Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants won his second straight NL Cy Young Award. In a close race, Lincecum edged Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright — both of the St. Louis Cardinals. The Giants hurler became the first back-to-back winner since Randy Johnson won four straight Cy Young Awards from 1999 to 2002.

On the season, Lincecum pitched 225.1 innings over 32 starts. He finished with a 2.48 ERA, a 1.05 WHIP and 261 strikeouts while allowing only 168 hits. Despite his fantastic stats, he only had a record of 15-7. His 15 wins were the least in baseball history for a Cy Young Award winner in a full length season.

Wainwright actually had the most first place votes with 12, while Carpenter finished second in the balloting. The other two pitchers to receive votes were Dan Haren of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Javier Vazquez of the Atlanta Braves.

The balloting was so close because great cases could be made for both Carpenter and Wainwright. Carpenter had a lower ERA (2.24) and more wins (17) than Lincecum. Wainwright, on the other hand, led the NL in wins with 19 and had a comparable ERA at 2.63. But when it came down to it, Carpenter and Wainwright being on the same team didn’t help and opened the door for Lincecum.

Tim Lincecum won the Cy Young Award again (Image: Zuma Press)

When Jim Tracy took over the Colorado Rockies, anyone who even suggested the team could make the playoffs would have been laughed at. The Rockies were 18-28 and looked like one of the worst teams in the league. But with Tracy at the reins, Colorado went 74-42 to finish the season and make the playoffs in the National League.
As a result, Tracy was awarded the 2009 National League Manager of the Year award. He received 29 first place votes, with Tony La Russa of the St. Louis Cardinals finishing second with two first place votes.
To reward Tracy for a job …read more

To the surprise of nobody who was following baseball closely this season, Zack Greinke of the Kansas City Royals was named the AL Cy Young Award winner. Even though he pitched for a bad team, Greinke was simply amazing.
Greinke made 33 starts at went 16-8 with a 2.16 ERA and a WHIP of 1.07. In 229.1 innings, the 26-year-old gave up 195 hits, walked 51 batters and struck out 242.
Finishing second in the 2009 CY Young Award balloting was Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners. Justin Verlander, the star hurler for the Detroit Tigers, finished third. CC Sabathia and Roy …read more

The MLB honored its best rookies on Monday. In the National League, Chris Coghlan of the Florida Marlins won the NL Rookie of the Year. In the American League, Andrew Bailey of the Oakland A’s won the AL Rookie of the Year.
Coghlan didn’t look like a top prospect early in the year but got better and better as the year went along. All told, the left fielder hit .321 with nine homers, 47 RBIs, 84 runs and eight stolen bases. After the All-Star Game, Coghlan hit .372 and looked like an up-and-coming star.
Andrew Bailey is the rare relief pitcher to …read more

Aroldis Chapman’s defection from Cuba made many Major League Baseball general managers very happy. The 21-year-old pitcher has a fastball that has been clocked at over 100 MPH. And to top it off, he’s a lefty.
After establishing residency in the tiny country of Andorra, Chapman is now a free agent. There has already been talk that a big league team may be interested in paying him upwards of $50 million. Which teams are possible destinations for Aroldis Chapman? Let’s take a look:
New York Yankees
The Yankees always like to spend money. Considering that starting pitching depth was their weakness this season, …read more

Starting pitcher Braden Looper was bought out by the Milwaukee Brewers for $1 million this weekend. The other option for the Brewers was to pay Looper $6.5 million next season — but Milwaukee decided against that idea.
The good news for Looper last season is that he led the Brewers in victories with a record of 14-7. The bad news is that he didn’t pitch very well. In fact, he led all of Major League Baseball in runs allowed (123) and home runs allowed (39). The 35-year-old started 34 games and had an ERA of 5.22.
Although he’s coming off a poor …read more

Jack Wilson, the stellar defensive shortstop who began his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, has signed a two-year deal to stay with the Seattle Mariners. After breaking into the big leagues with the Pirates in 2001, he was traded to the Mariners in the middle of last season.
Although not much of a hitter, Wilson is great with his glove. The 31-year-old is also known for getting clutch hits and coming ready to play each and every game.
Last season, Wilson struggled mightily at the plate. He hit .255 with five homers, 39 RBIs and 37 runs. In 31 games with the …read more

After a successful homecoming last season, the Seattle Mariners and Ken Griffey Jr. have agreed to extend the relationship another year. Griffey will be paid a base salary of around $2 million, with a number of incentives built into the contract.
Griffey began his career in Seattle in 1989. He was the Mariners center fielder until 1999 when he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds. After eight and a half years with the Reds, Griffey went back to Seattle for the 2009 campaign.
In his return, Griffey hit .214 with 19 homers, 57 RBIs and 44 runs. He also drew 63 walks …read more

After looking over all their options, the Washington Nationals stuck with what they had. Jim Riggleman, who served as the team’s interim manager last season after the firing of Manny Acta, has been named the full-time manager of the Nationals.
After starting the season 26-61, the Nationals went 33-42 under Riggleman. That performance was apparently good enough to earn the gig for the 2010 baseball season.
For the second straight season, the Nationals finished with the worst record in baseball. The team didn’t have many bright spots anywhere on their roster.
Riggleman has to find a way to breathe life into a franchise …read more

The Tampa Bay Rays don’t have the deep pockets of the New York Yankees or the Boston Red Sox. But when faced with a $10 million option on Carl Crawford, the Rays exercised the option to keep the speedy outfielder.
As it turns out, it wasn’t too difficult of a decision for the Rays. Last year, the 28-year-old left fielder had arguably his best season. He finished with a .305 batting average to go along with 15 homers, 68 RBIs, 96 runs and 60 steals. The 60 steals were a new career-high and he also posted a career-high on-base percentage of …read more