Tim Lincecum

After sitting out the 2017 season, Lincecum signed a one-year contract with the Texas Rangers on March 7, 2018. Lincecum began the season on the 60-day disabled list due to a blister on his right middle finger that he suffered during spring training. He was released by the Rangers on June 5, 2018. He did not pitch during the 2019 season in any capacity.

On May 20, 2016, Lincecum signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels. He was optioned to the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees on May 22. On June 18, after being called up to start in Oakland, Lincecum pitched six innings of one-run ball to earn a victory in his Angels debut. He finished with a 2–6 record and a 9.16 ERA, allowing 68 hits and 23 walks over ​38  ⁄3 innings pitched. Left-handed batters had a higher batting average against him, .364 (in 20 or more innings), than against all other MLB pitchers. The Angels designated Lincecum for assignment on August 6.

In 2012, Lincecum recorded a 5.18 ERA, nearly double that of 2011, finishing with a 10–15 record and 190 strikeouts, and leading the major leagues with 17 wild pitches. Lincecum was converted to a relief pitcher in the 2012 MLB playoffs. On October 7, Lincecum made a relief appearance during Game 2 of the 2012 National League Division Series (NLDS) against the Cincinnati Reds and threw two shutout innings. On October 10, in Game 4 of the NLDS, Lincecum made an important long relief appearance when his 4 1/3 innings helped the Giants beat the Cincinnati Reds to force a decisive Game 5 in their NLDS and Lincecum was named the winning pitcher. Counting his start against Atlanta in the 2010 playoffs and his two relief appearances in this series, Lincecum is 2–0 with an 0.59 ERA in NL Division Series play. He allowed just five hits and one walk while striking out 22 in 15 1/3 innings. Lincecum was second on The Giants in innings pitched during the NLDS, allowing just one earned run over 6.1 innings in two relief appearances and striking out eight batters without issuing a single walk.

On October 22, Lincecum signed a two-year, $35 million contract through 2015, avoiding free agency. Lincecum would go on to earn $17 million in 2014 and $18 million in 2015.

Lincecum performed well during spring training in March 2015 and showed signs of his old form. Showcasing a newfound command in his repertoire, Lincecum improved to 2–2 with a 2.40 ERA with 20 strikeouts and 11 walks in 30 innings pitched by May 3. On the same date, he pitched eight scoreless innings against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, striking out four and allowing only three hits and a walk. On May 8, Lincecum pitched six scoreless innings against the Miami Marlins, allowing only three hits and striking out eight. On May 20, in a 4–0 Win over the Los Angeles Dodgers, Lincecum pitched seven shutout innings and passed Hall of Famer Carl Hubbell for second place during the San Francisco era and fourth place in franchise history on the Giants all-time career strikeouts list. In 2015 he was 7-4 with a 4.13 ERA.

On June 25, 2014, Lincecum pitched his tenth career complete game and second career no-hitter, also against the San Diego Padres, this time at AT&T Park and on 35 fewer pitches. On the offensive side, he registered two hits, both leadoff singles, walked once, and scored two runs. The Padres had just one baserunner, Chase Headley on a second inning walk. It was his first no-hitter at AT&T Park, the second against the Padres, and the third no-hitter in the short history of the ballpark. With his second no-hit performance against the Padres, Lincecum became the second player in Major League Baseball history to throw two no-hitters against the same team, joining Hall of Famer Addie Joss and the first in Major League history to do it in back-to-back seasons. He is also the second Giant with two no-hitters, along with Christy Mathewson. He has the most career no-hitters in San Francisco Giants history and is tied with Mathewson for most Giants no-hitters in franchise history. With his second no-hit performance, Lincecum joins elite company. He joins Sandy Koufax, Randy Johnson, and Roy Halladay as the only pitchers in MLB history to throw multiple no-hitters and win multiple Cy Young Awards as well as multiple All-Star selections. Lincecum and Sandy Koufax are the only pitchers in MLB history to throw multiple no-hitters and to win multiple Cy Young Awards and multiple World Series championship titles as well as multiple All-Star selections. For his play, on June 30, he was again awarded National League Player of the Week honors.

On July 22, 2014, Lincecum earned his first career save, pitching ​⁄3 innings against the Philadelphia Phillies in a 9–6, 14-inning victory. In the 14th inning, he inherited runners at second base and third base with only one out, but only the runner at third scored. Lincecum became the fifth pitcher since 1976 to pitch a no-hitter and record a save in the same season, joining Matt Garza, Chris Bosio, Jerry Reuss, and John Candelaria. Saves became an official MLB statistic in 1969, but according to Baseball-Reference.com, it would make Lincecum the ninth Giants' pitcher to toss a no-hitter and record a save in the same season, joining Gaylord Perry, Carl Hubbell, Jesse Barnes, Rube Marquard, Jeff Tesreau, Hooks Wiltse, Christy Mathewson, and Amos Rusie. The last time Lincecum pitched out of the bullpen against the Phillies was in the 8th inning of the series-clinching Game 6 of the 2010 NLCS.

Lincecum entered Game Two of the 2014 World Series, opening the bottom of the seventh inning. He retired all five batters he faced, throwing 23 pitches, including 13 strikes and two strikeouts. Lincecum left the game in the eighth inning with lower back tightness. Despite the injury, the Giants defeated the Royals in seven games, to give Lincecum the third World Series championship of his career.

In July, he went 4–0 with a 1.62 ERA. On July 1, in a seven-inning performance against the Arizona Diamondbacks, he struck out twelve, the fourth highest total ever by a Giants rookie.

Lincecum pitched into the ninth inning for the first time on August 21 against the Chicago Cubs, holding a 1–0 lead. He had allowed just two hits and one walk through the first eight, while throwing only eighty-eight pitches. Cubs shortstop Ryan Theriot said after the game, "He's got electric stuff. The best stuff I've seen all year."

On May 15, after Lincecum struck out ten Houston Astros in six innings, Houston first baseman Lance Berkman offered his view of Lincecum: "He's got as good of stuff as I've ever seen. ... He's got three almost unhittable pitches." After falling to Lincecum and the Giants 6–3 on May 27, Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Conor Jackson gave his impression of facing Lincecum: "He's got good stuff", Jackson said. "From what I saw tonight, that's the best arm I've seen all year, no doubt. You've got to almost hit a ball right down the middle. You're going to pop up the ball at your bellybutton, which we all did tonight, and the one down, it's coming in at 98 mph (158 km/h), you're not going to put too much good wood on it. Even the ones down the middle are coming at 98. He's good, man."

Lincecum continued his dominance in the Majors by starting 5–0. His strikeouts piled up quickly and was atop the Major Leagues in the category through the early season. However, issues concerning Lincecum's control over the movement of his pitches arose when he walked five batters for the fourth consecutive start on May 31. Although the early struggles were explained as a "lack of confidence" or "mental" issues, Lincecum himself admitted that the slump lasted "longer than I was hoping it would."

After a disappointing August, Lincecum came out of his slump on September 1; pitching against one of the league's top pitchers, Ubaldo Jiménez, Lincecum pitched 8 strong innings of 1 run ball. This was Lincecum's first win since July 30. Lincecum continued to improve throughout September, finishing 5–1 with 52 strikeouts and 6 walks as compared to the 20/13 ratio in August. Lincecum managed to win his third consecutive National League strikeout title, he also set a record for most strikeouts by an MLB pitcher in his first four seasons. Lincecum finished the 2010 regular season with a 16–10 record, 3.43 ERA and 231 strikeouts.

On October 7, in his first postseason game, Lincecum pitched a complete-game two-hit shutout, striking out a playoff career-high 14 batters, against the Atlanta Braves in game 1 of the NLDS, breaking the all-time record for strikeouts in Giants postseason history. In his next postseason start, he outdueled Roy Halladay by pitching 7 innings and giving up 3 earned runs, while striking out 8 in the Giants' 4–3 victory over the Phillies in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series. In Game 6 on October 23, with the Giants clinging to a one run lead, Lincecum was summoned from the bullpen on one day's rest to pitch the bottom of the 8th. He struck out the dangerous Jayson Werth before surrendering singles to the next two batters. The Giants won the game 3–2, advancing to the 2010 World Series.

On July 13, 2013, Lincecum no-hit the San Diego Padres 9–0 at Petco Park, the first no-hitter ever pitched in that stadium and the first of his career. He struck out 13 batters, walked 4, and hit 1 while throwing a career-high 148 pitches, which were the second most number of pitches ever thrown in a no-hitter, after the 149 Edwin Jackson threw in his June 25, 2010 no-hitter. The 13 strikeouts were the second-most by a Giant in pitching a no-hitter, after the 14 in Matt Cain's perfect game a year earlier. Lincecum, the losing pitcher in Homer Bailey's second career no-hitter only eleven days earlier, became the first no-hit pitcher to also be the losing pitcher in another no-hitter during the same season since the Giants' Juan Marichal in 1963, as well as the first pitcher since Bill McCahan in 1947 to hurl a no-hitter after being on the losing end of the last no-hitter before it. The #FreakNoHitter hashtag became popular amongst social media. Lincecum finished the first half of his season with a record of 5–9 with a 4.26 ERA and 125 strikeouts, a significant improvement from his first half in 2012.

Despite an ERA of 4.54 in the second half of the season, it was considered inflated, as the bullpen accounted for an unusually high 12 earned runs charged to Lincecum. In 32 starts in 2013, Lincecum went 10–14 with 15 quality starts and a 4.37 ERA, striking out 193 in 197.2 innings.

On September 25, Lincecum won his 100th career game in a 9–8 victory over the San Diego Padres at AT&T Park, clinching a wild-card playoff berth. He became the first pitcher in Major League history to throw the least number of pitches and record the fewest outs to win his 100th career game at two and one. He tied for the National League lead in wild pitches, with 15. Since 2005, Lincecum was one of three starting pitchers in the starting rotation, along with Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner, to win over one hundred games and strikeout over 1,500 batters. In that span, the San Francisco Giants are the only Major League team to accomplish both feats, according to NBC Sports Bay Area. The Giants franchise is the only Major League team to have nine pitchers reach 1,500 strikeouts.

Lincecum can throw a four-seam fastball, but mostly uses a two-seam fastball grip which he throws generally around 87–89 mph for more sinking movement to get more ground balls. This pitch has little lateral movement, due to his overhand delivery and the speed at which the pitch is thrown. He has a breaking curveball that is thrown at a range of 72–75 mph and breaks away from a right-handed hitter. Lincecum uses a changeup that he grips similar to a splitter with sinking two-seam action. His changeup appears similar to his fastball for the first 30 feet (9.1 m), but then dives down sharply tailing away from a left-handed batter (80–83 mph). The majority of his strikeouts are recorded with this pitch. Lincecum also has a slider that breaks down and away from a right-handed hitter at 80–83 mph. On rare occasions, Lincecum hurls an eephus pitch.

Lincecum is known for his long stride, unorthodox mechanics, and ability to generate high velocity despite his slight build, originally listed as 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) and 170 pounds. Lincecum was nicknamed "The Freak" by his Washington teammates because of his athletic abilities. His fastball velocity is down from his early years – it topped out at 101 mph in his first two MLB seasons but maxes out at low-90s mph now. After having hip surgery in September 2015 and six months of rigorous rehab, Lincecum's velocity was clocked at 92 mph (his fastball topped out at 90 mph in 2015.)

Lincecum won his second championship title in three years, pitching effective relief in the 2012 World Series 4-game sweep over the Detroit Tigers, in which he struck out eight of the 16 batters he faced, including the heart of the Tigers' order (Prince Fielder, Miguel Cabrera and Delmon Young).

During the 2012 offseason, Lincecum "maintained an offseason conditioning program that he knew would help him coordinate the many moving parts in his delivery." After a series of lackluster performances in Spring training, many seemed to worry. He said, "Mechanically, I felt really good." He started the season 3rd in the rotation behind Cain and Bumgarner. On April 3, he made his first start of the season; he threw 5 innings, struck out 4, tied a career-high in walks with 7 batters, and allowed 2 runs (0 earned) on three hits while en route to the win. In his second start, there were signs of better control; despite walking 4 batters, he struck out 7 while allowing just 4 hits over 6 innings, eventually getting no decision.

On May 4, he struck out twelve Mets becoming the Giants franchise record holder for the number of games pitched with 10 or more strikeouts with 29, surpassing Hall of Fame "first five" inaugural member Christy Mathewson. Mathewson accumulated his 28 ten-plus-strikeout games in 551 starts over seventeen seasons of pitching for the Giants; Lincecum collected his 29 in 129 starts over five seasons. On May 21, he threw his 8th career complete game and his 5th career shutout against the Oakland Athletics. Lincecum almost threw his first no-hitter on April 18, giving up his first hit after 6 1/3 innings. On June 6, he recorded his 1,000th career strikeout against the Washington Nationals, striking out Jerry Hairston, Jr.. He accomplished this during his fifth year in the Major Leagues, becoming only the eighth pitcher in history to do so. He is the second player ever to have 1,127 strikeouts by his 5th season in the Major Leagues. He was 29 strikeouts short of passing Tom Seaver for having the most strikeouts in the first five seasons as an MLB player (1,155). In 2011, Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw and Lincecum matched up four times. In those four games the scores were 2–1, 1–0, 2–1, 2–1, all in the Dodgers' favor. On September 10, 2011, they struck out a combined 20 batters.

Lincecum finished the 2011 season with a 13–14 record despite an ERA of 2.74 (4th in the NL) and a second-half ERA of 2.31. Lincecum's win-loss record was largely due to his receiving the worst run support in MLB; the Giants scored no runs in ten of his outings and scored two runs or fewer in 21 of them, leading to Lincecum becoming one of only six pitchers in modern major league history to have at least 200 strikeouts, an ERA of below 2.75, and a losing record.

Lincecum's knees started to get sore in 2011, and he felt he needed to lose weight. He spent the offseason swimming and gave up eating at In-N-Out Burger, losing 30 pounds (14 kg). Lincecum signed a two-year, $40.5 million deal with the Giants, making him eligible for free agency after the 2013 season. He reportedly rejected their offer of a five-year, $100 million extension.

Lincecum eventually recovered somewhat from his slump and made the 2010 National League All-Star Team. As of the All-Star break, Lincecum was 9–4 with a 3.16 ERA over 116.2 innings pitched. One of his great first half accomplishments was that Lincecum defeated Houston's Roy Oswalt three times in three months. All three games were pitchers' duels.

On July 15, 2010, in his first start after the All-Star Game, Lincecum pitched a six-hit, complete-game shutout against the New York Mets.

Lincecum pitched in both Games 1 and 5 of the World Series, earning a win in both. Game 1 of the 2010 World Series saw Lincecum contribute to an 11–7 win over the Texas Rangers. After presenting a strong start, he sat out the final 3 1/3 innings as the San Francisco bullpen preserved a comfortable win. On November 1, 2010, Lincecum started Game 5 of the World Series with an opportunity to clinch a world championship for San Francisco. Lincecum utilized all his pitches in throwing 8 solid innings, collecting 10 strikeouts while giving up only 3 hits, including a home-run, en route to a 3–1 victory. His victory in Game 5 ended the Giants' 56-year drought between championships and also gave San Francisco its first baseball world championship in history. Lincecum also set franchise single postseason records with four wins and forty-three strikeouts by a right-handed pitcher.

A 2010 This is SportsCenter commercial features Lincecum attempting to record a voicemail greeting on his phone, telling callers that they have reached "The Freak", "The Franchise", "The Freaky Franchise", and "Big Time Timmy Jim", ultimately being dissatisfied with each of these attempts. Finally, he decides to record one beginning simply "This is Tim Lincecum" – only to be interrupted by Karl Ravech walking by and saying "Hey, Big Time Timmy Jim!" A follow-up ad features Lincecum dunking the UMass mascot in the dunk tank.

Through 20 starts in 2009 Lincecum had amassed an 11–3 record with a 2.30 ERA, 183 strikeouts, four complete games, and two shutouts. Lincecum also had a 29 scoreless inning streak, third-best since the Giants moved west in 1958. On July 27, in a 4–2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates at AT&T Park, Lincecum pitched a complete game and struck out a career-high 15 batters, the second most in San Francisco Giants franchise history. On August 3, Lincecum was named National League Player of the Week.

Lincecum missed his first game since coming up to the big leagues on September 8 against the San Diego Padres. Madison Bumgarner took his place that day, making his major league debut. Lincecum was healthy enough to make his next start on September 14, pitching seven innings with eleven strikeouts lowering his ERA to 2.30, and picking up his 14th win of the year. Lincecum finished the 2009 season with a 15–7 record, 2.48 ERA and 261 strikeouts. Following the season, Lincecum was named Sporting News NL Pitcher of the Year for the second consecutive year. He was later cited during a traffic stop on October 30 for misdemeanor possession of marijuana. On November 19, Lincecum was awarded his second consecutive Cy Young Award, narrowly edging out St. Louis Cardinals pitchers Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright, who actually had the most first place votes. In doing so, he became the first pitcher in Major League Baseball history to be awarded the Cy Young in each of his first two full seasons. He finished 18th in the National League Most Valuable Player Award voting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

Nicknamed "The Freak" for his ability to generate powerful pitches from his athletic but slight physique, the 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) 170 pounds (77 kg) power pitcher led the National League in strikeouts and strikeouts per nine innings pitched for three consecutive years in a span from 2008 to 2010 as well as shutouts in 2009, helping Lincecum win consecutive Cy Young Awards in 2008 and 2009 to become the first MLB pitcher to win the award in his first two full seasons. He has also appeared in four consecutive All-Star Games, from 2008 through 2011. In 2013, Lincecum pitched the first Petco Park no-hitter against the San Diego Padres. He repeated the feat again the following year, becoming the first MLB pitcher to throw no-hitters against the same team in consecutive seasons.

Lincecum was on the cover of the July 7, 2008, issue of Sports Illustrated, and on July 6, he was selected to play in his first Major League Baseball All-Star Game. However, he was hospitalized the day of the game due to flu-like symptoms and was unavailable to pitch. In a July 26 game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, he struck out 13 batters in seven innings while allowing seven hits, two earned runs, and no walks.

Lincecum pitched his first shutout, against the San Diego Padres on September 13. In nine innings he threw 138 pitches, gave up four hits and struck out 12 batters. On September 23, he broke Jason Schmidt's San Francisco single-season strikeout record with his 252nd strikeout of the season against the Colorado Rockies. He finished the season with 265 strikeouts (54 of them three-pitch strikeouts, the most in the majors), making him the first San Francisco pitcher to win the National League strikeout title, and the first Giant since Bill Voiselle in 1944. His 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings pitched were the best in the majors, and his .316 slugging-percentage-against was the lowest in the major leagues, as was his .612 OPS-against. His 138 pitches on September 13 were the most by any pitcher in a game in 2008. He finished the season with an 18–5 record, and tied for the major league lead with 17 wild pitches. On November 11, 2008, Lincecum was awarded the NL Cy Young Award, making him the second Giant to win the award, after Mike McCormick. He finished 23rd in the National League Most Valuable Player Award voting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

After winning the NL Cy Young Award in 2008 Lincecum continued his dominance in the National League the following season. On June 2 at Nationals Park, Lincecum struck out the Washington Nationals' Christian Guzman for his 500th career strikeout, becoming the fastest Giants pitcher in franchise history to reach the milestone. In his six June starts he went 4–1 with a 1.38 ERA, and pitched three complete games. On July 3, Lincecum was announced as the NL Pitcher of the Month for June. Lincecum was announced as an NL All-Star along with his teammate Matt Cain. He was also the starting pitcher for the NL. Lincecum went two innings in the All-Star Game, giving up two runs, one earned, and striking out one.

Going into 2007 Lincecum was ranked as the #11 prospect in baseball and the #1 prospect in the San Francisco Giants organization by Baseball America. He spent the first month of the season pitching for the Fresno Grizzlies, the Giants' Triple-A affiliate. In five starts (31 innings), he allowed just one run, twelve hits, eleven walks, while striking out forty-six and going 4–0. During his 2006 and 2007 minor league campaigns, Lincecum struck out the highest percentage of batters (minimum 100) of any minor league pitcher in the last ten years: 30.9 percent.

In the spring of 2007 Colorado Rockies prospect Ian Stewart called Lincecum "the toughest pitcher [he] ever faced", adding "Guys on our club who have been in the big leagues said he's the toughest guy they ever faced too … I’m not really sure why he's down here, but for a guy who was drafted last year … that guy is filthy."

With an injury to the Giants' fifth starter, Russ Ortiz, Lincecum was called up from Fresno to make his first major league start on May 6, 2007, against the Philadelphia Phillies. In his first career inning, Lincecum struck out three, the first being Chase Utley.

After attending Liberty Senior High School in Renton, Washington, Lincecum played college baseball at the University of Washington. Pitching for the Washington Huskies, he won the 2006 Golden Spikes Award. That year, Lincecum became the first Washington Husky to be selected in the first round of an MLB Draft, when the San Francisco Giants selected him tenth overall.

After high school Lincecum went on to pitch for the University of Washington. In 2006, he finished with a 12–4 win-loss record and a 1.94 earned run average (ERA), 199 strikeouts, and three saves in 125⅓ innings as a Washington Husky. He won the 2006 Golden Spikes Award, which is awarded annually to the best amateur baseball player.

Lincecum made his professional debut on July 26, 2006, with the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes (the Giants' Class A Short Season affiliate) against the Vancouver Canadians, pitching one inning and striking out all three batters he faced. After his second outing on July 31 against the Boise Hawks, in which he pitched three innings, striking out seven and allowing just one baserunner, he was promoted to the High Class-A San Jose Giants.

In the summer of 2004 Lincecum played for the amateur National Baseball Congress (NBC) Seattle Studs and won two games in the NBC World Series. In 2009, he was named NBC Graduate of the Year. In the summer of 2005, he played for the Harwich Mariners in the Cape Cod Baseball League.

Lincecum attended Liberty Senior High School in the Issaquah School District, where he played two seasons of varsity baseball. As a senior, he won state player of the year and led his school to the 2003 3A state championship title.

Lincecum was selected by the Chicago Cubs of the NL in the 48th round (1,408th overall) of the 2003 MLB draft, but did not sign. He decided to attend college instead, and was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 42nd round (1,261st overall) upon re-entering the draft in 2005, but rejected an offer including a $700,000 signing bonus. The next year, he was drafted tenth overall by the San Francisco Giants, becoming the first player from the University of Washington to be taken in the first round. He signed for a $2.025 million signing bonus on June 30, which at the time was the most the organization had ever paid to any amateur player.

Timothy Leroy Lincecum (/ˈ l ɪ n s ə k ʌ m / LIN -sə-kum; born June 15, 1984) is an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants from 2007 to 2015 and for the Los Angeles Angels in 2016, but as of 2020 had not announced his retirement. Lincecum helped the Giants win three World Series championships in a five-year span. Lincecum was the team's ace starter in 2010 and relief pitcher in 2012 and 2014, winning the Babe Ruth Award in 2010 as the most valuable player of the MLB postseason.