He did it again. For the second year in a row Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum has won the National League's Cy Young Award.
The announcement, made Thursday, makes him the first repeat winner since Randy Johnson, who ironically enough pitched with the Giants this past season.
The vote was extremely tight and only 10 points separated the top three vote-getters.
The win comes three weeks after the Washington native was cited for marijuana possession in his home state. He was pulled over one morning for speeding, but the officer got Lincecum to hand over a pipe and a small amount of pot after smelling something suspicious coming from the car.
Lincecum did not comment on the bust at his post-win news conference other than to re-read a statement of apology to his fans and the team.
Because the amount of marijuana was considered a small amount, Lincecum will likely get off with only a fine. The incident is unlikely to have any impact on his job. Recreational drug use is not a punishable offense in the major leagues.
Back to baseball. In 2009 Lincecum led the National League with 261 strikeouts. He tied the league with four complete games and two shutouts.
He made a measly $650,000 this year. The Cy Young basically seals the deal to increase that number by at least 10 times after arbitration.
