There are extremely few players in Major League Baseball that I will actually gush about. But honestly, who doesn't love watching Tim Lincecum pitch? The man epitomizes the word phenom. If I had to choose one player to start a franchise with, he would be it. The Washington native just won his second consecutive Cy Young award today, and he's just 25. The last time a pitcher won two Cy Youngs in a row actually happened twice in the same time frame. Pedro Martinez won for the Red Sox in '99 and 2000, and Randy Johnson did the same for the Arizona Diamondbacks, but went on to four-peat in the National League until 2002.
Tim "The Freak" Lincecum can now join their excellent ranks. With a fantastic 2.48 ERA and a strangely un-Cy Young like 15-7 record, the lanky youngster is rapidly carving his name into the annals of baseball history. Now the 15-7 record is due in large part to a still fairly anemic Giants' lineup. But the dude is basically unhittable. Not since the emergence of "Doc" Gooden in the 1980s has a dynamic young pitcher electrified a viewing crowd the way "The Freak" does now. Let's hope Tim Lincecum manages to stay away from some of the demons that chased Dwight throughout his baseball career.
Now I understand the two-time All-Star has yet to win 20 games, and hasn't reached the strata of strikeout kings by recording 300 Ks in a year. But seeing as how this was only his third year in the Majors, when most other young pitchers are just finding their way, we can cut him a break. If the Giants can see to it to put together a successful lineup, then 20 games is a very attainable goal. And even if he never reaches 300 strikeouts, which few do, he has already established himself as a strikeout-dominant pitcher. And as he continues to use his fireball, his newly acquired pull-string change, and gain more and more experience, that already awesome ERA stands a very good chance of continuing to drop.
In an era we now think of as one reserved for home-run hitters, he stands out to remind us that good pitching still beats out good hitting. If good health continues to shine down on him, which seems likely due to his intense conditioning habits, we may very well be looking at a future Hall of Famer. The skinny kid with the long goofy hair and the crazy deliver is really something to see, and I look forward to the career of Tim Lincecum.
Surprised they gave it to him this year. There were better records plus he got busted for weed. He looked pretty bad in the All Star game this year too.
ReplyDeleteChuck D.
I can't down a guy for smoking some weed. Mantle was a severe alcoholic, but people tend to forget that when his playing career is brought up. I'll admit the All-Star game was not his finest moment, and I addressed the record a bit in the post. I wrote more for appreciation of a good, young, consistent pitcher, which is rare these days. I greatly appreciate the input though. Thanks Chuck D!
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