BEST KEPT SECRET

It figured that after Jeff Cirillo of the Colorado Rockies went eight for 10 in a three-game stretch, including hitting three home runs in one game, the lead item from a Denver Post columnist focused on John Elway making a hole-in-one on his 40th birthday.

All it proves is that Cirillo is the best baseball player nobody’s heard about, and he’s perfectly content to keep it that way.

“I don’t need to be known,” he said.

Why?

“Because then people will get into my hair. Then I’ll get bugged. I like being private. I like playing baseball.”

What a season Cirillo is having. He’s hitting .350 with 64 runs batted in and shares the major-league lead in doubles with 28. Last week, he went 14 for 22 with 16 RBIs and four home runs.

After watching Cirillo bash the ball at Coors Field, Barry Bonds of the Giants concluded, “These guys are like freakin’ Babe Ruth in this place.”

How ironic that Cirillo was traded from the Milwaukee Brewers to the Rockies, who play in the city where Elway, the most famous Valley boy of all, became a football legend.

Cirillo is the Valley boy who some say overachieved, going from tiny Providence High in Burbank to USC to an all-star third baseman in the major leagues.

But he rejects the notion that somehow he’s a freak of nature, a 30-year-old who’s defying logic by being a .311 career hitter in his seventh year in the majors.

“When I play baseball, I just play,” he said. “I don’t have the greatest power in the world, I don’t hit the hardest balls in [batting practice], I don’t run fast. I’m a baseball player. Am I a tools guy? No. Am I a baseball player? Yes.”

Cirillo’s fantastic week of hitting reflects what he has accomplished as a player and person. They are achievements young people everywhere should admire and emulate.

“His work ethic is scary,” said Marc Saraceno, Cirillo’s coach in high school. “Failure is not something he’s going to deal with.”

Cirillo is a humble family man, happily married with two young boys. He doesn’t drink or smoke. He has a college degree. His idea of a good time during the off-season is watching a movie with his wife, hanging out at one of the many coffee houses near his home in a suburb of Seattle or playing with his kids.

“I’m very simple, with simple needs,” he said.

He’s not bothered that Roy Firestone hasn’t requested an interview for “Up Close.” He doesn’t care that Nike hasn’t inquired about creating the Jeff Cirillo batting glove. He has no interest in helping Seattle neighbor Bill Gates sell Windows software even though he uses it on his own computer.

“It just takes away from my family time,” he said.

His eyes glitter and a smile crosses his face talking about Cole, 2, and Carson, 8 months.

“He likes to swing the bat,” Cirillo said of Cole. “He’s starting to understand more what Daddy does. He’s still too young to come onto the field for batting practice, but in a couple of years, he’ll be right there.”

From his earliest days playing at North Hollywood Little League, Cirillo wanted to be a major leaguer. He overcame many obstacles, from proving his .553 batting average his senior year at Providence was no fluke to not being drafted after his junior year at USC.

In the end, he made it because he believed in himself and refused to let erroneous evaluations of his baseball talent stand in the way.

He never takes one game or one at-bat for granted. He arrives at the ballpark more than three hours before game time, dedicated to preparing himself mentally and physically for the challenges ahead.

“All we are, basically, is just shepherds here to preserve the game,” Cirillo told the Denver Rocky Mountain News. “There’ll be better players than us to come along and there’ll be worse players than us to come along. And our job is to somewhat hold up the game.”

Cirillo’s strength--and sometimes his weakness--is his perfectionist attitude. When he enters a slump, a “Do Not Disturb” sign should be posted above his locker.

“I put a lot of pressure on myself to do well,” he said. “Projections are not a good thing for me. If I’m not meeting them, then I feel I’m not doing well and I’m beating myself up.”

He has developed his own philosophy on hitting.

“What’s the key to being a good hitter? Hand-eye coordination,” he said. “Kids get drafted on tools like power, speed and their arm, but the one thing you cannot teach is how to hit. You either can hit or cannot hit.”

On Wednesday, Cirillo could be named to the All-Star game for the second time in his seven-year career. This weekend, he returns to Southern California to play in a three-game series against the Angels. Soon, he should finalize details on a four-year, $28.8-million contract extension.

Asked if playing in Coors Field has helped his batting average, Cirillo said, “I think you could hit a home run there.”

A few years ago, Cirillo was with the Brewers playing in an exhibition game in Las Vegas. As Cirillo walked into the stadium, a sportswriter shouted from the second-story ramp, “Hey, Jeff!”

Later, Cirillo gave a lecture.

“Why did you shout?” he said. “Someone might recognize me.”

Sorry, Jeff. Your anonymity is fading fast.

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Eric Sondheimer can be reached at (818) 772-3422 or eric.sondheimer@latimes.com

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

CIRILLO’S WEEK

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Day Opp AB R H RBI HR Monday Giants 4 3 3 3 0 Tuesday Giants 1 0 1 1 0 Wednesday Giants 5 5 4 6 3 Thursday Giants 5 1 3 3 0 Saturday Padres 4 2 2 1 1 Sunday Padres 3 0 1 2 0 Totals: 22 11 14 16 4

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Season batting average: .350