Lincecum captures NL Cy Young
Sports Network | November 11, 2008
New York, NY (Sports Network) - San Francisco Giants right-hander Tim Lincecum has been named the 2008 National League Cy Young Award winner by members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
Lincecum placed first on 23 of the 32 ballots cast by two writers from each NL city to become just the second hurler in Giants history to win the award and the first since lefty Mike McCormick in 1967. Lincecum finished second on seven ballots and third on one, as he received 137 points based on the 5-3-1 tabulation system.
Arizona's Brandon Webb, the 2006 winner of this award, finished second with 73 points, placing first on four ballots, second on 15 and third on eight others. New York's Johan Santana was third with 55 points..
Lincecum was dominant in just his second big league season, going 18-5 for the 72-win Giants. He led the majors with 265 strikeouts, was second in the NL with a 2.62 earned run average and had the highest winning percentage in the Senior Circuit (.783).
The 24-year-old held opponents to a league best.221 batting average against. Amazingly, Lincecum held both righties and lefties to a .221 clip.
Lincecum, the 10th overall pick by the Giants in the 2006 draft, had already collected both the Players Choice and Sporting News NL pitcher-of-the-year awards earlier this offseason.
Details to follow.
