Tim Lincecum Wins NL Cy Young Award
Tim Lincecum has become only the second San Francisco Giant to win baseball’s most coveted pitching honor, the Cy Young Award, and the first since Mike McCormick won it in 1967.
This is a tremendous honor for a pitcher who, in only his second year in the big leagues, pitched incredibly all season long. I saw him pitch three times this season at AT&T Park, and this award comes as no surprise to me.
From MLB.com:
Tim Lincecum has been called “The Freak,” “The Franchise” and “Seabiscuit.”
Now he can be called something else: The National League’s Cy Young Award winner.
The Giants right-hander earned the prestigious honor, emblematic of the league’s best pitcher, in voting conducted by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and announced Tuesday.
Lincecum received 23 of 32 first-place votes, seven second-place votes and one third-place vote for 137 points, which were assigned on a 5-3-1 basis. He outdistanced Arizona’s Brandon Webb (73 points), the New York Mets’ Johan Santana (55), Philadelphia’s Brad Lidge (10), Milwaukee’s CC Sabathia (9) and the Chicago Cubs’ Ryan Dempster (4).
Lincecum became only the second Giant to capture the Cy Young, joining 1967 winner Mike McCormick, and the first second-year player to earn the distinction since right-handers Dwight Gooden of the Mets and Bret Saberhagen of Kansas City secured the 1985 awards in their respective leagues.
At 24, Lincecum already has earned a place in Giants lore alongside Juan Marichal and Gaylord Perry, San Francisco’s Hall of Fame right-handers. Marichal somehow never received a Cy Young first-place vote in his six 20-win seasons, and Perry twice won the award after leaving the Giants.
From the San Francisco Chronicle:
In balloting announced by the Baseball Writers Association of America, Lincecum won in a landslide. He garnered 23 of 32 first-place votes, seven second-place votes and one third-place vote, for a total of 137 points.
Brandon Webb of Arizona finished second with four first-place votes and 73 points. The Mets’ Johan Santana was third with four first-place votes and 55 points.
CC Sabathia of Milwaukee got the final first-place vote but finished fifth behind Brad Lidge, the Philadelphia closer.
One writer, Chris DeLuca of the Chicago Sun-Times, did not name Lincecum on his ballot. His three choices were Webb first, Lidge second, Santana third.
Thirty-two members of the BBWAA, two from each National League city, cast ballots after the final game of the regular season, but before the playoffs. Five points were awarded for each first-place vote, three for second place and one for third place.
Tags: AL, American League, AT&T Park, Baseball Writers' Association of America, BBWAA, Brad Lidge, Brandon Webb, Bret Saberhagen, CC Sabathia, Chicago Cubs, Cy Young, Cy Young Vote, Dwight Gooden, Gaylord Perry, Johan Santana, Juan Marichal, Lincecum, Lincecum Cy Young, Major League Baseball, Mike McCormick, MLB, National League, New York Mets, NL, Philadelphia Phillies, Ryan Dempster, San Francisco Giants, Seabiscuit, Tim Lincecum
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