Cy Young Profile: Tim Lincecum, 2008

Pitcher, San Francisco Giants

Age:  24 (June 15)

2^nd season with Giants

Bats – Left, Throws – Right

Height: 5’11” Weight: 170

Prior to 2008:

Born in Bellevue, Washington, Lincecum was small and wiry growing up. Only 4’11” when he entered Renton’s Liberty High School but was surprisingly strong for his small stature. A growth spurt had him at nearly a foot taller by the time he was a junior and became a varsity pitcher. With a unique windup that resolved in a long stride forward on the mound prior to release, Lincecum compiled a 4-2 record in that first varsity season with a 0.73 ERA and 86 strikeouts over the course of 49 innings. He was 12-1 for a state championship team as a senior and he passed up an offer from the Chicago Cubs, who selected him in the 2003 amateur draft, to attend the Univ. of Washington. He continued his development in college and received the Golden Spikes Award as the nation’s best collegiate player in 2006, when he pitched 125.1 innings and posted a 12-4 tally with a 1.94 ERA and 199 strikeouts. He was the tenth overall selection by the Giants in that year’s amateur draft and Lincecum signed for a $2.025 million bonus. Playing for two teams at the Class A level in ’06 he pitched 31.2 innings and went 2-0 with a 1.71 ERA and 58 strikeouts. He advanced to Fresno of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League in 2007 and in five games posted a 4-0 record and 0.29 ERA with 46 strikeouts. Called up to the Giants in May Lincecum took over the spot in the rotation of injured RHP Russ Ortiz and compiled a 7-5 tally with a 4.00 ERA and 150 strikeouts in 146.1 innings pitched. Able to throw consistently at high velocity from his odd windup and despite his slender frame, his repertoire included a four-seam fastball, curve, changeup, and slider.

2008 Season Summary

Appeared in 34 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 34

Games Started – 33 [9, tied with ten others]

Complete Games – 2 [6, tied with six others]

Wins – 18 [2]

Losses – 5

PCT - .783 [1]

Saves – 0

Shutouts – 1 [7, tied with fifteen others]

Innings Pitched – 227 [3]

Hits – 182

Runs – 72

Earned Runs – 66

Home Runs – 11

Bases on Balls – 84 [7]

Strikeouts – 265 [1]

ERA – 2.62 [2]

Hit Batters – 6

Balks – 2 [5, tied with nine others

Wild Pitches – 17 [1, tied with Manny Parra]

League-leading winning pct. was +.024 ahead of runner-up Brandon Webb

League-leading strikeouts were +59 ahead of runners-up Edinson Volquez, Johan Santana & Dan Haren

Midseason Snapshot: 11-2, ERA - 2.57, SO - 135 in 129.2 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 13 (in 7 IP) vs. Arizona 7/26, (in 7 IP) vs. LA Dodgers 9/28

10+ strikeout games – 9

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 3 (in 7 IP) at San Diego 8/1, (in 7.2 IP) at Atlanta 8/17

Batting

PA – 81, AB – 70, R – 7, H – 11, 2B – 1, 3B – 1, HR – 0, RBI – 5, BB – 5, SO – 32, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .157, GDP – 1, HBP – 0, SH – 6, SF – 0

Fielding

Chances – 26

Put Outs – 9

Assists – 17

Errors – 0

DP – 1

Pct. - 1.000

Awards & Honors:

NL Cy Young Award: BBWAA

NL Pitcher of the Year: Sporting News

All-Star

23^rd in NL MVP voting (9 points, 2% share)

NL Cy Young voting:

Tim Lincecum, SF: 137 pts. – 23 of 32 first place votes, 86% share

Brandon Webb, Ariz.: 73 pts. – 4 first place votes, 46% share

Johan Santana, NYM: 55 pts. – 4 first place votes, 34% share

Brad Lidge, Phila.: 10 pts. – 6% share

C.C. Sabathia, Mil.: 9 pts. – 1 first place vote, 6% share

Ryan Dempster, ChiC.: 4 pts. – 3% share

Giants went 72-90 to finish fourth in the NL Western Division, 12 games behind the division-winning Los Angeles Dodgers.

Aftermath of ‘08:

Lincecum followed up with another Cy Young-winning season in 2009 in which he produced a 15-7 record and 2.48 ERA, again leading the NL in strikeouts with 261. “The Freak” was again an All-Star and placed eighteenth in MVP voting. With a fine starting rotation that featured Lincecum, RHP Matt Cain, and LHP Jonathan Sanchez, the Giants won the NL West in 2010 and Lincecum contributed a 16-10 tally with a 3.43 ERA and league-leading 231 strikeouts. He was 3-1 in the postseason, including two wins in the World Series victory over Texas. San Francisco dropped to second place in 2011 and Lincecum’s record fell to 13-14 with a 2.74 ERA and 220 strikeouts, although he was an All-Star for the fourth straight year. Lincecum went 10-15 in 2012 with a 5.18 ERA and 190 strikeouts as the Giants returned to the top of the NL West. He started only one game in the postseason as the club won the NL pennant. Relegated to the bullpen during the World Series sweep of Detroit, he struck out eight of the 16 batters he faced in two relief appearances. He generated another losing record in 2013 at 10-14 although he threw a no-hitter against the Padres at San Diego. His ERA for the season was 4.37 and he struck out 193 batters. In 2014 Lincecum pitched another no-hitter against the Padres, this time at home. Otherwise it was a season that involved more struggles, that eventually forced his move to the bullpen, on the way to a 12-9 record with a 4.74 ERA, 134 strikeouts, and a league-leading 15 wild pitches. He started out well in 2015 but ended up with a 7-4 tally in just 15 starts and a 4.13 ERA. A free agent in the offseason, he signed with the Los Angeles Angels for 2016. He was a disappointing 2-6 for the Angels with a dreadful 9.16 ERA, and spent time back in Class AAA before being let go in August. After sitting out the 2017 season, Lincecum signed with the Texas Rangers in 2018, but went on the disabled list in the spring and never appeared with the Rangers, who released him during the season, thus ending his career. Overall during his major league career, Lincecum produced a 110-89 record with a 3.74 ERA and 1736 strikeouts over 1682 innings pitched. He was 108-83 with the Giants with a 3.61 ERA and 1704 strikeouts. He further compiled 10 complete games that included 7 shutouts and two no-hitters. In 13 postseason appearances he went 5-2 with a 2.40 ERA and 65 strikeouts over 56.1 innings. In addition to two Cy Young Awards, Lincecum was a four-time All-Star.

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Cy Young Profiles feature pitchers who were recipients of the Cy Young Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1956 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1966 and from 1967 on to one recipient from each major league.