Baseball Sports News:Tim Lincecum Wins Second Straight Cy Young
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Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants won his second straight NL Cy Young Award. In a close race, Lincecum edged Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright — both of the St. Louis Cardinals. The Giants hurler became the first back-to-back winner since Randy Johnson won four straight Cy Young Awards from 1999 to 2002.
On the season, Lincecum pitched 225.1 innings over 32 starts. He finished with a 2.48 ERA, a 1.05 WHIP and 261 strikeouts while allowing only 168 hits. Despite his fantastic stats, he only had a record of 15-7. His 15 wins were the least in baseball history for a Cy Young Award winner in a full length season.
Wainwright actually had the most first place votes with 12, while Carpenter finished second in the balloting. The other two pitchers to receive votes were Dan Haren of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Javier Vazquez of the Atlanta Braves.
The balloting was so close because great cases could be made for both Carpenter and Wainwright. Carpenter had a lower ERA (2.24) and more wins (17) than Lincecum. Wainwright, on the other hand, led the NL in wins with 19 and had a comparable ERA at 2.63. But when it came down to it, Carpenter and Wainwright being on the same team didn’t help and opened the door for Lincecum.
Tim Lincecum won the Cy Young Award again (Image: Zuma Press)