Lincecum wins GIBBY Award for no-hitter
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Giants right-hander Tim Lincecum again proved capable of reaching heights that exceed the summit of the mound.
The right-hander performed remarkably and dramatically on July 13 at San Diego while fashioning his first professional no-hitter. Lincecum's effort in the Giants' 9-0 triumph earned him the 2013 Greatness in Baseball Yearly (GIBBY) Award for Outstanding Pitching Performance of the Year.
Lincecum added the GIBBY to his armful of honors, including two National League Cy Young Awards, four All-Star Game selections, the Babe Ruth Award as Most Valuable Player of the 2010 postseason and three consecutive NL strikeout titles (2008-10).
MLB's A-listers won GIBBY trophies -- the ultimate honors of baseball's awards season -- on Tuesday at the Winter Meetings. More than 10 million votes were cast by media, front-office personnel, MLB alumni, fans at MLB.com and the Society for American Baseball Research.
This year's GIBBY Awards featured nominees in 22 categories. Individual honors went to the MLB MVP, in addition to the year's best Starting Pitcher, Hitter, Closer, Setup Man, Rookie, Breakout Hitter, Breakout Pitcher, Comeback Player, Defensive Player, Manager, Executive and Postseason Performer.
GIBBY trophies also were awarded for the year's top Play, Storyline, Hitting Performance, Pitching Performance, Oddity, Walk-off, Cut4 Topic, Regular-Season Moment and Postseason Moment, with video available via MLB.com's Must C highlight reels.
GIBBY categories included players from both leagues and performances not only from the regular season but also through the end of the playoffs, making them unique in singling out the best of the best.
All 30 clubs were represented among the award candidates. In fact, every team had multiple nominees in 2013 -- a testament to the parity of talent around the game.
Lincecum received 19 percent of the vote, beating out Texas' Yu Darvish and his near-perfect game against Houston on April 2 (14.8), Homer Bailey's July 2 no-hitter for the Reds against the Giants (12.2) and Henderson Alvarez's season-ending no-hitter for the Marlins against the Tigers.
Lincecum authored the 15th no-hitter in Giants history and the seventh since the franchise moved to San Francisco in 1958. Given the dominance of Lincecum earlier in his Major League career, he appeared destined for no-hit glory long ago.
Lincecum overwhelmed even himself. About 20 minutes after flinging his final pitch, he hadn't fully comprehended his feat.
"It's pretty surreal for me," Lincecum said. Referring to the no-hitters thrown by teammates Jonathan Sanchez in 2009 and Matt Cain (a perfect game) last year, Lincecum added, "Obviously I've seen a couple. ... But to be in the middle of it is a little different. I think I'm still kind of pinching myself right now."
Lincecum threw 148 pitches, the second-highest total required in a no-hitter in the last 25 seasons. Arizona's Edwin Jackson threw 149 when he no-hit Tampa Bay on June 25, 2010. In obliterating his personal high of 138 pitches on Sept. 13, 2008, against San Diego, Lincecum threw the most pitches by a Giant since Vida Blue fired 153 on July 22, 1979, against Montreal.
In typical Lincecum fashion, he employed the strikeout as a primary asset, accumulating 13 while walking four. Each Padres starter except left fielder Carlos Quentin struck out at least once.