Tim Lincecum

Timothy LeRoy Lincecum was born on June 15, 1984 in Bellevue, Washington. He is a starting pitcher (#55) for the San Francisco Giants. His dad was his pitching coach when Lincecum was a kid. It was said that he would put a dollar bill on the ground so Tim could do his pitching right. Tim went to Liberty Senior High School. In his senior year, he led his school to a state championship while becoming the Washington State Player of the Year award.

Lincecum attended the University of Washington, where he was a highly respected pitcher. In 2004, he was named both the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year and the Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year, becoming the first athlete ever to accomplish the feat. In 2006, Lincecum won the Golden Spikes Award for that year with a 12-4 record with a 1.94 ERA and 199 K's. With the great year under his belt, Lincecum prepared for his major league career as he was drafted 10th overall in the 2006 MLB Draft by the S.F. Giants.

After a season in the minors, Tim was called up to start as Russ Ortiz, the Giants's fifth starting pitcher at that time, became injured. In 2007, Lincecum finished with an ERA of 4.00 while striking out 150 along with a 7-5 record. But Tim would do even better in 2008.

Lincecum's 2008 season was by far the best season he has had in his baseball career. Tim had an amazing 18-5 record in just his second season while having a great 2.62 ERA while leading the majors with 265 K's. Nicknamed "The Freak", his performance earned him the 2008 NL Cy Young Award, given to the most outstanding pitcher in the regular baseball season. Look for Lincecum to have another fantastic season in 2009.