Tim Lincecum has just won the best honor in Major League Baseball today — being the cover athlete for the 2K9 baseball game. Oh and he apparently won another award for being the best pitcher in the National League — the Cy Young. Not a bad move by Take-Two, who obviously rigged the ballots for the exclusive MLB award. Senior VP of 2K Sports Greg Thomas said the following about their new athlete representative:

We couldn’t have selected a more naturally talented and exciting player to represent Major League Baseball 2K9 next season, and given that he’s an avid gamer, it will be a lot of fun working together,”

The San Francisco Giants pitcher also talked about winning both honors, “Winning the Cy Young Award is truly an amazing honor, and now having the opportunity to be on the cover of Major League Baseball 2K9 is another dream come true and an absolutely surreal experience,” he said, ” “Whenever I’m hanging out at home or traveling on the road, you can find me playing video games, and I’m definitely the best gamer in the clubhouse by far. I’m incredibly stoked that 2K Sports picked me to represent Major League Baseball 2K9, and I look forward to lending my baseball knowledge to the development process.”

Picking Tim Linecum was a safe bet, but I’m also going to read into it. Greg Thomas revolutionized baseball video games with bringing a pitching meter in MVP Baseball. Could picking a pitcher for a cover athlete predict more emphases on the pitching aspect of the game? We think so…