Strikes Name of Game for Hellickson

In the basement of Grandma Rennie's house in Des Moines, Iowa, sit the spoils of Jeremy Hellickson's baseball career. "I keep all my trophies in my grandma's basement," Hellickson said.

Lately, a lot of hardware has been carried down the basement stairs, what with all the minor-league player of the year awards the Rays' rookie right-hander garnered last season. Add to the haul the American League rookie and American League pitcher of the month awards Hellickson received Tuesday and the baseball trophies are beginning to make a formidable presence with some other reminders of Hellickson's athletic success.

 "I think I have more bowling trophies down there," he said. Oh yeah, Hellickson is quite the kegler. Or was. "I haven't bowled since I was 12," Hellickson said. But back then, Hellickson said, he could break 200. He remembers once rolling a 230.

Rays manager Joe Maddon laughed Thursday when he learned Hellickson was as good on the lanes as he is on the mound. "He bowls the way he pitches," Maddon said. "He probably was good. He saw that little dot down there. He threw it over the dot all the time and threw strikes." The key to both sports, obviously, is the ability to throw strikes, and Hellickson can certainly do that. That he's throwing them more with his fastball is the reason for his success, Maddon said. "He had that one bad moment in Baltimore recently (five walks in five innings). We talked to him about it. Since then he tries to utilize more fastball, working his other stuff in with the fastball, and he's done that," Maddon said.

Hellickson, the only player in team history to win a pair of monthly awards in the same month, makes his 11th start of the season this afternoon against the Mariners. He is 6-3 with a 2.80 ERA for the season. In May, he was 4-1 with a 1.36 ERA and held opposing batters to a major league-low .168 average. "It was a good month," said Hellickson, who is even more economical with his words than he is with his pitches.

"I'll tell you this, he doesn't walk all over the conversation," Maddon said. And, Maddon added, Hellickson is a good listener, which is a good trait for Hellickson to have as he negotiates his way through his first full season in the big leagues.