SAN FRANCISCO -- It remains to be seen whether Tim Lincecum will receive the National League Cy Young Award. But Lincecum's peers already have given him their endorsement.

Lincecum won two elections as the NL's top pitcher for 2008 in separate polls of Major League players announced Monday. The Giants right-hander was recognized by The Sporting News, which canvassed 314 players, and captured the Players Choice Award, determined through voting conducted in September by the accounting firm KPMG.

Like Lincecum, Cleveland's Cliff Lee, who finished 22-3 with a 2.54 ERA, was named the American League's pitcher of the year by both entities.

The NL Cy Young Award winner, chosen in balloting by members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, will be named Nov. 11. Left-hander Mike McCormick, the NL's Cy Young recipient in 1967, is the only Giants player to capture the honor.

Lincecum, 24, was nothing short of spectacular in his first full Major League season, as he finished 18-5 with a 2.62 ERA. He ranked second in the NL in victories (Arizona's Brandon Webb had 22) and ERA (Johan Santana of the Mets checked in at 2.53) while leading the league with a .783 winning percentage.

Lincecum struck out 265 batters and became the first Giants player in the modern era (since 1900) to lead the Majors in that category. Opponents batted .221 and averaged 7.22 hits per nine innings off him, the lowest figures in the league.

The All-Star pitcher was at his best when challenged, limiting hitters to a league-low .167 average (32-for-192) with runners in scoring position.

"It seems like he goes to an extra gear," D-backs manager Bob Melvin said.

Lincecum also rescued the team from jams by recording a 14-3 mark with a 2.79 ERA in 25 appearances following Giants losses.

Each 2008 Players Choice Award winner will recommend the charity of his choice to receive a grant from the Major League Baseball Players Trust. Since 1992, the Players Trust has contributed more than $3.25 million to charities around the world in honor of Players Choice Award winners.