Just sheer domination that didn't necessarily show up in the win column! Fifteen victories equals a Cy Young?
Let's look at ALL of the numbers to really appreciate how great Tim Lincecum has been through his first two-full seasons with the Giants (he did throw 146-plus innings in 24 starts in 2007). Back-to-back Cy Young Awards do not come around very often (see: N.L. stand-outs RJ and Maddux, each with four straight, and Sandy Koufax with three of four; Clemens, Palmer, McClain, and Pedro each went back-to-back in the A.L. ([Clemens did it twice; ten years apart]). The difference? Lincecum has done it twice in two full years by the age of 25!
So how do you follow up a CY YOUNG AWARD WINNING SEASON??? You work even harder to improve (by perfecting a third pitch), and that's exactly what Lincecum did after winning his first CY in 2008 with an 18-and-5 record, and 265 strikeouts in 227 innings. Lincecum worked 225 and one-third innings this year, and went 15-and-7 with 261 strikeouts. No, that doesn't sound any better until we delve deeper. Check this out - in roughly the same number of innings pitched, Lincecum allowed fourteen fewer hits (182 down to 168); sixteen fewer walks (84 to 68); four fewer earned runs (66 to 62), and an opponent's batting average of .206, down from .221 in '08. He also doubled his complete games (up to four); doubled his shutouts (two); lowered his ERA (2.48 from 2.62), and his WHIP (1.05 from 1.17). That is thirty fewer base runners which is certainly reflected in his walks- and hits-to-innings-pitched.
Among his many double-digit strikeout performances this season, I was fortunate enough to see Lincecum dust 15 Pirates in a complete game victory on a Monday night in late July. Just unbelievable, even if it was against Pittsburgh. And let's not forget that brilliant stretch in June with three complete game wins in four starts - he lost that fourth start 4-3 to the Angels after giving up the lead in the top of the 9th. The pitch-count, and that Angels line-up eventually got the better of him that day. I remember, because I also happened to be there for a Wednesday afternoon at the yard.
A little more run support, and he could have easily won more than fifteen games. After starting the season 12-and-3, Timmy went 3-and-4 in his final seven starts, losing at the Rockies (4-2 on August 23rd); at Philadelphia (2-1 on September 3rd); home to the Cubs (3-0 September 25th); and that dreadful four-inning, just didn't have it loss at Dodger Stadium (6-2 on September 20th).
Ideally, twenty wins is still a big attention grabber, and Adam Wainwright didn't quite get there with a 19-and-7 record (finishing third in today's voting by the Baseball Writer's Association). Wainwright's St. Louis teammate Chris Carpenter, who finished second in the voting, carried a 17-4 record for the Cardinals. Did the teammates take votes away from each-other? Here's the final breakdown (according to MLB.com):
Lincecum 100 total points (11 first place, 12 second place, and 9 third place votes).
Carpenter 94 total points (9 first place, 14 second place, and 7 third place votes).
Wainwright 90 total points (12 first place, 5 second place, and 15 third place votes).
I think Lincecum's ERA, WHIP, strikeouts, hits-to-innings pitched, and bating average against are clear indicators of his dominance, and just a little bit better than the competition. After missing most of 2007 and 2008, and about a month this year between April 14th and May 20th, Carpenter (the 2005 Cy Young winner) bounced back big time with 192 and two-thirds innings, a 2.24 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. His batting average against was .226. But that's roughly 33 fewer innings pitched than Lincecum -- just not quite enough in the durability department.
Wainwright; meanwhile, was a horse with 233 innings pitched, but he also allowed 216 hits, and struck out 212 batters. His batting average against (.244.); His ERA (2.63); WHIP (1.21), and number of first place votes (12) were all good, but just not good enough. Lincecum had nearly fifty more K's, and seven more second-place votes than Wainwright. It's refreshing to see that numbers other than wins were actually factored into the equation. Thank you Bill James, Money Ball, and fantasy league geeks everywhere!
However, you've got to dig a little deeper to find other starting pitchers (not closers), who won only fifteen or sixteen games and captured a Cy Young. Unfortunately, you have to factor in the strike-shortened seasons of '81 and '94.
Fernando Valenzuela (13 wins in 1981); Mike Marshall (15 wins in 1974); Greg Maddux and David Cone (16 wins in 1994); Brandon Webb (16 wins in 2006), and fellow 2009 Cy Young counterpart Zack Greinke (16-and-8 with a 2.16 ERA). Again, you really narrow the list without the sexy win total. But you can see the recent win totals for Webb and Greinke as well. It reflects more of a trend towards statistics that were once thought obscure.
Finally, it was certainly quite a bizarre combination at today's press conference for the Cy Young winner. There's Lincecum, graciously accepting praise for his back-to-back awards, capping off an incredible start to his young career. This, followed by a prepared statement, apologizing for his recent misdemeanor pot bust in Washington state. Lincecum said all the right things, including sincere apologies to the fans and the organization, admitting the mistake; saying he needs to set a better off-the-field example, and that "it" (getting caught with some marijuana and a pipe after getting pulled over for speeding) will not happen again. What, the speeding? It was somewhat awkward and unfortunate, but necessary. Hey, there's nothing like winning a Cy Young to get some positive publicity going. I would say it certainly overshadowed a mistake that he can't take back. The media had to at least broach the topic without throwing a complete damper on what was supposed to be a great day for both Lincecum and the Giants.
Keywords: Adam Wainwright, Brandon Webb, Chicago Cubs, Chris Carpenter, Colorado Rockies, Cy Young Award, David Cone, Denny McLain, Fernando Valenzuela, Greg Maddux, Jim Palmer, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Mike Marshall, Pedro Martinez, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, San Francisco Giants, Sandy Koufax, St. Louis Cardinals, Tim Lincecum, Zack Greinke
