Long Beach State University Athletics
Tulowitzki Turning Into Household Name
3/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 14, 2008
It didn't take long for Colorado Rockies fans to fall in love with Troy Tulowitzki.
"Tulo," the runner-up for the National League rookie of the year last season, had his name yelled out as a cheer - after a series of claps - at every Rockies games by the end of the season.
The cheer even went off at Denver Broncos games when he was there.
Five U.S. Postal Service employees in the heart of the Rockies' run to the World Series would do the 9-clap "Tulo" cheer every hour, on the hour.
Yes, Tulo fever has hit the Rocky Mountains.
"It was awesome," Tulowitzki said. "The fans kind of fell in love with everything. It kind of was a gesture to me that I play the game the right way. That is what they appreciate, that I always try to run hard and dive after every ball.
"When they see a young guy who signs for a lot of money but plays the game the right way, they really appreciate that."
Tulowitzki made the club the final few days of spring training a year ago without a whole lot of fanfare.
His start to the season was not exactly something to cheer about. Tulowitzki, a first-round draft choice out of Long Beach State in 2005, struggled with a .241 average in his first 34 games with Colorado.
He was even benched for three straight games.
"I struggled at the beginning. It was not easy. It took some time and adjustments that I had to make," Tulowitzki said. "Obviously, I am a confident person who plays with confidence so I believed in myself but there were times when it was difficult.
"(The benching) was a wakeup call. After that I responded and played well.
That's an understatement. Tulowitzki hit over .300 the rest of the way, raising his final average to .291. The 23-year-old had 24 homers and 99 RBIs.
The RBI total was a record for a rookie shortstop.
The number that really stood out was another rookie shortstop record - a .987 fielding percentage.
There are few balls out of his range, which he showed the other day when he tracked down a ball in left field foul territory, making a tough play look easy.
"I take a lot of pride in my defense. I am out there taking extra ground balls," Tulowitzki said. "That is what a shortstop has to do, make all the plays and make some spectacular plays, but more importantly make the routine ones."
His play helped the Rockies advance to their first World Series, where they were swept by Boston.
"There were a substantial amount of things he did last year that were surprising," Colorado manager Clint Hurdle said. "He made some plays that were jaw-dropping, eye-opening, take-your-breath-away plays.
The Rockies gave Tulowitzki a six-year, $31 million contract after the season, the highest ever in the majors for a player entering his second year.
Now all Tulo has to do is make sure the home fans continue to cheer and clap his name.
