mike Smith, Fremont's head baseball coach, was working field security at the football game with another of Tulowitzki's former mentors, basketball coach Miguel Castillo.

"I feel a cold coming on," chuckled Smith, the Firebirds' infield coach while Tulowitzki played at Fremont. "I might not be able to work part of this week."

Football coach Ron Demonner never got a chance to coach Tulowitzki, who played quarterback for the Sunnyvale Pop Warner football program. "I know he would have been a good quarterback," Demonner smiled, "but I never could get him to come out for the team."