Lincecum, Cain up for Bay Area Sports HOF

Former Giants aces part of 2010, '12, '14 World Series championship teams

January 2nd, 2018

SAN FRANCISCO -- Right-handers and , who complemented each other on several Giants pitching staffs, are together again as nominees for induction to the 2018 class of the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame.
Lincecum and Cain, both 33, performed for all three Giants teams that won World Series in 2010, '12 and '14.
Of the 170 Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame (BASHOF) inductees, 15 have ties to the Giants: Willie Mays, Juan Marichal, Frank Robinson, Willie McCovey, Orlando Cepeda, Joe Morgan, Vida Blue, Will Clark, Gaylord Perry, Dave Righetti, Dusty Baker, Barry Bonds, Jeff Kent, Peter Magowan and Matt Williams.
Besides honoring local athletes, BASHOF is a non-profit organization created by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce in 1979 to encourage youth participation in athletics.
Lincecum, who last appeared in a professional game in 2016, is rumored to be preparing to attempt a comeback, but he is not on a current Major League roster.
Lincecum posted a 108-83 record with a 3.61 ERA for the Giants from 2007-15 while winning back-to-back National League Cy Young Awards (2008-09), leading the NL in strikeouts for three consecutive years (2008-2010), pitching two no-hitters and earning selection to four All-Star teams. He amassed 1,704 strikeouts in 1,643 2/3 innings as a Giant.

Cain, who retired at the end of the 2017 season, is one of four players to perform exclusively for the Giants for at least 10 years since the franchise moved to San Francisco in 1958. He sustained a series of injuries that pushed his career record under .500 (104-118, 3.68 ERA). A three-time All-Star, Cain reached his zenith on June 13, 2012, when he recorded the 22nd perfect game in Major League history as San Francisco blanked Houston, 10-0.
Both excelled in the postseason. Lincecum finished 5-2 with a 2.40 ERA in 13 postseason appearances, including six starts. Cain compiled a 4-2 mark with a 2.10 ERA in eight postseason starts.
Cain said in an interview with MLB.com late last season that he and Lincecum maintained a friendly rivalry which benefited both of them.
"We embraced it. We enjoyed it. We loved it," Cain said. "I was never mad if he got an All-Star Game [that Cain didn't] or got more credit for anything. It might have helped me fly under the radar a little bit with some things. ... I think it was a huge advantage for us to be able to play side-by-side."
Lincecum and Cain are among six new "contemporary nominees" whose active playing careers occurred primarily or exclusively after 1981. Other first-timers on the contemporary ballot include NFL defensive end Howie Long, Super Bowl-winning coach Mike Holmgren, former University of California, Berkeley golf coach Steve Desimone and tennis star "Peanut" Louie Harper.
A pair of former Giants, left-handers Dave Dravecky and Mike McCormick, are making repeat appearances on the contemporary and veterans' ballots, respectively. The latter category is for athletes who performed before 1981.
Inductees will be honored at BASHOF's annual enshrinement banquet, scheduled for May 21 at San Francisco's Westin St. Francis Hotel.