National League Cy Young Award winner, Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants, will be featured as the cover athlete and spokesman for next year's highly anticipated baseball video game, Major League Baseball 2K9. Lincecum led Major League Baseball with 265 strikeouts during the 2008 season and set a new team record in the process. He has quickly become a fan favorite and established himself as one of the most thrilling young pitchers to watch in baseball today.

While attending the University of Washington, Lincecum won the coveted Golden Spikes Award which is given to the nation’s top college baseball player. He was drafted 10th overall by the San Francisco Giants in 2006. Known to fans as “The Franchise” and “The Freak”, Lincecum was named to the National League All-Star team this past season while putting up astonishing numbers and leading the Majors with a remarkable 265 strikeouts. Lincecum also led the National League in other key pitching categories including win percentage (18-5, .783), opponent’s batting average (.221), and strikeouts per nine innings (10.51), along with ranking second in earned run average (2.62). For all of his historic accomplishments, Lincecum won the Players’ Choice Award as the National League Outstanding Pitcher this season, along with the National League Pitcher of the Year Award from Sporting News. Both awards were voted on by his peers. More significantly, Lincecum today was named the National League Cy Young Award winner, given annually to the top pitcher in both the American League and the National League, and voted on by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

Players will have the exciting opportunity to practice their skills at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park by playing three full innings as either the Tampa Bay Rays or Philadelphia Phillies. The free game demo will support two players, local only, and offers fans a chance to experience the newly improved pitching, hitting, fielding and baserunning controls in Major League Baseball 2K9. Fans will also get a sneak peek at the stunning realism of over 300 new Signature Style animations. An exciting new broadcast team with Gary Thorne providing the play-by-play calls alongside color analyst Steve Phillips gives a fresh perspective and more depth for a true-to-life, insightful in-game commentary.

Developed by Visual Concepts, Major League Baseball 2K9, not yet rated, will be available in March 2009 for the X360, the PS3 and PS2, PSP, and Wii.