Tim Lincecum Wins Cy Young

For the 2nd straight year, Tim Lincecum has won the National League Cy Young. This has also been Tim Lincecum's second full season in the Major Leagues putting him in a category all by himself. The 25 year old stud only won 15 games this past season, but that was not the deciding factor for the award.

Lincecum posted a 2.48 ERA, a 15-7 record, 261 Strikeouts, and a 1.05 whip. His ERA was second in the league, and led the league in strikeouts, and whip. Despite his Win-Lose ratio decreasing, Timmy clearly improved overall upon his first Cy Young season. He trimmed his ERA down from 2.62 to 2.48. Opponents hit .206 off him this season, compared to .221 in 2008. His walks also decreased from 84 to 68 walks in nearly identical innings pitched.

I think the deciding factor for Lincecum's narrow Cy Young victory was his strikeout total. Power pitchers often are more popular and get more awards than finesse pitchers, much like power hitters compared to finesse hitters. Strikeouts are the Home Runs for pitchers. With that being said, I take nothing away from Lincecum who obviously deserved to win the award for the second straight year.