Tim Lincecum Wins Second Consecutive NL Cy Young

Tim Lincecum had fewer first-place votes than Adam Wainwright, fewer second-place votes than Chris Carpenter, and fewer victories than any pitcher to win the award in a non-strike season. But none of that stopped him from being awarded the Cy Young by the Baseball Writers Association of America for the second consecutive year:

Lincecum repeated as the National League Cy Young Award winner, besting St. Louis right-handers Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright despite getting fewer first-place selections than Wainwright in the vote conducted by the Baseball Writers' Association of America and announced on Thursday.

Lincecum (15-7, 2.48 ERA, 261 strikeouts) received 11 first-place votes and 100 points. Carpenter (17-4, 2.24 ERA, 144 strikeouts) finished second with nine first-place votes and 94 points, followed by Wainwright (19-8, 2.63 ERA, 212 strikeouts), who had 12 first-place votes and 90 points.

Carpenter also had more second-place votes -- 14 to 12 -- than Lincecum, who became the pitcher with the lowest victory total to win a Cy Young in either league. The previous low win total for a Cy Young winner was 16, by Zack Greinke of the Royals earlier this week and Brandon Webb of the D-backs in 2006. Both of those pitchers went 16-8.

Whatever the opposite of a landslide is, that's the margin with which Lincecum won the award, in what was one of the closest races in Cy Young history. But regardless, just two full seasons into his Major League career, Tim Lincecum has two Cy Youngs under his belt. He's got to be feeling pretty high (in the perfectly legal sense of the word, of course).