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Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum's ability to drop jaws found yet another dimension Thursday: He won his second straight National League Cy Young Award in as many full major-league seasons.
Lincecum's reputation as a must-see attraction perhaps won out over any stats or playoff runs comprised by his Cy Young competitors. How cool is that?
It's especially cool for a Bay Area sports market that has been awash in sorrow for far too long (see: 1996, the last year any of the six major pro sports franchises won a championship, that being done by the 49ers).
What a tremendous achievement, and it's a more surprising one that last year's. Lincecum, who beat out runner-up Brandon Webb of Arizona by nearly twice as
Lincecum received 100 votes, Carpenter 94 and Wainwright 90. Lincecum had 11 first-place votes, 12 seconds and nine thirds; Carpenter had the most first-place votes with 12.
Lincecum won despite failing to garner the first-place votes of the Bay Area's two balloters from the Baseball Writers' Association of America: Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle and Paul Gutierrez of the Sacramento Bee, both of whom made strong cases for giving Carpenter their top billing.
Back-to-back Cy Young awards sure helps overshadow the news that Lincecum got pulled in Washington last month for speeding and
Lincecum's 2009 numbers: 15-7, 2.48 earned-run average with a NL-best 261 strikeouts. His 2008 line: 18-5, 2.62, MLB-best 265 strikeouts.
Other recent pitchers who've successfully defended their Cy Young Awards: Randy Johnson (1999-2002), Pedro Martinez (1999-2000), Roger Clemens (1997-98, 1986-87) and Greg Maddux (1992-95).
* * * Press conference quotes * * *
Lincecum appeared with Giants manager Bruce Bochy, pitching coach Dave Righetti and general manager Brian Sabean at a press conference at AT&T Park on Thursday afternoon, carried live on CSN Bay Area. Here are Lincecum's key quotes:
Opening statement: "Um yeah (chuckles) I don't even know what to say what's going on. I want to give thanks to my teammates and organization as a whole."
On how he repeated: "This comes back to being a student of the game and never settling."
On who he thought might win: "I figured Carpenter with what he had done, what he came off of, he had stellar year with amazing numbers. It says a lot to him to keep pushing."
On his win: "I'm glad to be in the position I'm in with two Cy Young wins. I couldn't have ever seen this happening growin up. I just came out lucky and on top."
On having to mature in the wake of his pot bust: "It's unfortunate you have to go through the bumps like I'm going through to get to where you need to be. You look at those kind of incidents, a lot of things come into perspective and you realize the influence you have on other people and the world."
On a three-peat: "It's not about vying for that next Cy Young. I've always been day at a time guy and not getting too ahead of myself."
On a desire to pitch in the playoffs: "Ever since I got in the (2009) All-Star Game and pitched in that atmosphere with the crowd and intsentiy of it, it drives you to the situation you want to be in. We all talk of winning being the main goal and getting to the playoffs. Once you get there, it's about then, not who went into postseason with a better streak, and then turning on the appropriate burners.
His parting statement on the pot bust: "I made a mistake. I completely regret the incident that happened earlier this month in Washington. I want to apologize to the Giants organization and especially the fans. As an athlete I know I have a lot of responsibilities I need to hold up to on and off the field. I just want to say this won't ever happen again and I promise to be better in the future."
* * * Other comments * * *
Sabean said: "Obviously a momentous day. Pretty amazing, but that's what defines Timmy's ability. This organization is so proud. ... I don't say this tongue-in-cheek but where do we go from here? It's pretty awesome."
Bochy said: "It is remarkable at his age and how he young he is in his career how he's established himself. Tim I'm very excited and proud of what you've done."
Giants managing general partner Bill Neukom issued this statement:
"On behalf of the entire Giants organization, and our wonderful fans, we congratulate Tim Lincecum on being recognized as the National League's premier pitcher in 2009. By winning the Cy Young award for the second consecutive year, Tim becomes the first ever pitcher in history to win back to back Cy Young awards in his first two full seasons in the Major Leagues. He also becomes the youngest National League pitcher to do so and joins pitching greats Sandy Koufax, Greg Maddux and Randy Johnson as the only National League pitchers ever to achieve this tremendous milestone. This is a great day for Tim and his family, for the Giants and for our fans everywhere. Tim is an exceptionally talented baseball player who has earned this high honor through his hard work, dedication and competitive spirit.
"I also want to congratulate our entire baseball organization — including Tim's teammates, our scouting and player development professionals, our coaches and training staff for the role they have played in helping Tim to reach this high level of achievement.
"We are very proud of Tim's accomplishments and we look forward to his continued contributions to the Giants for many seasons to come."
Look for Cam Inman's Web-only "Candid Cam" takes whenever there's a breaking sports story, or whenever Cam's got something to say _ in short, just about every day. You can reach Cam at cinman@bayareanewsgroup.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/CamInman.
