Red Bull is an energy drink sold by the Austrian Red Bull GmbH. It was created in 1987 by the Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz and on market share, Red Bull is the most popular energy drink in the world, with 3 billion cans sold each year. Dietrich Mateschitz was inspired by an already existing drink called Krating Daeng which he discovered in Thailand. He took this idea, and to suit the tastes of Westerners, modified the ingredients, and founded Austrian Red Bull GmbH in partnership with Chaleo Yoovidhya. Chaleo Yoovidhya invented the Thai energy drink Krating Daeng; in Thai ''daeng'' is red, and ''krating'' is the reddish brown bovine, gaur, an animal slightly larger than the bison. Red Bull is sold in a tall and slim blue-silver can. Krating Daeng is sold in Thailand and in some parts of Asia in a wider gold can with the name of Krating Daeng or Red Bull Classic. Both are different products produced separately.

Their slogan is "Red Bull gives you wiiings" and the product is aggressively marketed through advertising, tournament sponsorship (Red Bull Air Race, Red Bull Crashed Ice), sports team ownerships (Red Bull Racing, Scuderia Toro Rosso, EC Red Bull Salzburg, FC Red Bull Salzburg, Red Bull New York, RB Leipzig), celebrity endorsements, and with its record label, Red Bull Records, music. In 2009 it was discovered that Red Bull Cola exported from Austria contained trace amounts of cocaine. Red Bull has also been the target of criticism concerning the possible health risks associated with the drink.

History

Red Bull took many marketing and ingredient ideas from an energy drink in Thailand called ''Krating Daeng''. Dietrich Mateschitz, an Austrian entrepreneur, developed the Red Bull Energy Drink brand. Mateschitz was the international marketing director for Blendax, a toothpaste company, when he visited Thailand in 1982 and discovered that Krating Daeng helped to cure his jet lag. Between 1984 and 1987, Mateschitz worked with TCBG Pharmaceutical (a Blendax licensee) to adapt Krating Daeng for the European market.

At the same time Mateschitz and Chaleo Yoovidhya founded Red Bull GmbH; each investing $500,000 of savings and taking a stake in the new company. Chaleo and Dietrich each held a 49% share of the new company. They gave the remaining 2% to Chaleo's son Chalerm, but it was agreed that Mateschitz would run the company. The product was launched in 1987 in Austria, in a carbonated format.

In 1989, the product was expanded to its first international markets, Hungary and Slovenia. It entered the United States market (via California) in 1997 and the Middle East in 2000. In 2008, ''Forbes'' magazine listed both Chaleo and Mateschitz as being the 260th richest persons in the world with an estimated net worth of $4.0 billion.

Ingredients

Red Bull contains taurine, glucuronolactone, caffeine, B vitamins, sucrose, and glucose. Red Bull sugar-free also contains aspartame, acesulfame K, and sucralose in place of sucrose and glucose.

Red Bull GmbH also manufactures Red Bull Cola, containing the coca leaf, which has sparked a controversy in Germany regarding minute traces of cocaine.

Health effects

A review published in 2008 found no documented reports of negative or positive health effects associated with the amount of taurine used in energy drinks, including Red Bull, concluding that "The amounts of guarana, taurine, and ginseng found in popular energy drinks are far below the amounts expected to deliver either therapeutic benefits or adverse events. However, caffeine and sugar are present in amounts known to cause a variety of adverse health effects." Another publication found that "the number of available publications that really go into the details in this topic is also rather poor".

Commonly reported adverse effects due to consumption of the levels of caffeine used in the quantities commonly present in Red Bull can result in a state of central nervous system over-stimulation called caffeine intoxication (DSM-IV 305.90),[45] or colloquially the "caffeine jitters". The symptoms of caffeine intoxication are not unlike overdoses of other stimulants. It may include restlessness, fidgetiness, nervousness, excitement, euphoria, insomnia, flushing of the face, increased urination, gastrointestinal disturbance, muscle twitching, a rambling flow of thought and speech, irritability, irregular or rapid heart beat, and psychomotor agitation.[42] In cases of much larger overdoses, mania, depression, lapses in judgment, disorientation, disinhibition, delusions, hallucinations, and psychosis may occur, and rhabdomyolysis (breakdown of skeletal muscle tissue) can be provoked.[46][47] Extreme overdose can result in death.[48] (see Health effects of caffeine). For drinking too much Red Bull and side-effects including tachycardia (see Caffeine intoxication). A 2008 position statement issued by the National Federation of State High School Associations made the following recommendations about energy drink consumption, in general, by young athletes: # Water and appropriate sports drinks should be used for rehydration as outlined in the NFHS Document “Position Statement and Recommendations for Hydration to Minimize the Risk for Dehydration and Heat Illness.” # Energy drinks should not be used for hydration. Nor should they be used for performance enhancement # Information about the absence of benefit and the presence of potential risk associated with energy drinks should be widely shared among all individuals who interact with young athletes. # Energy drinks should not be consumed by athletes who are dehydrated. # Energy drinks should not be consumed, without prior medical approval, by athletes taking over the counter or prescription medications.

Cardiovascular effects

The results of a study showed that the ingestion of one, 250mL can of sugar-free Red Bull, in a sample of 30 healthy young adults, had an immediate detrimental effect on both endothelial function, and normal blood coagulation. This temporarily raised the cardiovascular risk in these individuals to a level comparable to that of an individual with established coronary artery disease.

Based on their results, researchers involved with the study cautioned against the consumption of Red Bull in individuals under stress, in those with high blood pressure, or in anyone with established atherosclerotic disease. Red Bull representatives, however, stated that this observed increase in cardiovascular risk was not felt to be different from that associated with drinking a regular cup of coffee. They also stated that they believed that Red Bull must be safe, as it was felt the only way Red Bull could have such substantial global sales is if various health authorities had concluded the drink safe to consume.

There has been at least one case report of Red Bull overdose causing postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome in a young athlete. A February 3, 2009 article in ''The Daily Telegraph'' called, "Red Bull 'may have triggered heart condition that killed student'" reported on the death of a 21 year-old woman who died after drinking four cans of Red Bull as well as alcohol at "social levels". It was believed, but had not been proven, that she suffered from a rare heart condition called long QT Syndrome. She was on medication for epilepsy. A medical examination found that there were no illegal drugs in her system. The article quoted a doctor as saying, "The QT levels may have grown over a few years, or it may have been artificially pushed over the limit by caffeine".

Cocaine controversy

In April and June 2009, batches of "Red Bull Cola" drinks imported from Austria were found to contain between 0.1 - 0.3 micrograms of cocaine per litre, according to Hong Kong officials. In Taiwan it was found that the importer was due to launch a marketing campaign the next day. Importing cocaine to the island is an offense that is punishable by death or a life sentence in prison. In Germany, 11 out of 16 states had already banned the drinks by May 25, 2009.

Testing of Red Bull Energy Drink and its variations has shown that a person with a low tolerance for cocaine would [theoretically] have to consume two million cans of the drink in a single sitting before becoming critically ill from the cocaine. However, this finding is legally irrelevant since distribution of cocaine is illegal in any quantity in Taiwan. At this point, no further action has been taken on the matter in Taiwan.

Caffeine content

The caffeine content of a single can of Red Bull contains 80 mg/250 ml of caffeine. This is about the same as one cup of normal coffee, or slightly less depending on the brewing method. The actual caffeine level in Red Bull can vary depending on country, as some countries have legal restrictions on how much caffeine is allowed in drinks.

As is the case with other caffeinated beverages, Red Bull drinkers may experience adverse effects as a result of overuse.

Legal status

Red Bull has been subject to bans in France, Denmark and Norway for several years, but they have been lifted afterwards, and the energy drink was re-legalized in those countries.

The French ban began in 1996 due to concerns about taurine, a substance prohibited in several other countries. This meant the drink could not be sold as-is in France. Instead, a different recipe that did not contain the ingredient was introduced. The ban was challenged by the European Commission and partially upheld by the European Court of Justice in 2004, before the French food safety agency relented in 2008 after being unable to prove definitively the existence of any health risk, taurine-related or not.

Advertising

Red Bull has an aggressive international marketing campaign. The numerous sponsored activities range from extreme sports like mountain biking, BMX, motocross, windsurfing, snowboarding, skateboarding, kayaking, wakeboarding, cliff-diving, surfing, skating, freestyle motocross, rally, Formula 1 racing, and breakdancing to art shows, music, and video games. In keeping with their target market of young males, Red Bull has also enlisted help from celebrities, such as Eminem that would appeal to this group (sponsoring the Red Bull "EmSee Battle Rap championships"). It also hosts events like the "Red Bull Flugtag" (German for "flight day" or "flying day") and other such contests. Red Bull also sponsors association football teams, with clubs in Austria, Germany, the United States and Brazil featuring the Red Bull trademark in their names. By associating the drink's image with these activities, the company seeks to promote a "cool" public image and raise brand power. In addition, the slender container is used to suggest a "sexier" image than some other cola counterparts. Hence, this one energy drink has helped create a market for over 150 related types of merchandise, like Red Rooster and Blue Lightning.

Red Bull's slogan, "it gives you wings", is widely used in these marketing activities. Claims about the drink's effects and performance have been challenged on various occasions, with the UK's Advertising Standards Authority imposing advertising restrictions in 2001 in response to complaints first recorded as early as 1997. Even with all of the concerns regarding Red Bull, in 2000 the corporation earned around $1 billion in worldwide sales and Red Bull held 65% of the market share. In Malaysia, however, Red Bull does not use its "Gives you wings" slogan, but instead a single one-word slogan, ''Bullleh!'', a word play on the Malay word ''Boleh'' (lit: ''Can be done'') and the word ''Bull''.

In the PlayStation 3's new social app, PlayStation Home, Red Bull has developed its own in-game island, specifically advertising its energy drink and the Red Bull Air Race event. In late November 2009, Red Bull brought out two new spaces, the Red Bull Illume space, and the Red Bull Beach space featuring the Red Bull Flugtag, both released on the same day.

In the video game ''Worms 3D'', Red Bull could be drunk by the worms, giving them the effect of faster movement.

Red Bull is displayed on virtual track-side billboards during gameplay and in the opening cinematic in the video game ''Wipeout 2097''.

Team ownerships

Red Bull Brasil - a football (soccer) team currently playing in the Brazilian Campeonato Paulista Série A2.

RB Leipzig - a football (soccer) team currently playing in the German Regionalliga Nord

Red Bull New York – a soccer franchise competing in the United States' Major League Soccer

Red Bull Racing - a Formula One team based in Milton Keynes, England, World Constructor's Championship winner of 2010, and produced the car for the 2010 F1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel.

Scuderia Toro Rosso (Italian translation of Team Red Bull) - Another Formula One team based in Faenza, Italy.

Team Red Bull, a racing team competing in the US based stock car racing competition NASCAR.

FC Red Bull Salzburg, an Austrian football (soccer) club based in Salzburg and competing in the Austrian Bundesliga

EC Red Bull Salzburg, a member of the Austrian Hockey League based in Salzburg, Austria

Endorsements

In 2009, Red Bull added mainstream sport athletes to its roster of sports endorsements. Reggie Bush was the first NFL athlete to endorse the product. The announcement was made at the Super Bowl.

Events

Red Bull Rampage

Red Bull Road Rage

Red Bull Crashed Ice

Red Bull X-Fighters

Red Bull Air Race World Championship

Red Bull Flugtag

Red Bull Paperwings

Red Bull sports events

Red Bull Art of Motion

See also

Jägerbomb

Kick (soft drink)

List of energy drinks

Red Rooster

Slow Cow

Vodka Red Bull

References

External links

Red Bull's Total Marketing - slideshow by ''Der Spiegel''

Category:1987 introductions Category:Energy drinks Category:Companies of Thailand Category:Companies of Austria Red Bull

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{{externalimage |align = right |width = 400 |image1 = Deltawing top view |image2 = Deltawing side view |image3 = Felix Baumgartner }}

Felix Baumgartner (born 20 April 1969 in Salzburg, Austria) is a skydiver and a BASE jumper. He is renowned for the particularly dangerous nature of the stunts he has performed during his career. Baumgartner spent time in the Austrian military where he practiced parachute jumping, including training to land on small target zones.

Biography

He was born on 20 April 1969 in Salzburg, Austria.

In 1999 he claimed the world record for the highest parachute dive from a building when he jumped from the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

On 31 July 2003, Baumgartner became the first person to cross the English Channel in freefall using a specially made fibre wing.

Baumgartner set the world record for the lowest BASE jump ever, from the hand of the ''Christ the Redeemer'' statue in Rio de Janeiro.

He became the first person to BASE jump from the completed Millau Viaduct in France on 27 June 2004 and the first person to sky dive onto, then BASE jump from, the Turning Torso building in Malmö, Sweden on 18 August 2006.

On 12 December 2007 he became the first person to jump from the 91st floor observation deck, then went to the 90th floor (about ) of the then tallest completed building in the world, Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan.

In January 2010, it was reported that Baumgartner was working with a team of scientists and sponsor Red Bull to attempt the highest sky-dive on record. Baumgartner was to attempt the jump from a capsule suspended from a balloon filled with helium, intending to become the first parachutist to break the sound barrier; the feat was scheduled to take place sometime in 2010 (the date has either not been set or has not been publicized). Joseph Kittinger, who holds the records Baumgartner is attempting to break, was advising Baumgartner during the "Stratos" mission in the hopes of getting scientific data on next-generation full pressure suits. However, on October 12, 2010, Red Bull announced it was placing the project on hold after Daniel Hogan filed a lawsuit in California Superior Court in Los Angeles, California in April, claiming he had originated the idea of the parachute dive from the edge of space and that Red Bull had stolen the idea from him. The lawsuit was resolved out of court in June 2011.

See also

Michel Fournier, who has been working on a 25 mile jump for several years.

Joseph Kittinger, world record holder for skydiving from 102,800 ft

Yves Rossy, the first man to cross the English Channel using a jet-powered wing

References

External links

Red Bull Stratos Project

Felix Jumping from the Christ Redemeer - Rio de Janeiro - Brazil

Category:1969 births Category:Living people Category:Austrian skydivers

de:Felix Baumgartner sv:Felix Baumgartner zh:菲利克斯·保加拿

}}

Enni Rukajärvi (born 13 May 1990) is a snowboarder from Finland. She won the gold medal at the 2011 FIS Snowboarding World Championships in the slopestyle event. Rukajärvi also won gold in Snowboard SlopeStyle at the 2011 Winter X Games XV in Aspen. In the previous season, she had won the TTR World Snowboard Tour.

External links

FIS-Ski.com - Biography

References

Category:1990 births Category:Living people Category:Finnish snowboarders Category:X-Games athletes

nl:Enni Rukajärvi pl:Enni Rukajärvi fi:Enni Rukajärvi

Coordinates	50°20′24″N19°54′51″N
Name	Tim Lincecum
Position	Starting pitcher
Team	San Francisco Giants
Number	55
Bats	Left
Throws	Right
Birth date	June 15, 1984
Birth place	Bellevue, Washington
Debutdate	July 15
Debutyear	2007
Debutteam	San Francisco Giants
Statyear	August 28, 2011
Stat1label	Win–Loss
Stat1value	68–37|stat2labelEarned run average
Stat2value	2.94
Stat3label	Strikeouts
Stat3value	1,096
Awards	4× All-Star (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) World Series Champion (2010) 2× NL Cy Young Award (2008, 2009) Babe Ruth Award (2010) Majors Strikeout Champion (2008) 3× NL Strikeout Champion (2008, 2009, 2010) 2× ''Sporting News'' NL Pitcher of the Year Award (2008, 2009) MLB "This Year in Baseball Awards" Starting Pitcher of the Year (2008) Players Choice Awards NL Outstanding Pitcher (2010) 1× NL Pitcher of the Month (6/2009) 1× NL Player of the Week (8/3/2009) Golden Spikes Award (2006)
teams	San Francisco Giants (–present) }}

Timothy Leroy Lincecum (, LIN-se-kum; born June 15, 1984) is an American professional baseball starting pitcher for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. He is nicknamed "The Freak" and "The Franchise." He throws right-handed and bats left-handed. Lincecum is known for his long stride, unorthodox mechanics, and ability to generate high velocity despite his slight build of 5'11" and 160 pounds, prior to the 2011 season. He has put on about 15 pounds, and now has a weight recorded at 175 pounds. Lincecum won the 2008 and 2009 National League Cy Young Awards, and was the first second-year player to win the Cy Young since Dwight Gooden and Bret Saberhagen both won in 1985.

His repertoire includes a two-seam fastball that he throws at 91–95 mph, a changeup that he grips like a split-fingered fastball (his "out pitch" against left handers), a curveball, notable for its sharp 12-6 action, a slider (his "out pitch" against right handers), and a power four-seam fastball that ranges between 93-95 mph.

High school and college

Lincecum attended Liberty Senior High School in Renton, Washington, where he played two seasons of varsity baseball. As a senior he won state player of the year and led his school to the 2003 3A state championship.

After high school Lincecum went on to pitch for the University of Washington. In 2006 he finished with a 12–4 record and a 1.94 ERA, 199 strikeouts, and three saves in 125⅓ innings as a Washington Husky. He won the 2006 Golden Spikes Award, which is awarded annually to the best amateur baseball player.

In the summer of 2004 Lincecum played for the amateur National Baseball Congress (NBC) Seattle Studs and won two games in the NBC World Series that year. In 2009 he was named NBC Graduate of the Year.

In the summer of 2005 he played for the Harwich Mariners in the Cape Cod Baseball League.

Draft and minor league career

Lincecum was selected by the Chicago Cubs of the NL in the forty-eighth round (1,408th overall) of the 2003 MLB Draft, but did not sign. He decided to attend college instead, and was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the forty-second round (1,261st overall) upon re-entering the draft in 2005, but once again failed to sign. The next year, he 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. He signed for a $2.025 million signing bonus on June 30, which at the time was the highest amount the organization had ever paid to any amateur player (until they gave $2.1 million to Angel Villalona a little over a month later).

During his brief minor league career he was frequently named as the top pitching prospect in the Giants organization.

Lincecum made his professional debut on July 26, 2006, with the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes (the Giants' Class A Short Season affiliate) against the Vancouver Canadians, pitching one inning and striking out all three batters he faced. After his second outing on July 31 against the Boise Hawks, in which he pitched three innings, striking out seven and allowing just one baserunner, he was promoted to the High Class-A San Jose Giants.

On August 5, in his first start in San Jose against the Bakersfield Blaze, he pitched 2⅔ innings, allowing three runs (two earned), and striking out five. Lincecum finished the year 2–0 with a 1.95 ERA, 48 strikeouts, and 12 walks in 27⅔ innings pitched. He also got the victory in the opening game of the California League playoffs, giving up one run on five hits in seven innings, striking out ten and walking one against the Visalia Oaks. Visalia would win the series 3–2.

Going into 2007 Lincecum was ranked as the #11 prospect in baseball and the #1 prospect in the San Francisco Giants by Baseball America. He spent the first month of the season pitching for the Fresno Grizzlies, the Giants' Triple-A affiliate. In five starts (31 innings), he allowed just one run, twelve hits, eleven walks, while striking out forty-six and going 4–0. During his 2006 and 2007 minor league campaigns, Lincecum struck out the highest percentage of batters (minimum 100) of any minor league pitcher in the last ten years: 30.9 percent.

In the spring of 2007 Colorado Rockies prospect Ian Stewart called Lincecum "the toughest pitcher [he] ever faced," adding "Guys on our club who have been in the big leagues said he’s the toughest guy they ever faced too … I’m not really sure why he’s down here, but for a guy who was drafted last year … that guy is filthy."

Major league career

With an injury to the Giants' fifth starter, Russ Ortiz, Lincecum was called up from Fresno to make his first major league start on May 6, 2007, against the Philadelphia Phillies. He earned a no-decision; the Giants ultimately lost the game, 8–5. In his first career inning, Lincecum gave up two hits and two runs, and struck out three.

He earned his first major league win in his next start, on the road against the Rockies. Lincecum, who is often compared to Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Roy Oswalt, faced him in each of his next two starts, Oswalt with the Astros at the time. 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 97 mph 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." The pair dueled to a no-decision the first time, and Lincecum pitched eight innings and got the win the second time.

In his first four starts in June he allowed twenty-two earned runs in 18⅔ innings, for a 10.61 ERA. He failed to make it to the fifth inning in any of the last three starts, against Oakland, Toronto, and Milwaukee. In July, he went 4–0 with a 1.62 ERA. On July 1, in a seven inning performance against the Arizona Diamondbacks, he struck out twelve, the fourth highest total ever by a Giants rookie.

Lincecum pitched into the ninth inning for the first time on August 21 against the Chicago Cubs. He had allowed just two hits and one walk through the first eight, while throwing only eighty-eight pitches. He took a 1–0 lead into the ninth, but allowed three consecutive hits before being pulled. The Cubs scored several times against the Giants bullpen and Lincecum took the loss. Cubs shortstop Ryan Theriot said after the game, "He's got electric stuff. The best stuff I've seen all year."

Lincecum was shut down in September as a precaution, due to his high inning count in his first full year of professional ball. Between the minors and the majors, he pitched a total of 177⅓ innings.

2008

The Giants asked Lincecum not to throw the bullpen sessions typical of other pitchers during the off-season. Manager Bruce Bochy told the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' that they were being careful with Lincecum because there have been studies that show that pitchers who throw 200 innings early in their career were more susceptible to injuries.

On May 15, 2008, after Lincecum struck out ten Houston Astros in six innings, Houston first baseman Lance Berkman offered his view of Lincecum: "He's got as good of stuff as I've ever seen. ... He's got three almost unhittable pitches." After falling to Lincecum and the Giants 6–3 on May 27, Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Conor Jackson gave his impression of facing Lincecum: "He's got good stuff," Jackson said. "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 98 mph, 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."

Lincecum was on the cover of the July 7, 2008, issue of ''Sports Illustrated'', and on July 6, he was selected to play in his first Major League Baseball All-Star Game. However, he was hospitalized the day of the game due to flu-like symptoms and was unavailable to pitch. In a July 26 game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, he struck out thirteen batters in seven innings while allowing only seven hits, two earned runs, and no walks.

Lincecum pitched his first complete game shutout against the San Diego Padres on September 13, 2008. In nine innings he threw 138 pitches, gave up four hits and struck out twelve batters. On September 23, he broke Jason Schmidt's San Francisco single-season strikeout record with his 252nd strikeout of the season against the Colorado Rockies. He finished the season with 265 strikeouts (54 of them three-pitch strikeouts, the most in the majors), making him the first San Francisco pitcher to win the (NL) strikeout title, and the first Giant since Bill Voiselle in 1944. His 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings pitched were the best in the majors, and his .316 slugging-percentage-against was the lowest in the major leagues, as was his .612 OPS-against—but his seventeen wild pitches tied for the most in the major leagues. His 138 pitches on September 13 were the most by any pitcher in a game in 2008. He finished the season with an 18-5 record. On November 11, 2008, Lincecum was awarded the NL Cy Young Award, making him the second Giant to win the award after Mike McCormick.

2009

After winning the NL Cy Young Award in 2008 Lincecum continued his dominance in the NL. On July 3, Lincecum was announced as the NL Pitcher of the Month for June. In his six June starts he went 4–1 with a 1.38 ERA, and pitched three complete games. Lincecum was announced as an NL All-Star along with his teammate Matt Cain. He was also the starting pitcher for the NL. Lincecum went two innings in the All-Star Game, giving up two runs, one earned, and striking out one.

Through twenty 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 twenty-nine scoreless inning streak, third-best since the Giants moved west in 1958.

On July 27, 2009, Lincecum pitched a complete game and had fifteen (15) strikeouts against the Pittsburgh Pirates, a career high. He is the first Giant pitcher to strike out fifteen since Jason Schmidt fanned sixteen (16) on June 6, 2006.

Lincecum missed his first game since coming up to the big leagues on September 8 against the San Diego Padres. Madison Bumgarner took his place that day, making his major league debut. Lincecum was healthy enough to make his next start on September 14, pitching seven innings with eleven strikeouts lowering his ERA to 2.30, and picking up his fourteenth win of the year. Lincecum finished the 2009 season with a 15–7 record, 2.48 ERA and 261 strikeouts. Following the season, Lincecum was named ''Sporting News'' NL Pitcher of the Year for the second consecutive year. He was later cited during a traffic stop on October 30 for misdemeanor possession of marijuana. On November 19, Lincecum was awarded his second consecutive Cy Young Award, narrowly edging out St. Louis Cardinals pitchers Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright, who actually had the most first place votes. In doing so, he became the first pitcher in history to be awarded the Cy Young in each of his first two full seasons in the Major League Baseball.

2010

Lincecum continued his dominance in the league by starting 5–0. His strikeouts piled up quickly and was atop the Major Leagues in the category through the early season. However, issues concerning Lincecum's control over the movement of his pitches arose when he walked five batters for the fourth consecutive start on May 31. Although the early struggles have been mostly dismissed as a "lack of confidence" or "mental" issues, Lincecum himself admits that the slump lasted "longer than I was hoping it would".

Lincecum eventually recovered somewhat from his slump and made the 2010 National League All-Star Team. As of the All-Star break, Lincecum was 9–4 with a 3.16 ERA over 116.2 innings pitched. One of his great first half accomplishments was that Lincecum defeated Houston's Roy Oswalt three times in three months. All three games were pitchers duels.

On July 15, 2010, in his first start after the All-Star game, Lincecum pitched a six-hit, complete game shutout against the New York Mets.

After a disappointing August, Lincecum came out of his slump on September 1; pitching against one of the league's top pitchers, Ubaldo Jimenez, Lincecum went 8 strong innings of 1 run ball. This was Lincecum's first win since July 30. Lincecum continued to improve throughout September, finishing 5–1 with 52 strikeouts and 6 walks as compared to the 20/13 ratio in August. Lincecum managed to win his third consecutive National League strikeout title, he also set a record for most strikeouts by a MLB pitcher in his first four seasons.

On October 7, 2010, in his first postseason game, Lincecum pitched a complete game two-hit shutout, striking out 14, against the Atlanta Braves in game 1 of the NLDS, breaking the all time record for strikeouts in Giants postseason history. In his next postseason start, he outdueled Roy Halladay by pitching 7 innings and giving up 3 earned runs, while striking out 8 in the Giants' 4–3 victory over the Phillies in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series.

Lincecum pitched in both Games 1 and 5 of the World Series, earning a win in both. Game 1 of the 2010 World Series saw Lincecum contribute to an 11–7 win over the Texas Rangers. After presenting a strong start, he sat out the final 3 1/3 innings as the San Francisco bullpen preserved a comfortable win. On November 1, 2010, Lincecum started Game 5 of the World Series with an opportunity to clinch a world championship for San Francisco. Lincecum utilized all his pitches in throwing 8 solid innings, collecting 10 strikeouts while giving up only 3 hits, including a home-run, en route to a 3–1 victory. His victory in Game 5 ended the Giants' 56-year drought between championships and also gave San Francisco its first baseball world championship in history. Lincecum also became the franchise leader for wins in a single post-season with 4.

2011

On May 4, he struck out twelve Mets becoming the Giants franchise record holder for the number of games pitched with 10 or more strikeouts with 29, surpassing Hall of Fame "first five" inaugural member Christy Mathewson. Mathewson accumulated his 28 ten-plus-strikeout games in 551 starts over seventeen seasons of pitching for the Giants; Lincecum collected his 29 in 129 starts over five seasons. On May 21, he threw his 8th career complete game and his 5th career shutout, which he threw against the Oakland Athletics. On June 6, he recorded his 1,000th career strikeout against the Washington Nationals, striking out Jerry Hairston, Jr.. He accomplished this during his fifth year in the Major Leagues, becoming only the eighth pitcher in history to do so. He is now 2nd all time on that list.

Pitch repertoire

Lincecum throws a four seam fastball at 91–94 mph, but mostly uses a two seam fastball grip which he throws around 90–93 mph for more sinking movement to get more ground balls. This pitch has little lateral movement, due to his overhand delivery and the speed at which the pitch is thrown. He has a big breaking curveball that is thrown at a range of 77–81 mph and breaks away from a right-handed hitter. Lincecum uses a changeup that he grips similar to a splitter with sinking two-seam action. His changeup appears similar to his fastball for the first 30 feet, but then dives down sharply tailing away from a left handed batter, with a difference of 10 mph or more in velocity from his fastball (82–85 mph). The majority of his strikeouts are recorded with this pitch. Lincecum also has a hard slider that breaks down and away from a right-handed hitter at a speed slightly higher than his changeup (84–88 mph). With his power fastball and strong secondary pitches, he has established himself as one of the elite pitchers in the game.

Accomplishments

2011 National League All Star

2010 World Series Champion

2010 Babe Ruth Award Winner

2010 National League All Star

2009 NL Cy Young Award winner

2009 National League All Star

2009 NL All-Star Starting Pitcher

2008 NL Cy Young Award winner

''Sporting News''' NL Pitcher of the Year (2009)

2008 National League All Star

2008 Major League Baseball Starter of the Year

Led Major League Baseball with 265 strikeouts (2008)

''Sporting News''' NL Pitcher of the Year (2008) Player's Choice Award for NL's outstanding pitcher (2008) ''Major League Baseball 2K9'' and ''Major League Baseball 2K9 Fantasy All-Stars'' cover athlete 2006 Golden Spikes Award 2003 Gatorade Washington State Baseball Player of the Year

Records

First pitcher in MLB history to be awarded the Cy Young in each of his first two full seasons

MLB record-holder for most strikeouts thrown in the first four seasons of a career

Giants franchise leader for wins in a single post-season - 4, set in 2010

Giants franchise record holder for the number of games pitched with 10 or more strikeouts -31, May 4, 2011, surpassing Christy Mathewson

Personal

Lincecum is part Filipino. His mother, Rebecca Asis, is a daughter of Filipino immigrants.

Tim uses MGMT's song "Electric Feel" and The Doors song "Light My Fire" as his walk-up music during every game.

References

External links

Washington Huskies bio

The Book on Tim Lincecum from "ScoutingBook.com"

Controlled Fury: Tim Lincecum

How Tiny Tim Became a Pitching Giant from "Sports Illustrated"

Category:1984 births Category:Living people Category:San Francisco Giants players Category:American Roman Catholics Category:American sportspeople of Filipino descent Category:Baseball players from Washington (state) Category:Cy Young Award winners Category:Golden Spikes Award winners Category:Major League Baseball pitchers Category:National League All-Stars Category:National League strikeout champions Category:People from Bellevue, Washington Category:Washington Huskies baseball players Category:Salem-Keizer Volcanoes players Category:San Jose Giants players Category:Fresno Grizzlies players Category:American sportspeople of Asian descent

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