Just a few weeks ago he was idling in Triple A ball, hitting a respectable .280 for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre against such teams as the Pawtucket Red Sox, the Buffalo Bisons, and the Toledo Mud Hens.

Now, Issaquah High School graduate Colin Curtis is the toast of the Big Apple, having made his mark with a number of clutch hits for the most famous club in baseball, the New York Yankees.

Since coming up to the majors on Monday, June 21, Curtis is batting .333. And though he has only made six trips to the plate in a handful of pinch-hit appearances, he has made them count.

His first hit, a double into deep center field against Arizona on June 22, scored two runs and helped his team to a 9 – 3 win over Arizona.

The next night he continued the run scoring, hitting a crucial RBI single to bring the Yankees back to 4 – 4, on their way to an eventual 6 – 5 win.

And then, on June 27 against cross-coast rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, Curtis’ RBI sacrifice in the 9th tied the score for the Yankees when all had seemed lost. The New Yorkers rallied from a four-run deficit going in to the final inning to win 8 – 6.

Curtis was a fourth-round draft pick by the Yankees in 2006. Up until last week, he had played in 466 minor league games, without a Major League call up. But since his debut he has done all that has been asked of him by manager Joe Girardi.

Due to his good form, Curtis managed to crack the opening lineup for the Yankees on Wednesday in game two of their series against the Seattle Mariners in New York. Starting in left field, Curtis had a hit and a strikeout in three at bats, keeping his average at .333. It wasn’t enough to stop the Mariners taking a 2 – 0 lead in the series behind a complete game from pitcher Felix Hernandez.