outfielder Adam Dunn strikes out swinging to Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz (not pictured). Smoltz recorded 10 strikeouts in this game, three against Dunn.]]

In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike out (denoted by SO or K) occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters.

Pitchers want to throw as many strikeouts as possible, while batters attempt to minimize striking out themselves. While strikeouts are associated with dominance on the part of the pitcher, it is recognized that the style of swing that generates home runs also leaves the batter somewhat susceptible to striking out. Some of the greatest home run hitters of all time — such as Reggie Jackson and Sammy Sosa — were notorious for striking out.

Rules

softball team gets a strikeout against Penn State to end the game, February 15, 2008.]] A pitcher receives credit for (and a batter is charged with) a strikeout on any third strike, but a batter is out only if any of the following is true:

# The third strike is pitched and caught in flight by the catcher (including foul tips); # On any third strike, if a baserunner is on first and there are fewer than two outs; # The third strike is bunted foul and is not caught by a fielder.

The above implies that if the third strike is not caught, and there are two outs or no baserunner on first, the batter becomes a runner (except in a foul bunt situation). Thus, it is possible for a batter to strike out, but still reach base safely if the catcher fails or is unable to catch the third strike cleanly and cannot tag out the batter or force him out at first base (in Japan this is called , i.e. swing and escape). In MLB, Major League Baseball, it is known as a uncaught third strike. As a result, pitchers have occasionally been able to record four strikeouts in one half-inning.

In baseball scorekeeping, a swinging strikeout is recorded as a K, or a K-S. A strikeout looking (where the batter does not swing at a pitch that the umpire then calls strike three) is sometimes scored with a backwards K.

The use of "K" for a strikeout was invented by Henry Chadwick, a newspaper journalist who is widely credited as the originator of the box score and the baseball scorecard. Both the box score and scorecard persist largely unchanged to this day, as the game itself is largely unchanged except for the number of balls and strikes allowed to the pitcher and batter. The letter "S" was used for "sacrifice" so Chadwick decided to use "K", being the last letter in "struck". Chadwick also invented many other baseball scoring abbreviations, such as using numbers to designate player positions, progressing from the pitcher [1], catcher [2], through the infield, with the shortstop [6] counted after the basemen, to the right fielder [9].

That Chadwick first established the convention of using the "K" abbreviation is well-founded, with reliable and authentic primary materials surviving (see citation above). Those unaware of Chadwick's contributions have speculated that "K" was derived from the 19th century pitcher Matt Kilroy's last name. If not for the evidence supporting Chadwick's earlier use of "K", this speculation would be reasonable: Kilroy did much to raise the prominence of the strikeout, setting an all-time record of 513 strikeouts in 1886, only two years after overhand pitching was permitted. Kilroy's record, however, is forever confined to its era: the pitcher's mound during his record-setting season was only from the batter; it was moved to its current distance of 60'6" in 1893. The modern record (1901–) is 383 strikeouts, held by Nolan Ryan, one better than Sandy Koufax's 382.

Although some people use "K" to record pitchers' strikeouts, "SO" is the official abbreviation used by Major League Baseball.

In addition, "K" is still commonly used by fans and enthusiasts for purposes other than official record-keeping. In one baseball ritual, fans at the ballpark who are seated in view of the batter (and the television cameras) attach a succession of small "K" signs to the nearest railing, one added for every strikeout notched by the home team's pitcher. As is traditional for those who keep a record of the game on paper, the "K" is placed backwards in cases where the batter strikes out looking. Virtually every televised display of a major league game in which a pitcher registers a high number of strikeouts (7 or 8) will include a shot of a fan's strikeout display, and if the pitcher continues to strike out batters, the display often will be shown following every strikeout. In the event that a known "strikeout pitcher" is on the mound, the strikeout display will be televised from the beginning.

History

Three balls being struck at and missed and the last one caught, is a hand-out; if not caught is considered fair, and the striker bound to run. This is essentially the same rule in use today, with the addition of the called strike (1858) and the provision that the batter is automatically out if there are fewer than two out and a runner on first. In 1880, the rules were changed to specify that a third strike had to be caught on the fly. In 1887, the number of strikes for an out was changed to four, but promptly changed back to three the next season.

Jargon and slang

A swinging strikeout is often called a whiff, while a batter who is struck out by a fastball is often said to have been blown away. A batter who strikes out on a swung third strike is said to have fanned (as in a fanning motion), whereas if he takes a called third strike it is called a punchout (describing the plate umpire's punching motion on a called third strike), but sometimes these descriptive words are used generally as synonyms for strikeouts, irrespective if they were calling or looking (e.g. Beckett's punched out nine batters tonight or Ryan Howard's been fanned six times in this series). On a called third strike, it is said that the batter was caught looking or that he looked at a strike. Typically, a called third strike can be somewhat more embarrassing for a batter, as it shows that he was either fooled by the pitcher, or even worse, had a moment of hesitation. For example, Carlos Beltran was caught looking at strike 3 to end the 2006 NLCS, and the season, for the New York Mets. Sports commentators have also been known to refer to it as browsing if the batter did not move his bat at all.

A pitcher is said to strike out the side when he retires all three batters in a half inning by striking them out. A batter that takes the third strike looking, especially on a breaking pitch, such as a slider or a curveball, that appears to be out of the strike zone but drops in before the batter can get the bat off his shoulders, can be said to have been frozen.

In slang, when a batter strikes out three times in a game, he is said to have completed a hat trick. If he strikes out four times, it is known as a golden sombrero. He receives a platinum sombrero if he strikes out five times, also known as the Olympic Rings. Striking out six times is a rare occurrence, which in the history of major league play has only been accomplished in extra innings games – Sam Horn is one of the distinguished few to achieve this feat.

Some pitchers who specialize in strikeouts have acquired nicknames including the letter "K". Cincinnati Reds closer Francisco Cordero is known as "Koko", Dwight Gooden was known as "Doctor K" (back-referencing basketball star Julius Erving a.k.a. "Dr. J"). Francisco Rodriguez is known as "K-Rod". Roger Clemens has taken the "K" name to an extreme, naming his four sons Koby, Kory, Kacy, and Kody. Hall of Fame strikeout artist Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers coincidentally has a last name starting with "K", and in his call of Koufax's perfect game in 1965, Dodgers announcer Vin Scully included a comment that Koufax's name "will always remind you of strikeouts".

Boston Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka is known as "Dice-K", which was used as a pronunciation guide for his name when he first arrived to pitch in MLB.

Four strikeouts in an inning

If a third strike is not caught cleanly by the catcher, it is still recorded as a strikeout for both the pitcher and the batter. However, under certain situations, the batter is not ruled out and the play is still alive. This occurs under the following circumstances:

#First base is not occupied or there have already been two outs recorded. #The catcher fails to cleanly catch the ball that led to the third strike.

If these circumstances are met, the play is not over and the would-be third out to end the innings is nullified. The batter may begin to run to first base as soon as he sees the catcher fail to cleanly catch the ball. If he makes it to first base without being tagged or forced out, the out is not recorded.

Since in such cases the pitcher is awarded a strikeout for a play that does not result in an out, it is possible for a pitcher to record more than three strikeouts in one standard half-inning. The first Major League player to be credited with this rare feat was Ed "Cannonball" Crane of the New York Giants on October 4, 1888. Chuck Finley did it on May 12 and August 15, 1999 with the Anaheim Angels, and then for a third time on April 16, 2000 with the Cleveland Indians. Finley is the only player to pitch four strikeouts in an inning more than once. Pete Richert of the Los Angeles Dodgers is the only pitcher to strike out four batters in one inning in his Major League debut on April 12, 1962 in a game against the Cincinnati Reds.

Recording four strikeouts in one inning has occurred 53 times in Major League history. Prior to 1960, the feat was extremely rare—having taken place only eight times. The only instance of a Major League pitcher accomplishing five strikeouts in one inning was when Houston Astros Joe Niekro did so in an exhibition spring training game, which are not official statistics.

Strikeout records

Pitchers

The top 20 Major League Baseball career strikeout leaders (active players in bold) (since 1901, through March 31, 2011):

# Nolan Ryan – 5,714 # Randy Johnson – 4,875 # Roger Clemens – 4,672 # Steve Carlton – 4,136 # Bert Blyleven – 3,701 # Tom Seaver – 3,640 # Don Sutton – 3,574 # Gaylord Perry – 3,534 # Walter Johnson – 3,509 # Greg Maddux – 3,371 # Phil Niekro – 3,342 # Ferguson Jenkins – 3,192 # Pedro Martínez – 3,154 # Bob Gibson – 3,117 # Curt Schilling – 3,116 # John Smoltz – 3,084 # Jim Bunning – 2,855 # Mickey Lolich – 2,832 # Mike Mussina – 2,813 # Cy Young – 2,803

Note: The strikeout leader among active players (as of March 30, 2011) is Javier Vasquez at #40 with 2374 strikeouts.

The top 10 Major League Baseball career strikeout-per-nine innings leaders (since 1900, through games of October 4, 2009, minimum 1,000 IP):

# Randy Johnson – 10.61 # Kerry Wood – 10.38 # Pedro Martínez – 10.04 # Nolan Ryan – 9.55 # Trevor Hoffman – 9.53 # Sandy Koufax – 9.28 # Oliver Perez – 9.20 # Johan Santana – 9.12 # Jake Peavy – 9.02 # Sam McDowell – 8.86

The top 5 Major League Baseball single season strikeout-per-nine innings leaders (since 1900, through games of October 4, 2009, minimum 1.0 IP per team game):

# Randy Johnson, 2001 – 13.41 # Pedro Martínez, 1999 – 13.20 # Kerry Wood, 1998 – 12.58 # Randy Johnson, 2000 – 12.56 # Randy Johnson, 1995 – 12.35

The top 10 Major League Baseball single season strikeout totals (since 1900):

{| border="1" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable" |-

! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150" | Pitcher ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5" | Strikeouts ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5" | Season ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="200" | Team ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5" | League ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="120" | Overall Rank |- |Nolan Ryan|| 383|| 1973|| California Angels|| AL|| 8 |- |Sandy Koufax|| 382|| 1965|| Los Angeles Dodgers|| NL|| 9 |- |Randy Johnson|| 372|| 2001|| Arizona Diamondbacks|| NL|| 11 |- |Nolan Ryan|| 367|| 1974|| California Angels|| AL|| 14 |- |Randy Johnson|| 364|| 1999|| Arizona Diamondbacks|| NL || 15 |- |Rube Waddell|| 349|| 1904|| Philadelphia Athletics|| AL|| 18 |- |Bob Feller || 348 || 1946 || Cleveland Indians || AL || 19 |- |Randy Johnson || 347 || 2000 || Arizona Diamondbacks || NL || 20 |- |Nolan Ryan || 341 || 1977 || California Angels || AL || 25 |- |Randy Johnson || 334 || 2002 || Arizona Diamondbacks || NL || 30 |- |} The top 10 Major League Baseball single season strikeout totals (all time):

{| border="1" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable" |-

! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150" | Pitcher ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5" | Strikeouts ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5" | Season ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="200" | Team ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5" | League ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="120" | Overall Rank |- |Matt Kilroy|| 513|| 1886|| Baltimore Orioles|| AA|| 1 |- |Toad Ramsey|| 499|| 1886|| Louisville Colonels|| AA|| 2 |- |Hugh Daily|| 483|| 1884|| Chicago Browns/Pittsburgh Stogies/Washington Nationals|| UA|| 3 |- |Dupee Shaw|| 451|| 1884|| Detroit Wolverines/Boston Reds|| NL/UA|| 4 |- |Old Hoss Radbourn|| 441|| 1884|| Providence Grays|| NL || 5 |- |Charlie Buffington|| 417|| 1884|| Boston Beaneaters|| NL|| 6 |- |Guy Hecker || 385 || 1884 || Louisville Eclipse|| AA || 7 |- |Nolan Ryan || 383 || 1973 || California Angels || AL || 8 |- |Sandy Koufax || 382 || 1965 || Los Angeles Dodgers || NL || 9 |- |Bill Sweeney || 374 || 1884 || Baltimore Monumentals || UA || 10 |- |}

Active pitchers in top 50 (as of March 11, 2011):

13. Pedro Martinez – 3,154 36. Jamie Moyer - 2,405 40. Javier Vasquez – 2,374

Progression of major league strikeout record for one nine-inning game, regular season (partial listing):

18 – Dupee Shaw, Boston Reds (UA), July 19, 1884; and by Henry Porter, Milwaukee Brewers (UA), October 3, 1884.

Modern era:

16 – Rube Waddell, July 29, 1908

18 – Bob Feller, October 2, 1938; matched by Sandy Koufax, August 31, 1959, and again on April 24, 1962; and by Don Wilson, July 14, 1968.

19 – Steve Carlton, September 15, 1969; matched by Tom Seaver, April 22, 1970; Nolan Ryan, August 12, 1974; and by David Cone, October 6, 1991.

20 – Roger Clemens, April 29, 1986 – matched by Clemens again, September 18, 1996; by Kerry Wood, May 6, 1998; and by Randy Johnson, May 8, 2001 (the first nine innings of an extra-inning game)

Note: Tom Cheney struck out 21 batters overall, in a 16-inning game, September 12, 1962. He had 13 strikeouts through the first nine innings.

See also List of pitchers who have struck out 18 or more batters in a nine-inning MLB game

Progression of strikeout record for one game, World Series:

10 – 1903 (first modern Series), Game 1, Deacon Phillippe

11 – 1903, Game 2, Bill Dinneen

12 – 1906, Game 3, Ed Walsh

13 – 1929, Game 1, Howard Ehmke

14 – 1953, Game 3, Carl Erskine

15 – 1963, Game 1, Sandy Koufax

17 – 1968, Game 1, Bob Gibson

Progression of major league strikeout record for a relief pitcher, regular season (partial listing)

15 - Walter Johnson, July 25, 1915

16 - Randy Johnson, July 18, 2001

Batters

The top 14 Major League Baseball career strikeout leaders (as of May 1, 2011):

# Reggie Jackson – 2,597 # Jim Thome – 2,413 # Sammy Sosa – 2,306 # Andrés Galarraga – 2,003 # José Canseco – 1,942 # Willie Stargell – 1,936 # Mike Schmidt – 1,883 # Fred McGriff – 1,882 # Tony Perez – 1,867 # Mike Cameron – 1,848 # Alex Rodriguez – 1,848 # Dave Kingman – 1,816 # Manny Ramirez - 1,813 # Ken Griffey Jr. - 1,779

Active batters in the top 61 (as of May 1, 2011):

:   2. Jim Thome – 2,413 :10. Mike Cameron – 1,848 :11. Alex Rodriguez – 1,848 :27. Bobby Abreu – 1,672 :28. Adam Dunn – 1,663 :29. Andruw Jones – 1,622 :33. Derek Jeter – 1,581 :46. Derrek Lee – 1,535 :51. Pat Burrell - 1,524 :56. Ivan Rodriguez - 1,452 :61. Jason Giambi - 1,440

Single season strikeout records (batters):

References

See also related lists

Baseball statistics

List of Major League Baseball strikeout champions

List of pitchers who have struck out 18 or more batters in a nine-inning baseball game

Pitchers who have struck out three batters on nine pitches

Top 100 Major League Baseball strikeout pitchers

3,000 strikeout club

300 Wins-3000 K's club

External links

Career Leaders & Records for Strikeouts

Four Strikeouts in 1 Inning

Category:Baseball pitching Category:Baseball statistics

Timothy Leroy Lincecum (, LIN-se-kum; born June 15, 1984) is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the San Francisco Giants. 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. (Although, 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 forkball (his "out pitch" against left handers), a curveball, notable for its sharp 1-5 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

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 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.

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. 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. 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. On November 19, Lincecum was awarded his second consecutive Cy Young Award, narrowly edging out St. Louis Cardinals pitchers Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. 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. However, this Cy Young came with controversy: two weeks prior to being awarded the Cy Young, Lincecum was cited during a traffic stop for misdemeanor possession of marijuana.

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.

Pitch repertoire

Lincecum throws a four seam fastball at 92–95 mph, but mostly uses a two seam fastball grip which he throws around 91–94 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 that is unpredictable in movement. His changeup appears similar to his fastball for the first 30 feet, but then dives down sharply, 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

2010 World Series Champion

2010 Babe Ruth Award Winner

2010 National League All Star

2009 NL Cy Young Award winner

2008 NL Cy Young Award winner

Sporting News' NL Pitcher of the Year (2009)

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) 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 - 29, 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:American people 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:University of Washington alumni Category:Washington Huskies baseball players Category:Salem-Keizer Volcanoes players Category:San Jose Giants players Category:Fresno Grizzlies players

Name	Zack Greinke
Width	300
Caption	Greinke warming up for the Brewers
Position	Starting pitcher
Team	Milwaukee Brewers
Number	13
Bats	Right
Throws	Right
Birth date	October 21, 1983
Birth place	Orlando, Florida
Debutdate	May 22
Debutyear	2004
Debutteam	Kansas City Royals
Statyear	June 6, 2011
Stat1label	Win–loss record
Stat1value	65–68
Stat2label	Earned run average
Stat2value	3.85
Stat3label	Strikeouts
Stat3value	982
Teams
Highlights

Donald Zackary "Zack" Greinke ( ; born October 21, 1983) is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers. Greinke won the American League Cy Young Award in 2009 with the Kansas City Royals.

High school & minor league

Greinke was born in Orlando, Florida. After being named the Gatorade National Player of the Year in 2002, he was selected out of Apopka High School in the first round of the 2002 draft. Greinke turned down a scholarship to Clemson to sign with the Royals.

In 2003, he played for the Wilmington Blue Rocks and Wichita Wranglers, where he was named the Royals Minor League Pitcher of the Year, Carolina League Pitcher of the Year, and The Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year, with a 15–4 record and 1.93 ERA.

Major league career

Kansas City Royals

Greinke made his major league debut on May 22, 2004 against the Oakland Athletics.

Greinke's first major league hit was a home run off Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Russ Ortiz in a 12–11 loss on June 10, 2005.

Greinke left spring training for personal reasons in late February 2006. It was later revealed that he was suffering from social anxiety disorder and depression. He reported back to the Royals' spring training facility in Surprise, Arizona, on April 17, where he underwent ongoing pitching sessions. He was placed on the 60-day disabled list due to psychological issues and took time away from baseball entirely until returning on a rehab assignment with Wichita.

In 2007, he returned to the Royals rotation at the start of the season, but was sent to the bullpen in early May.

Greinke's 2008 saw him return to the rotation and put up a good year. His 3.47 ERA was the best by a full-time Royals starter in 11 years.

Greinke started off 2009 by not allowing a run in his first 24 innings. Greinke's 2008 ended with 14 scoreless innings, which meant that for 38 innings in a row, he had not given up a run. Greinke was named American League Pitcher of the Month for April for all tops in the Majors his 5 wins, 0.50 ERA and 44 strikeouts.

On August 25, Greinke struck out 15 batters, breaking Mark Gubicza's record for strikeouts in a single game for the Royals. On August 30, Greinke had a one-hit complete game against the Seattle Mariners.

His record for the 2009 season was 16–8, and he posted an ERA of 2.16, the lowest in MLB. On October 21, Greinke was named American League Pitcher of the Year by The Sporting News. On October 28, Greinke was awarded the MLBPA Players Choice AL Pitcher of the Year, which was announced during Mike and Mike in the Morning on ESPN Radio.

On November 17, 2009, Greinke won the American League Cy Young Award.

Milwaukee Brewers

On December 17, 2010, Greinke reportedly asked the Royals to trade him, citing he was not motivated to play for a rebuilding team. On December 19, he was traded to the Brewers with Yuniesky Betancourt and 2 million dollars for Alcides Escobar, Lorenzo Cain, Jeremy Jeffress, and Jake Odorizzi. He will wear number 13, instead of his preferred number 23 , due to number 23 already being issued to Rickie Weeks. In February 2011, Greinke suffered a fractured rib while playing basketball. He subsequently started the 2011 season on the disabled list.

Greinke made his Brewers debut on May 4, 2011 against the Atlanta Braves.

Repertoire

Greinke has a 4-seam fastball that he can throw consistently from 93-96 and occasionally 97. Depending on the field that he is pitching in, he also throws a 2-seam fastball to try to induce ground balls. His best pitch is considered his slider that many current major league players say is the best pitch in all of baseball, having sharp 12-6 movement, ranging from 86-90 mph. He has been working on a change up that fades away from a left-handed hitter, which he throws in the mid 80's, and a slow, looping curveball. The curveball is usually around 70-75 mph. However, one time, according to the Sports Illustrated article, he threw this pitch at 50 mph.

Personal life

Greinke is married to Miss Daytona Beach USA 2008 Emily Kuchar. Greinke met Kuchar in high school at Apopka High School. Kuchar is a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader.

See also

List of Major League Baseball ERA champions

References

External links

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Category:1983 births Category:Living people Category:All-Star Futures Game players Category:American League All-Stars Category:American League ERA champions Category:Milwaukee Brewers players Category:Kansas City Royals players Category:Gulf Coast Royals players Category:Spokane Indians players Category:Wilmington Blue Rocks players Category:Wichita Wranglers players Category:Omaha Royals players Category:Nashville Sounds players Category:Major League Baseball pitchers Category:Baseball players from Florida Category:People from Orlando, Florida

Name	Roy Halladay
Width	250
Caption	Halladay pitching for the Phillies in 2011
Position	Starting pitcher
Team	Philadelphia Phillies
Number	34
Bats	Right
Birth date	May 14, 1977
Birth place	Denver, Colorado
Throws	Right
Debutdate	September 20
Debutyear	1998
Debutteam	Toronto Blue Jays
Statyear	June 18, 2011
Stat1label	Win–Loss record
Stat1value	178–89
Stat2label	Earned run average
Stat2value	3.29
Stat3label	Strikeouts
Stat3value	1,829| stat4label = Complete games
Stat4value	62
Stat5label	Shutouts
Stat5value	19
Teams
Highlights

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Category:Major League Baseball pitchers who have pitched a perfect game Category:Cy Young Award winners Category:American League wins champions Category:American League All-Stars Category:National League All-Stars Category:Major League Baseball pitchers Category:Philadelphia Phillies players Category:Toronto Blue Jays draft picks Category:Toronto Blue Jays players Category:Dunedin Blue Jays players Category:Gulf Coast Blue Jays players Category:Knoxville Smokies players Category:Syracuse SkyChiefs players Category:Tennessee Smokies players Category:American Latter Day Saints Category:Baseball players from Colorado Category:People from Denver, Colorado Category:1977 births Category:Living people