A Team's Record Doesn't Matter: Tim Lincecum, Zack Greinke Win Cy Youngs

The St. Louis Cardinals made the playoffs in large part because of the two-headed monster atop their rotation: Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter. Wainwright won 19 games with a 2.63 ERA in 233 innings, and Carpenter won 17 games with a 2.24 ERA. Their statistics were unbelievable, and they would have been one-two in the race if not for San Francisco Giants ace Tim Lincecum.

So, it was a three-horse race between Wainwright, Carpenter, and Lincecum. Carpenter and Wainwright had more wins, forming a two-headed monster. Lincecum had a sidekick as well: Matt Cain won 14 games and had a 2.89 ERA. He wasn’t flying solo, therefore making the decision a toss-up.

The voters, made up of sportswriters around the country, voted in a tight-knit fashion, expectedly so considering the similarity in statistics and impact. Who did the majority pick? The Freak, also known as Tiny Tim.

Lincecum, who had a microscopic WHIP (Walks + Hits/Inning Pitched) of 1.05, had 10 first place votes, less than Wainwright’s 12. But, what won it for him was the substantial number of second place votes, which gave him 100 points overall, barely beating Carpenter’s 94, and Wainwright’s 90.

Though the voters’ indecision in choosing between Carpenter and Wainwright played a role in Lincecum taking home the award, there is no doubt the 25-year old, 5′9″ Washington-native deserved the hardware for the second straight year.

Zack Greinke convincingly won the American League Cy Young award, acquiring 25 of 28 first-place votes.

In the American League, another pitcher won deservedly on a non-playoff team: the Kansas City Royals Zack Greinke. His story is well-documented, but though I presume it had little to do with the 26-year old winning the award, it made his victory that much more remarkable.

His statistics spoke for themselves, as he won 16 games with a dominating 2.16 ERA. He had 6 complete games, 2 shutouts, struck out 242 in 229-1/3 innings, relinquished only 11 homers and 51 walks, and had a 1.07 WHIP. His numbers were very similar to Lincecum’s, and he also won without leading the league in wins.

In fact, he was seventh in that category. CC Sabathia of the World Series-winning New York Yankees led the league with 19 victories, tying the Seattle Mariners’ Felix Hernandez and Detroit Tigers’ Justin Verlander; Toronto’s Roy Halladay, Boston’s Josh Beckett, and Texas’s Scott Feldman each tallied 17 wins.

Clearly, as in Lincecum’s case, a teams’ record doesn’t matter, as the Royals finished last in the American League Central with 65 wins and 97 losses, nor do the victories they themselves accumulate.

Lincecum’s win was surprising at first glance, given the year both Wainwright and Carpenter had. So was Greinke’s victory in some respects. But though they somewhat flew under my radar, the writers did their job and truly picked both leagues best pitchers over the course of the season; and what a season Tiny Tim and Greinke had.