Friday, November 20, 2009

Lincecum Wins NL Cy……again

In one of the closest votes in NL Cy Young history, Tim Lincecum edges out Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals. Did they get it right? That’s a tough call. Lincecum dominated in strikeouts with 261 to Carpenter’s 144 and Wainwright’s 212. However, other stats tell a slightly different story. Lincecum lagged behind in overall record (perhaps an overrated stat as you need run support) with a 15-7 record while Carpenter ended the season 17-4 and Wainwright 19-8. Carpenter led the trio with a 2.24 ERA to Lincecum’s 2.48 and Wainwright’s 2.63. Personally I think the WHIP is a very telling stat and one that Carpenter edges out Lincecum with a 1.01 to Tim’s 1.05. Wainwright pales here with a 1.21. Lincecum also gave up many more walks than Carpenter (68 and 38 respectively). Lincecum also led the group in Batting Average Against with a .206. Carpenter was second with a .226 and Wainwright had a .244. While perhaps an argument could be made for Carpenter, there should be no denying that Lincecum is also worthy of the award. I only wonder if the results would have been the same had Carpenter’s teammate not been in the running as well.

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