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ASU Assistant Spent 17 Seasons As Washington Head Coach

TEMPE, Ariz. – Arizona State baseball has named Ken Knutson as the program’s pitching coach, head coach Tim Esmay announced today. Knutson joined the ASU baseball program in July after spending the previous 17 seasons as the head coach at the University of Washington.

During Knutson’s time at the helm of Washington, he compiled a career record of 584-399-2, including a 240-189

Knutson

record in Pac-10 play. He is Washington’s all-time leader in coaching victories and won four Pac-10 Northern Division titles and two overall Pac-10 titles during his tenure. He led the Huskies to six NCAA Tournaments and was three times named the Pac-10 Coach of the Year (1996, 1997 and 1998).

Knutson coached 31 All-Americans at Washington, including 2006 Golden Spikes Award winner and current San Francisco Giant Tim Lincecum, as well as closers Will Fenton and Buck Merrick. Merrick is the school’s all-time leader in saves with 31, while Fenton is second with 23, including the 2003 season where he did not allow a run while recording 12 saves. While at Washington, Knutson spent much of his head coaching career as the UW’s pitching coach, coaching at least one All-Pac-10 pitcher every year he served in that capacity.

Prior to being named Washington’s head coach in 1993, Knutson spent nine seasons with the Huskies as both a player and an assistant. In 1981, the lefty Knutson compiled a 5-2 record with a 2.89 ERA, helping lead Washington to the Pac-10 Northern Division title, their first since 1959. He was a First Team All-Pac-10 selection that season after transferring from Seattle University, where he was an all-league performer.

From 1982 to 1986, Knutson was in charge of the Husky pitching staff, including the 1985 season when UW led the nation with a 2.80 ERA. After coaching semi-pro ball in the Seattle area, Knutson returned to Washington as the lead assistant coach and pitching coach from 1990 to 1992 before being named head coach.

(Release)

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Here’s a rundown of new stuff added to the site this week (just in case you missed them)…

1. Pat Murphy resigns as head baseball coach at Arizona State.

2.  Classic Podcast with Middle Tennessee State’s Bryce Brentz.  The powerful outfielder played for Team USA over the summer.

3.  Around The Bases.  Four thoughts with CB360.com editor Sean Stires.

4.  The latest CB360.com exclusive Two Sport Report, updating college baseball players who play football & other sports.

5.  Tim Lincem (University of Washington alum) wins a second straight NL Cy Young Award.

6.  Rookie of the Year Awards go to former college stars Andrew Bailey (Wagner) and Chris Coghlan (Ole Miss).

7.  Two sport stars Golden Tate and Toby Gerhart named Walter Camp Award semifinalists.

8.  Duke announces agreement to play some home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

9.  Maryland receives major gift for stadium renovations from Bob “Turtle” Smith.

10.  East Carolina skipper Billy Godwin receives contract extension.

11.  More 2010 schedules, including South Carolina and Penn State

Former Washington Husky Joins Impressive List Of Consecutive Winners.

Lincecum

Lincecum led the NL with 261 strikeouts and tied for the league lead with four complete games and two shutouts.

A product of Liberty High in Renton, Lincecum spent the 2004 through 2006 seasons with the Huskies and won the Golden Spikes Award as the nation’s top amateur baseball player in 2006.

He is just just the fourth National Leaguer to win the Cy Young in consecutive seasons. Sandy Koufax won it in 1965 and 1966 and both Randy Johnson (1999-2002) and Greg Maddux (1992-95) won four straight. In the AL, Pedro Martinez, Jim Palmer, Denny McLain and Rogers Clemens have each won two straight, with Clemens having won two in a row on two separate occasions.

The Cy Young Award is the biggest single-season honor ever given to a former Husky in one of the big three professional sports.

Only 10 points separated the top three vote-getters. Chris Carpenter was second and St. Louis teammate Adam Wainwright finished third despite getting the most first-place votes.

The 2009 honors for Lincecum and Kansas City Royals ace Zack Greinke reflect a recent shift in how voters pick baseball’s best pitchers. Wins, losses and ERA used to determine the Cy Young Award winner – now it’s detailed statistics such as WHIP, FIP and BABIP.

Greinke equaled the previous low of 16 wins for a non-shortened season when he won the AL award on Tuesday.

“It’s turned into a game of complete numbers and statistics and what people do with that,” Lincecum said. “So I mean just to put more options in the voters’ heads about what’s supposed to be more important, which takes priority over another, that’s all based on opinion.”

Lincecum received 11 first-place votes, 12 seconds and nine thirds for 100 points in balloting released by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Carpenter had nine firsts, 14 seconds and seven thirds to take second with 94.

Wainwright, who led the NL with 19 wins and 233 innings, had 12 first-place votes, five seconds and 15 thirds for 90 points. Trevor Hoffman, who finished behind Tom Glavine in 1998, is the only other player to get the most firsts and not win the award.

“The guys I was going up against, Wainwright and Carpenter, had tremendous seasons,” the 25-year-old Lincecum said. “It was a lucky one for me. I’ll take them as I come I guess.”

Two voters, Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus and Keith Law of ESPN.com, did not include Carpenter on their ballots. Carroll had Wainwright in the top spot, Lincecum second and Arizona’s Dan Haren third. Law voted for Lincecum, Atlanta’s Javier Vazquez and Wainwright in third. Those were the only votes in any position for Haren and Vazquez.

Lincecum, who had a $650,000 salary and is headed for a big raise now that he’s eligible for arbitration, did not have any bonus provision for winning the award. Carpenter receives $100,000 for finishing second, Wainwright $100,000 for winding up third and Vazquez $70,000 for being voted fourth.

Lincecum teamed with Matt Cain to give the Giants a strong 1-2 punch at the top of their rotation, helping them stay in contention all year in one of baseball’s biggest surprises. He went 15-7 with a 2.48 ERA in 32 starts and 225 1-3 innings.

“I’m excited,” Giants infielder Pablo Sandoval told The Associated Press. “I’m very happy for him. He did a great job for the team and he had great numbers.”

San Francisco selected the 5-foot-11, 170-pound Lincecum with the 10th overall selection in the 2006 draft out of Washington, and he instantly became the organization’s top pitching prospect since Hall of Famer Juan Marichal signed with the New York Giants as an amateur free agent in 1957. He made his major league debut in 2007 and is 40-17 with a 2.90 ERA in three seasons.

(Release)