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 …read more

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

Heading into the top of the sixth inning, the New York Yankees trailed the Tampa Bay Rays 2-0. Then Alex Rodriguez and the Yankees exploded.
With Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira on base, Rodriguez hit a homer to put the Yankees up 2-0. Later in the same inning, Rodriguez came to bat with the bases loaded and hit a grand slam. One inning. Two homers. Seven RBIs. Not a bad way to end regular season play.
For the 2009 baseball season, Rodriguez finished with 30 homers, 100 RBIs and a batting average of .286. While Rodriguez has had better numbers, those stats …read more

Chris Carpenter had a busy day when the St. Louis Cardinals faced the Cincinnati Reds. On the mound, he was his usual stellar self. At the plate, however, is where Carpenter turned some heads.
In the second inning, Carpenter came to the plate with the bases loaded. The result? Carpenter hit a grand slam to put the Cardinals up 5-0. But he wasn’t done. In the fifth inning, Carpenter hit a two-run double. He finished the contest 2-for-3 with six RBIs.
On the mound, Carpenter went five scoreless innings and gave up only three hits and one walk while striking out six …read more

The Texas Rangers have been officially eliminated from playoff contention. Early in the season, the Rangers surprised many with their quality play — especially considering the many young players on the roster. However, largely due to injuries and untimely slumps, the Rangers have sputtered to the finish line.
On Tuesday, they were officially eliminated after losing to the Los Angeles Angels by a final count of 5-2. Bobby Abreu homered in the first inning and the Angels never trailed again. Angels starter Sean O’Sullivan pitched five innings to improve his record on the season to 4-2.
With the Rangers out of the …read more

After an amazingly strong finish to the 2009 baseball season, Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Zack Greinke has all but wrapped up the 2009 American League Cy Young Award. His latest masterpiece was on Sunday when Greinke led the Royals to a 4-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins.
In seven innings, Greinke gave up only one earned run while striking out eight batters. The win improved his record to 16-8 and lowered his ERA to 2.06. His ERA is the lowest by any starting pitcher in the majors. And his record is impressive considering that the Royals are 64-92 on the …read more

Ichiro Suzuki has accomplished an amazing amount during his baseball career in Japan and the United States. However, there is one thing he had never done before Saturday — get ejected from a ballgame. He can now scratch that one off his to-do list.
Plate umpire Brian Runge made an obviously mistake on a called strike three. Ichiro responded by drawing a line in the dirt to show that the ball was outside. Runge responded by immediately ejecting Ichiro. After a short verbal confrontation, Ichiro left the field.
Not only has Ichiro never been ejected from a Major League Baseball game, he …read more

New York Yankees Clinch Playoff Spot
Although it wasn’t exactly a shocking development, the New York Yankees officially cemented a spot in the 2009 Major League Baseball playoffs with a victory on Monday. After a 6-5 victory of the Los Angeles Angels, the Yankees had an extremely mild celebration and continued on their goal to finish with the best record in baseball.
After starting the season slowly, the Yankees are now 95-56. They have a six-game lead over the Boston Red Sox in the AL East. Not only do they have the best record in either league, the Yankees’ run differential of …read more

Scott Podsednik is regarded as one of the fastest players in the game of baseball. His speed was on full display on Saturday as he helped the Chicago White Sox run past the Los Angeles Angels by a final count of 4-3.
In the third inning, Scott Podsednik hit an inside the park home run to put the White Sox up 2-0. In the tenth inning, Podsednik was able to score on a wild pitch to break a 3-3 tie.
“What I bring to the table is my ability to run,” said Podsednik, “so it’s always nice to round the bases like …read more