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Then Cincinnati Reds 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^[1]) 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.

Although strikeouts are associated with dominance on the part of the pitcher, it is recognized that the style of swing that generates a home run also leaves batters 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[link]

A pitcher receives credit for (and a batter is charged with) a strikeout on any third strike, but a batter is out only if one of the following is true:

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

Thus, it is possible for a batter to strike out, but still become a runner and reach base safely if the catcher is unable to catch the third strike cleanly, and he then does not either tag out the batter or force him out at first base. In Japan, this is called furinige (振り逃げ^?), or "swing and escape." In Major League Baseball, it is known as an 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 often scored with a Backwards K, and sometimes as a K-L. Despite the scorekeeping custom of using "K" for strikeout, "SO" is the official abbreviation used by Major League Baseball.^[2]

"K" is still commonly used by fans and enthusiasts for purposes other than official record-keeping. One baseball ritual involves fans attaching a succession of small "K" signs to the nearest railing, one added for every strikeout notched by the home team's pitcher. The "K" may placed backwards in cases where the batter strikes out looking, just as it would appear on a scorecard. Virtually every televised display of a high-strikeout major league game will include a shot of a fan's strikeout display, and if the pitcher continues to strike out batters, the display may be shown following every strikeout.

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. As is true in much of baseball, both the box score and scorecard remain largely unchanged to this day. Chadwick decided to use "K," the last letter in "struck," since the letter "S" was used for "sacrifice." Chadwick was responsible for several other scorekeeping conventions, including the use of numbers to designate player positions.^[3]

Those unaware of Chadwick's contributions have speculated that "K" was derived from the last name of 19th century pitcher Matt Kilroy. If not for the evidence supporting Chadwick's earlier use of "K," this explanation would be reasonable. Kilroy raised the prominence of the strikeout, setting an all-time single-season record of 513 strikeouts in 1886, only two years after overhand pitching was permitted. His record, however, is forever confined to its era since the pitcher's mound was only 50 feet (15 m) from the batter during that season. It was moved to its current distance of 60'6" in 1893. The modern record (1901–present) is 383 strikeouts, held by Nolan Ryan, one better than Sandy Koufax's 382.

History[link]

Early rules stated that "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." The modern rule has changed very little. The addition of the called strike came in 1858.

In 1880, the rules were changed to specify that a third strike had to be caught on the fly. A later adjustment to the dropped third strike rule specified that a batter is automatically out when there are fewer than two out and a runner on first base. In 1887, the number of strikes for an out was changed to four, but it was promptly changed back to three the next season.

Jargon and slang[link]

Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax

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 of whether they were swinging or looking (e.g. Tim Lincecum has punched out nine batters tonight or Ryan Howard has 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 like a slider or a curveball that appears to be out of the strike zone but drops in before he 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 called a golden sombrero. He receives a platinum sombrero if he strikes out five times, and this dishonor is 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 games that went to extra innings, with Sam Horn of the Baltimore Orioles being one of the distinguished few to achieve this feat. The slugger's then-teammate, pitcher Mike Flanagan, told reporters after that 1991 event that six strikeouts would thereafter be known as a Horn. He added that if anyone ever strikes out seven times in one game, it will be a Horn of Plenty.

Some pitchers who specialize in strikeouts have acquired nicknames including the letter "K." 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."^[4] Roger Clemens has taken the "K" name to an extreme by 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 the pitcher's perfect game in 1965, Dodgers announcer Vin Scully commented that Koufax's name "will always remind you of strikeouts." Boston Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka is known as "Dice-K," a term which was used as a pronunciation guide for his name when he first arrived in MLB.

Four strikeouts in an inning[link]

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. Under certain situations, however, the batter is not ruled out and the play is still alive. This occurs under the following circumstances:

1. First base is not occupied or there have already been two outs recorded.
2. The catcher fails to cleanly catch the ball that led to the third strike.^[5]

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 a strikeout is awarded in such cases while the 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. Recording four strikeouts in one inning has occurred 61 times in Major League history.^[6] The first Major League player credited with this rare feat was Ed "Cannonball" Crane of the New York Giants on October 4, 1888.^[7]

Prior to 1960, the event was extremely rare, having taken place only eight times.^[8] Although more common since then, it remains one of the most rare single-game achievements. Increased use of the split-finger fastball and forkball may contribute to a higher incidence of dropped third strikes, as both pitches are hard to catch since they usually reach the catcher near the dirt. More teams, an expanded schedule, and a higher total number of strikeouts could all be contributors to this phenomenon as well.

Chuck Finley accomplished the feat on May 12 and August 15, 1999, with the Anaheim Angels and again on April 16, 2000, with the Cleveland Indians. Pete Richert of the Los Angeles Dodgers is the only pitcher to do it in his MLB debut (April 12, 1962, against the Cincinnati Reds).^[9] The most recent player to achieve the feat is Ryan Cook of the Oakland Athletics in the eighth inning of a game against the Baltimore Orioles on April 27, 2012.

Five strikeouts in one inning[link]

Five strikeouts in one inning has never occurred in a regulation Major League Baseball game. It has occurred at least three times at the minor league level. Mike Schultz of the Lancaster JetHawks struck out five batters in one inning on July 16, 2004, and Garrett Bauer of the Rockford RiverHawks struck out five batters in one inning on July 1, 2008.^[10] Houston Astros pitcher Joe Niekro did so in an exhibition spring training game, but exhibition games are not recorded in official statistics.^[11]

Strikeout records[link]

Pitchers[link]

The Top 20 Major League Baseball career strikeout leaders (active players in bold) (since 1901, through September 28, 2011):^[12]

1. Nolan Ryan – 5,714
2. Randy Johnson – 4,875
3. Roger Clemens – 4,672
4. Steve Carlton – 4,136
5. Bert Blyleven – 3,701
6. Tom Seaver – 3,640
7. Don Sutton – 3,574
8. Gaylord Perry – 3,534
9. Walter Johnson – 3,509
10. Greg Maddux – 3,371
11. Phil Niekro – 3,342
12. Ferguson Jenkins – 3,192
13. Pedro Martínez – 3,154
14. Bob Gibson – 3,117
15. Curt Schilling – 3,116
16. John Smoltz – 3,084
17. Jim Bunning – 2,855
18. Mickey Lolich – 2,832
19. Mike Mussina – 2,813
20. Cy Young – 2,803

• Note: The strikeout leader among active players (as of May 25, 2012) is Jamie Moyer at #36 with 2,439 strikeouts. The only others active players with 2,000+ strikeouts are Andy Pettitte at #47 with 2,270, CC Sabathia at #58 with 2,082 and Kevin Millwood at #64 with 2,013.^[13]

The Top 10 Major League Baseball career strikeout-per-nine innings leaders (since 1900, through games of September 28, 2011, minimum 1,000 IP):^[14]

1. Randy Johnson – 10.61
2. Kerry Wood – 10.34
3. Pedro Martínez – 10.04
4. Tim Lincecum - 9.87
5. Nolan Ryan – 9.55
6. Trevor Hoffman – 9.53
7. Sandy Koufax – 9.28
8. Oliver Perez – 9.12
9. Sam McDowell – 8.86
10. Johan Santana – 8.85

The Top 5 Major League Baseball single season strikeout-per-nine innings leaders (since 1900, through games of September 28, 2011, minimum 1.0 IP per team game):

1. Randy Johnson, 2001 – 13.41
2. Pedro Martínez, 1999 – 13.20
3. Kerry Wood, 1998 – 12.58
4. Randy Johnson, 2000 – 12.56
5. Randy Johnson, 1995 – 12.35

The Top 10 Major League Baseball single season strikeout totals (since 1900):^[15]

The Top 10 Major League Baseball single season strikeout totals (all time):^[16]

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

• 18 – Dupee Shaw, Boston Reds (UA), July 19, 1884;^[17] and by Henry Porter, Milwaukee Brewers (UA), October 3, 1884.^[17][18]

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; and Nolan Ryan, August 12, 1974.
• 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)^[19]

• 15 - Walter Johnson, July 25, 1915
• 16 - Randy Johnson, July 18, 2001

Batters[link]

The Top 16 Major League Baseball career strikeout leaders (through May 26, 2012):

1. Reggie Jackson – 2,597
2. Jim Thome – 2,497
3. Sammy Sosa – 2,306
4. Andrés Galarraga – 2,003
5. Alex Rodriguez – 1,951
6. José Canseco – 1,942
7. Willie Stargell – 1,936
8. Mike Cameron – 1,901
9. Adam Dunn - 1,883
10. Mike Schmidt – 1,883
11. Fred McGriff – 1,882
12. Tony Perez – 1,867
13. Dave Kingman – 1,816
14. Manny Ramirez - 1,813
15. Bobby Abreu - 1,783
16. Ken Griffey Jr. - 1,779

Active batters with over 1,400 K's (through May 26, 2012):

1. Jim Thome – 2,497
2. Alex Rodriguez – 1,951
3. Adam Dunn – 1,883
4. Manny Ramirez - 1,813
5. Bobby Abreu – 1,783
6. Andruw Jones – 1,700
7. Derek Jeter – 1,678
8. Jason Giambi - 1,487
9. Alfonso Soriano - 1,459

Single season strikeout records (batters):

See also[link]

Baseball portal

• Baseball statistics
• List of Major League Baseball strikeout champions
• List of Major League Baseball pitchers with 18 strikeouts in one game
• Pitchers who have struck out three batters on nine pitches
• Top 100 Major League Baseball strikeout pitchers
• 3,000 strikeout club

References[link]

External links[link]

• Career Leaders & Records for Strikeouts (batters)
• Career Leaders & Records for Strikeouts (pitchers)
• Four Strikeouts in 1 Inning

Tim Lincecum
Lincecum in 2009
San Francisco Giants – No. 55
Starting pitcher
Born: (1984-06-15) June 15, 1984 (age 28) Bellevue, Washington
Bats: Left	Throws: Right
MLB debut
May 6, 2007 for the San Francisco Giants
Career statistics (through May 16, 2012)
Win–Loss	71–44
Earned run average	3.08
Strikeouts	1,168
Teams
San Francisco Giants (2007–present)
Career highlights and awards
4× All-Star (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) World Series Champion (2010) Babe Ruth Award (2010) 3× NL Strikeout Champion (2008, 2009, 2010) 2× NL Cy Young Award (2008, 2009) 2× NL TSN Pitcher of the Year (2008, 2009) NL Player of the Week (2009) NL Pitcher of the Month (2009) MLB strikeout leader (2008) NL Outstanding Pitcher Award (2008) Golden Spikes Award (2006)

Timothy Leroy Lincecum (pronounced /ˈlɪnsɨkʌm/ LIN-sə-kum;^[1] born June 15, 1984) is an American professional baseball starting pitcher for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. He has been nicknamed both "The Freak" and "The Franchise."

Lincecum is known for his long stride, unorthodox mechanics, and ability to generate high velocity despite his slight build: originally listed as 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)^[2] and 175 pounds. In part to add strength and durability, Lincecum put on about 15 pounds prior to the 2011 season.

High school and college[link]

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 title.^[3]

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 ^[4] as a Washington Husky. He won the 2006 Golden Spikes Award, which is awarded annually to the best amateur baseball player.^[5]

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.^[6]

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

Draft and minor league career[link]

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.^[7] 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.^[8] 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.^[3] 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).^[9]

During his brief minor league career he was frequently named as the top pitching prospect in the Giants organization.^[10]

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.^[11] 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.^[12] 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.^[13]

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."^[14]

Major league career; San Francisco Giants (2007-present)[link]

2007[link]

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.^[15]

He earned his first major league win in his next start, on the road against the Rockies.^[16] Lincecum, who is often compared to Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Roy Oswalt,^[17][18] 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 (156 km/h) 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."^[19] The pair dueled to a no-decision the first time, and Lincecum pitched eight innings and got the win the second time.^[20]

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.^[21] In July, he went 4–0 with a 1.62 ERA.^[22] 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.^[23]

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."^[24]

Lincecum was shut down in September as a precaution, due to his high inning count in his first full year of professional ball.^[25] Between the minors and the majors, he pitched a total of 177⅓ innings.^[26][27]

2008[link]

Lincecum pitching on August 1, 2008, in San Diego

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.^[28]

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."^[29] 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 (158 km/h), 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."^[30]

Lincecum was on the cover of the July 7, 2008, issue of Sports Illustrated,^[31] 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.^[32] In nine innings he threw 138 pitches, gave up four hits and struck out twelve batters.^[33] 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.^[34] 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.^[35][36] His 138 pitches on September 13 were the most by any pitcher in a game in 2008.^[37] He finished the season with an 18–5 record.^[38] On November 11, 2008, Lincecum was awarded the NL Cy Young Award, making him the second Giant to win the award after Mike McCormick.^[39]

2009[link]

Lincecum in June 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.^[40] 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.^[41]

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.^[42]

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.^[43] On August 3, 2009, Lincecum was named National League Player of the Week.^[44]

Lincecum missed his first game since coming up to the big leagues on September 8 against the San Diego Padres.^[45] 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.^[46] 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.^[47] He was later cited during a traffic stop on October 30 for misdemeanor possession of marijuana.^[48] 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.^[49] 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[link]

Lincecum in September 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.^[50] Although the early struggles have been mostly dismissed as a "lack of confidence" or "mental" issues,^[51] Lincecum himself admits that the slump lasted "longer than I was hoping it would".^[52]

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.^[53]

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.^[54] 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.^[55]

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.

Lincecums Strikeout Milestones

2011[link]

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.^[56] On May 21, he threw his 8th career complete game and his 5th career shutout, which he threw against the Oakland Athletics. Tim Lincecum almost threw his first no-hitter on April 18. He gave up his first hit after 6 1/3 innings. 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.^[57] He is the second player ever to have 1,127 strikeouts by his 5th season in the Major Leagues. He was only 28 strikeouts short of passing Tom Seaver for having the most strikeouts in the first five seasons as a Major League Baseball Player, which was 1,155. In 2011, Los Angeles Dodgers ace, Clayton Kershaw and Lincecum matched up four times, evoking fans of both teams memories of the days Sandy Koufax and Juan Marichal traded zeroes in the 1960s. In those four games the scores were 2–1, 1–0, 2–1, 2–1, all going in the Dodgers favor. On September 10, 2011, both men struck out a combined 20 batters. The two appeared together on the Sports Illustrated 2012 baseball preview magazine.

Lincecum finished the 2011 season 13–14, despite a top-tier ERA of 2.74 (4th in the NL) and a stellar second-half ERA of 2.31. Lincecum's win-loss record was largely due to his receiving the worst run support in all of Major League Baseball; the Giants scored no runs in ten of his outings and scored two runs or fewer in 21 of them, leading to Lincecum becoming one of only six pitchers in modern major league history to have at least 200 strikeouts, an ERA of below 2.75, and a losing record.

2012[link]

Pitch repertoire[link]

Lincecum throws a four-seam fastball at 91–93 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 (9.1 m), but then dives down sharply tailing away from a left-handed batter, with a difference of 10 mph (16 km/h) or more in velocity from his fastball (82–85 mph).^[58] 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.^[59]

Accomplishments[link]

• 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^[49]
• 2009 National League All Star
• 2009 NL All-Star Starting Pitcher^[60]
• 2008 NL Cy Young Award winner
• Sporting News' NL Pitcher of the Year (2009)^[47]
• 2008 National League All Star
• 2008 Major League Baseball Starter of the Year^[61]

• Led Major League Baseball with 265 strikeouts (2008)
• Sporting News' NL Pitcher of the Year (2008)^[62][63]
• Player's Choice Award for NL's outstanding pitcher (2008)^[62][63]
• Major League Baseball 2K9 and Major League Baseball 2K9 Fantasy All-Stars cover athlete^[64]
• 2006 Golden Spikes Award^[65]
• 2006 Most Career Strikeouts in Pac-10 History (491) ^[66]
• 2006 Pac-10 Pitcher Of The Year ^[67]
• 2005 Pac-10 Pitcher Of The Week ^[68]
• 2004 National Freshman Of The Year ^[69]
• 2004 Pac-10 Pitcher & Freshman Of The Year (First player ever in Pac-10 history to be named both Pitcher and Freshman of the Year in the same season) ^[70]
• 2003 Gatorade Washington State Baseball Player of the Year^[71]

Records[link]

• 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
• 2008–2011: Third Giant ever to have four straight seasons with at least 200 strikeouts

Personal[link]

	Biography portal
	Baseball portal

Lincecum's father, Chris Lincecum, was largely responsible for his son's interest in baseball at a young age, and is the origin of his unique and extravagant windup.

Lincecum is part Filipino. His mother, Rebecca Asis, is a daughter of Filipino immigrants.^[72][73] He got a 1450 (out of 1600) on the SAT.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tim Lincecum

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Tim Lincecum on Facebook
• Tim Lincecum on Flickr
• 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"