Mike Krukow's Spring Fever appearance brings Giant recollections

The former major league pitcher was in Chico celebrating Chico American Legion baseball's 13th annual Spring Fever. The fever event is the legion's primary fundraiser for its three youth baseball programs.

Nearly 650 people attended the growing fundraiser that included an Outback Steakhouse catered dinner and more than 450 items up for auction. Included among the items was a signed ball by Yogi Berra, a signed jersey by Tim Lincecum and tickets to upcoming Giants games. But the main attraction was the voice of the Giants, Krukow.

Krukow opened his late evening speech with his humor and a story about his first day as a Giant back in 1983. Krukow was there to help the kids realize their dreams whatever they may be, like his former baseball idols did when he was a kid, he said.

"The thing I remember about seeing them is how human they were. & They looked like my teachers in school; it humanized the game for me," Krukow said. "It made my goal obtainable."

And Krukow takes the responsibility of speaking in front of kids and representing the game of baseball seriously.

"Tonight is an opportunity for me to speak about my experience and make them feel the unobtainable is obtainable. And to be a major league player like Tim Lincecum is possible,"Krukow said.

And he enjoys it, he said.

"I'll do this long after I'm retired," Krukow said.

A maximum capacity crowd came out to listen to him.

"It's overwhelming. Baseball is a game that brings about the best in the community. & There is a legacy here and they've been doing it a long time," he said. "When a community embraces a game like this it is a win-win."

Many of the attendees had no relation to the baseball teams but instead just wanted to show their support for the program, said Tom Stevens, director of baseball operations for Chico American Legion baseball.

"It's an incredible amount of community support," Stevens said. "I'm blown away to live in Chico and be a part of the community, there are 650 people here."

In its 71st year, the Chico American Legion baseball program allows the best possible players in the community to play against each other and has become one of the more successful programs in Northern California, Stevens said. And with each win the program's popularity grows every year.

"It's a snowball effect," he said. "Everyone wants to be a part of a winning experience."

To continue the winning experience, the Spring Fever is the biggest event of the year for Chico American Legion baseball, Denny Todhunter said.

"It's all about the butts in the seats," Todhunter said. "And we've been fortunate to sell out."

The event has grown exponentially since the inaugural fundraiser that only attracted 150 attendees, he said. But it's not just about baseball, Todhunter said.

"When it's all said and done, all we worry about is the quality of the young man we raised," he said. "We are all in this together, we are all community-oriented."

Miramontes, 22, made his professional debut with the Miners in 2009 after finishing his college career as the closer at the University of Illinois at Chicago. As a senior at UIC, he appeared in 25 games for the Flames and finished with a 2.58 ERA and seven saves in 45.1 innings.

As a rookie with the Miners, he tossed a total of seven innings in seven relief appearances before being traded to Shreveport-Bossier for a player to be named later. The deal included an agreement that Miramontes would be returned to the Miners for the 2010 season. With the Sports, he appeared in 19 games, four of them starts, and posted a 3.95 ERA. In 41 innings of work, he struck out 25 and walked only nine.

“We really liked Derrick but thought he needed to get more professional innings than we were going to be able to give him last season,” Miners Manager Mike Pinto. “This was a great opportunity for him, and he did the most with it and excelled. He got the innings and experience he needed to help us this season and did a great job for Shreveport along the way. I am glad to have him back in the fold for our 2010 pitching staff.”

Lohse was 15-6 with a 3.78 ERA this season and led the staff with 200 innings. He agreed to a $4.25 million, one-year contract on March 14. His new deal contract calls for a $1.25 million signing bonus and salaries of $7,125,000 next year, $8,875,000 in 2009 and $11,875,000 in each of the final two seasons. He also gets a full no-trade clause.

Lohse said he was able to remain more consistent this season in part because of better preparation under pitching coach Dave Duncan and manager Tony La Russa. "I've had pretty good runs in the past but I'd have a couple of games where it skewed the numbers a little bit," he said.

"He really became the glue of what we needed to have happen," general manager John Mozeliak said at a news conference.

Congratulations Kyle!