Tim Lincecum's Recipe for Success!

Yesterday, Tim Lincecum won his second straight N. L. Cy Young Award, narrowly beating out the Two-Headed Ace from St. Louis, Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright.  "The Freak" twisted and lunged his way into a repeat of last season's award, despite still only standing 5'11" and weighting 172 lbs (Side note:  There are probably still Major League Organizations today that would not draft him because he doesn't "Project".)  So how does he do it, you might ask?  And is he an arm injury waiting to happen?
Tim Lincecum's recipe for success is based on two very important factors that all pitchers can learn from (not just guys who throw 94 mph).  Lincecum's repertoire includes a two-seam fastball that he throws predominantly for movement, rather than radar gun numbers, mixed with a devastating change.  He does possess a good curve.  However, he tends to only use it against the very best of major league hitters, (and sparingly at that.) 

Why is that recipe so important, you might ask?  All great pitching coaches (and I have to put his Dad in this class...That's who taught him to pitch) understand "develop the fastball first, then the change up, then the curve."  There is much less stress on the arm in throwing fastballs and in essence, in throwing the change, due to the fact, you use the same arm action as the two-seamer, with a adjusted grip.  And yet, if you turn on the Little League World Series every August, you see one young boy after another throwing curve after curve in an effort to win at all costs...including the long term development of their arms.

By utilizing a pitching style that stands in complete contrast to the yearly spectacle in Williamsport, this recipe for success has served Lincecum well.  I had the opportunity to see him pitch in person in July, and was amazed at the amount of Big League hitters who were reduced to Guessing Changeup at the plate because it was a facsimile of his two-seamer with a 10 to 15 mph differential, and how very few breaking balls he actually threw over the course of a game.

And it is for this reason alone, I predict Lincecum will pitch relatively free from arm injury for many years.  His pitch selection puts very little wear and tear on his arm.  He uses his lower half better than most (if not all) of Major League Pitchers.  And he understands over the course of a game when to get the strikeout, when to get the groundball, and this time of year, when to collect another Cy Young Award.