Tim Lincecum
Timothy Leroy Lincecum, nicknamed "the Freak", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played ten seasons in Major League Baseball, primarily for the San Francisco Giants. A two-time Cy Young Award winner, Lincecum won World Series championships in 2010, 2012, and 2014 as a member of the Giants.
A graduate of Liberty Senior High School in Renton, Washington, Lincecum played college baseball at the University of Washington, where he won the 2006 Golden Spikes Award. That year, Lincecum became the first Washington Husky to be selected in the first round of an MLB draft when the San Francisco Giants selected him tenth overall.
Nicknamed "The Freak" for his ability to generate powerful pitches despite his slight physique and for his unorthodox pitching mechanics, the power pitcher led the National League in strikeouts for three consecutive years in a span from to. He also led the league in shutouts in and won the Babe Ruth Award in 2010 as the most valuable player of the MLB postseason. Lincecum won consecutive Cy Young Awards in and, becoming the first MLB pitcher to win the award in his first two full seasons. He also appeared in four consecutive All-Star Games from 2008 through 2011 and pitched no-hitters in 2013 and 2014. After an injury-plagued 2015 season, he made nine starts for the Los Angeles Angels in 2016. Lincecum returned to baseball in 2018 to sign with the Texas Rangers, but only played for the Rangers' Triple-A affiliate before being released due to injuries.
Early life
Timothy Leroy Lincecum was born on June 15, 1984, in Bellevue, Washington. Lincecum's mother, Rebecca Asis, is the daughter of Filipino immigrants. His father, Chris, worked at Boeing and is distantly related by marriage to actress Natalie Wood. From the age of four, Chris helped his son refine his pitching motion, filming his practices and games and analyzing the video. Lincecum attended Liberty Senior High School in Renton, Washington, where he played two seasons of varsity baseball. As a senior, he was named the state's Player of the Year and led his school to the 2003 3A Kingco Athletic Conference title. He was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 48th round of the 2003 Major League Baseball draft, but he did not sign, opting to attend the University of Washington instead.College career
In both 2004 and 2006, Lincecum was named the Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year for the Washington Huskies. He was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 42nd round upon re-entering the draft in 2005. Again, he did not sign, rejecting an offer including a $700,000 signing bonus as he had been holding out for a larger signing bonus so that his father could retire. He finished 2006 with a 12–4 win–loss record and a 1.94 earned run average, 199 strikeouts, and three saves in innings. He was the recipient of the 2006 Golden Spikes Award, which is awarded annually to the best amateur baseball player.In 2005, Lincecum played collegiate summer baseball for the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League. He was named a league all-star for Harwich, and posted a 2–2 record with a league-leading 0.69 ERA, striking out 68 batters in 39 innings.
Professional career
Drafts and minor leagues
In 2006, Lincecum was drafted tenth overall by the San Francisco Giants, becoming the first player from the University of Washington to be taken in the first round. His $2.025 million signing bonus was, at the time, the most the organization had ever paid to any amateur player.Lincecum made his professional debut in 2006 with the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes of the Single-A short season Northwest League. Going into 2007, he was ranked as the #11 prospect in baseball and the #1 prospect in the San Francisco Giants organization by Baseball America. In the spring of 2007, Colorado Rockies prospect Ian Stewart described Lincecum as tough to face, saying "You can't see the ball at all until it's right on top of you. It gets on you real quick...Guys on our club who have been in the big leagues said he's the toughest guy they ever faced too." Lincecum spent the first month of the season pitching for the Fresno Grizzlies, the Giants' Triple-A affiliate in the Pacific Coast League. In 31 innings across five starts with the Grizzlies, he allowed just one run, 12 hits, and 11 walks while striking out 46 batters and going 4–0. During his 2006 and 2007 minor league campaigns, Lincecum struck out 30.9% of batters, the highest ratio of any minor league pitcher in the previous ten years.
San Francisco Giants (2007–2015)
Rookie year (2007)
After starter Russ Ortiz suffered an inflamed elbow, the Giants called Lincecum up to make his first career Major League start on May 6, 2007 at AT&T Park against the Philadelphia Phillies. Lincecum struck out three batters, all swinging, in his first inning, the first being second baseman Chase Utley, followed by future 2010 World Series champion teammates left fielder Pat Burrell and center fielder Aaron Rowand.Lincecum earned his first major league win five days later against the Rockies. His next two starts were against the Houston Astros, on May 17 and 22. After the first match-up, Astros third baseman Mike Lamb said, "The stuff he was throwing out there tonight was everything he's hyped up to be. He was with movement. You just don't see that every day. He pitched very much like the pitcher he is compared to and out-dueled him throughout the night." After recording a no decision in the first game, Lincecum pitched eight innings and got the win the second time.
In July, Lincecum went 4–0 with a 1.62 ERA. On July 1, in a seven-inning performance against the Arizona Diamondbacks, he recorded 12 strikeouts and allowed just three hits in a 13–0 victory. Lincecum pitched into the ninth inning for the first time on August 21 against the Cubs, holding a 1–0 lead. He had allowed just two hits and one walk through the first eight, while throwing only 88 pitches. Cubs shortstop and future 2012 World Series champion teammate Ryan Theriot said after the game, "He's got electric stuff. The best stuff I've seen all year."
Lincecum was benched in September as a precaution due to the high number of innings he had pitched in his first full year of professional baseball. Between the minors and the majors, he pitched a total of innings in the 2007 season.
Consecutive Cy Young Awards (2008–2009)
The Giants asked Lincecum not to throw bullpen sessions like the ones other pitchers typically throw during the off-season. Bruce Bochy, the manager of the Giants, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the team was being careful with Lincecum because of studies showing that pitchers who throw 200 innings in a season early in their careers are more susceptible to injuries.From April 2 through April 24, Lincecum won his first four decisions of the 2008 season. On May 15, Lincecum struck out 10 Astros in six innings. Houston first baseman Lance Berkman offered his view of Lincecum: "He has three almost unhittable pitches...When he throws those off-speed pitches where he wants, you've got no chance." After his team fell to Lincecum and the Giants 6–3 on May 27, Diamondbacks first baseman Conor Jackson gave his impression of facing Lincecum: "From what I saw tonight, that's the best arm I've seen all year, no doubt. You've got to almost hit a ball right down the middle. You're going to pop up the ball at your bellybutton, which we all did tonight, and the one down, it's coming in at, you're not going to put too much good wood on it. Even the ones down the middle are coming at 98. He's good, man."
Image:Lincecum strikes out 11.JPG|thumb|left|Lincecum pitching on August 1, 2008, in San Diego
Lincecum was on the cover of the July 7, 2008, issue of Sports Illustrated. He was selected to his first All-Star Game, but he was unavailable to play in it because he was hospitalized the day of the game due to flu-like symptoms. In a July 26 game against the Diamondbacks, he struck out 13 batters in seven innings while allowing seven hits, two earned runs, and no walks.
On September 13, Lincecum pitched his first major league shutout against the San Diego Padres. In nine innings, he threw 138 pitches, gave up four hits and struck out 12 batters. Facing the Rockies on September 23, he recorded his 252nd strikeout of the season, breaking Jason Schmidt's 2004 single-season strikeout record. Lincecum finished the season with 265 strikeouts, making him the first San Francisco pitcher to win the National League strikeout title and the first Giant to do so since Bill Voiselle in 1944. Lincecum won 18 games, losing just five. On November 11, 2008, Lincecum was awarded the NL Cy Young Award, making him the second Giant to win the award. He finished 23rd in that year's NL Most Valuable Player Award voting.
After losing his first decision of 2009 on April 12 against the Padres, Lincecum won six in a row, not losing again until June 17. On June 2 at Nationals Park, Lincecum struck out Washington Nationals leadoff hitter and shortstop Cristian Guzmán looking in the bottom of the first inning for his 500th career strikeout, becoming the quickest Giants pitcher in franchise history to reach the milestone. In his six June starts, he went 4–1 with a 1.38 ERA and pitched three complete games. On July 3, Lincecum was announced as the NL Pitcher of the Month for June. He and fellow Giants starter Matt Cain were selected to the NL All-Star Team. Lincecum started the game for the NL, allowing two runs in two innings pitched in the NL's eventual 4–3 loss.
Image:Tim Lincecum 2009.jpg|thumb|right|Lincecum in 2009
Through 20 starts in 2009, Lincecum had amassed an 11–3 record with a 2.30 ERA, 183 strikeouts, four complete games, and two shutouts. Lincecum also had a scoreless inning streak of 29 innings, the third-longest streak since the Giants moved to San Francisco from New York City prior to the 1958 season. On July 27, in a 4–2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates at AT&T Park, Lincecum pitched a complete game and struck out a career-high 15 batters, the second most in San Francisco history. On August 3, Lincecum was named the NL Player of the Week.
Against the Padres on September 8, Lincecum missed a regularly scheduled start for the first time in his major league career, due to back spasms. Lincecum finished the 2009 season with a 15–7 record, 2.48 ERA and 261 strikeouts. Following the season, Lincecum was named the Sporting News NL Pitcher of the Year for the second consecutive year. On November 19, Lincecum was awarded his second consecutive Cy Young Award, narrowly edging out St. Louis Cardinals pitchers Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. In doing so, he became the first pitcher in MLB history to be awarded the Cy Young in each of his first two full seasons. He finished 18th in NL MVP voting.
On November 24, 2009, it was reported that Lincecum would file for a record $23 million in salary arbitration.