Tim Lincecum picks up second straight NL Cy Young

When Tim Lincecum won his first Cy Young Award a year ago, he was so excited he leapt off his couch.

His reaction Thursday when he got the call that he had become the only player in major-league history to win two Cys in his first two full seasons in the majors?

"I actually jumped out my window," he said in a conference call with reporters. "Maybe not per se, but I had to go to the window to get better reception.

"I was equally excited. It was a great moment for me, and I was able to share it with a couple of people close to me — my dad [Chris Lincecum], my brother [Sean] and my girlfriend."

It has been a meteoric rise for the 25-year-old who attended Liberty High School in Renton and the University of Washington before getting drafted by the San Francisco Giants in 2006.

By winning one of the closest Cy Young votes in history — barely beating out Cardinals teammates Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright — Lincecum joins lofty company.

Just three other National Leaguers have been repeat Cy Young winners — Greg Maddux (1992-95) and Randy Johnson (1999-2002) had four in a row, while Sandy Koufax won in 1965 and '66 when the two leagues produced just one winner.

American League repeat winners are Roger Clemens, twice (1986-87 and 1997-98), Denny McLain (1968-69), Jim Palmer (1975-76) and Pedro Martinez (1999-2000).

"It's a tremendous honor for me, especially the fact that these are big feats any pitcher wants to do," Lincecum said.

He mentioned the guidance of Johnson, who became his Giants teammate in 2009.

"He kept winning Cy after Cy. I want to try to replicate that," he said.

Lincecum finished with 100 ballot points, while Carpenter had 94 and Wainwright 90, making it the third-closest election since the ballot expanded from one to three pitchers in 1970.

Lincecum went 15-7 with a 2.48 earned-run average and led the National League with 261 strikeouts. Carpenter was 17-4 with a league-best 2.24 ERA and 144 strikeouts, while Wainwright was 19-8, 2.63 with 212 strikeouts.

"I really didn't know how it would turn out," Lincecum said. "Both the guys I was going against had tremendous seasons."

At the end of his conference call, Lincecum read a prepared statement about the Oct. 30 incident in which he was stopped for speeding in Hazel Dell, and handed over 3.3 grams of marijuana and a pot pipe.

Lincecum has been ordered to appear in a Vancouver, Wash., court on Dec. 22 for arraignment. At that time, county prosecutors will present a plea deal in which Lincecum will admit to one count of buying or selling a marijuana pipe, an infraction, in return for dropping misdemeanor charges of possessing the marijuana and pipe. He would pay a $372 fine. The deal is expected to be approved.

"I made a mistake and I regret my actions earlier this month in Washington," Lincecum said. "I want to apologize to the Giants organization and the fans. I know as a pro athlete I have a responsibility to conduct myself appropriately on and off the field. I certainly learned a valuable lesson from all of this. I promise to do better in the future."