Delmon Damarcus Young (born September 14, 1985 in Montgomery, Alabama) is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Detroit Tigers. He is the younger brother of MLB player Dmitri Young, an outfielder and first baseman for the Washington Nationals. Despite having little major league experience, Young has already received a reputation around baseball for his strong and accurate throwing arm in the outfield.[1] Don Zimmer, now a consultant with the Rays, has compared Young's arm to that of Jesse Barfield or Raúl Mondesí. In terms of hitting ability, at 6'3", 205 pounds, he presents an intimidating and strong plate presence, and his hitting ability has often been compared to that of Albert Belle.[2][3][4] He has a line drive swing with a slight uppercut that can produce long home runs and bullet line drives.
Minor league career
Young graduated from Adolfo Camarillo High School in 2003, located in Camarillo, California, whereupon he was drafted first overall in the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft.[5]
In 2005, Young hit .336 with 20 home runs, 71 RBI and an OPS of .968 in 2005, in 84 games with Double-A Montgomery, winning the Southern League MVP despite playing barely more than half the season. Young was promoted to Triple-A Durham on July 15, 2005, where he batted .285 with six home runs and 28 RBI in 52 games. After the season was over, he was named Baseball America's Minor League Player of the Year, not to mention its #1 overall prospect for the 2006 season. Young finished his minor league career with a .318 batting average.
On April 26, 2006, while playing for the Triple-A Durham Bulls in a game against the Pawtucket Red Sox, Young threw his bat at the umpire after being called out on strikes. He stared at the umpire for some time and refused to leave the batter's box. He finally did, but then started to return to his dugout and the center field camera caught him throwing his bat underhand, end-over-end, toward the umpire. It hit him on his chest and arm but he was not hurt[6].
The next day, Young issued an apology through his agent, claiming that he had not intended for the bat to actually strike the umpire, but acknowledging that it was unacceptable to have thrown the bat at all. The International League initially suspended Young indefinitely, then announced on May 9, 2006, he would be suspended for 50 games, without pay, retroactive to the day of the incident. Young had the option to appeal the suspension, but chose not to do so. The suspension ended on June 19, 2006.[7]
This altercation was not the first he had had with an umpire during a game. In 2005, while playing for the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits, Young received a three-game suspension for bumping an umpire.[8]
Major League career
Tampa Bay Devil Rays
On August 28, 2006, the Rays called Young up to the major leagues[9] after it was decided that Jonny Gomes had to undergo season-ending surgery. Thirty-one games remained of the 2006 Devil Rays season when he was promoted. His first game at the major league level was against the Chicago White Sox and occurred on August 29 2006, ten years to the day after his older brother Dmitri played in his first major league game[10]. In Delmon's first major league plate appearance, White Sox pitcher Freddy Garcia hit Young with a first-pitch fastball. After striking out in his second at-bat, Young stroked a curveball for a 412-foot two-run home run, which was his first major league hit[11].
As a 21-year-old in 2007, Young finished second in American League Rookie of the Year voting to Boston second baseman Dustin Pedroia[12]. Young was also a unanimous selection to the 2007 Topps Major League Rookie All-Star Team. The selection was the result of the 49th annual Topps balloting of Major League managers[13].
On November 28, 2007, the Rays traded Young, along with Brendan Harris and Jason Pridie, to the Minnesota Twins for Jason Bartlett, Matt Garza, and Eduardo Morlan[14].
Minnesota Twins
Young swinging at a pitch during spring training.
Young had an impressive spring training. In 36 at-bats, he batted .361 with two doubles, one home run, and seven RBI, locking up his spot in left field for opening day.[15]
Through July 20, 2008, Young led all left fielders in assists with eight; however, he was tied for the most errors by a left fielder with six. [16] [17]}} At the end of the 2008 season, Young had played in 152 games with the Minnesota Twins, batting .290 with ten home runs and 69 RBIs. [18]
Detroit Tigers
On August 16th, 2011 Young was traded to the Detroit Tigers for two minor leaguers.
References
- ↑ Crasnick, Jerry (2007-06-20). Identifying the elite arms in the game. Retrieved on 2007-06-23.
- ↑ Delmon Young - No. 2 of Baseball's Best Minor League Players. Retrieved on 2007-06-23.
- ↑ Tampa Bay Rays Top 10 Prospects (2004-01-12). Retrieved on 2007-06-23.
- ↑ Friday Chat with Matt Meyers (2005-08-26). Retrieved on 2007-06-23.
- ↑ Paul C. Smith (2003-06-03). Rays select Young with first pick. Retrieved on 2007-11-29.
- ↑ Jonathan Mayo (2006-04-26). Young hits ump with bat after ejection. Retrieved on 2007-06-23.
- ↑ Young suspended 50 games for bat toss (2006-05-09). Retrieved on 2007-06-23.
- ↑ Kevin Goldstein, Chris Klein, and Matt Meyers (2005-05-02). Daily Dish. Retrieved on 2007-06-23.
- ↑ Marc Topkin (2006-08-28). Delmon on the way. Retrieved on 2007-06-23.
- ↑ Player File - Dmitri Young. Retrieved on 2007-06-23.
- ↑ Doug Harrison. Delmon Young Newsmaker. Archived from the original on 2007-11-21. Retrieved on 2007-06-23.
- ↑ Bill Chastain (2006-11-12). Young runner-up for AL ROY. Retrieved on 2007-11-29.
- ↑ "Topps announces the 49th annual Topps Major League Rookie All-Star Team," KansasCity.Royals.mlb.com, 11/26/07, accessed 11/26/07
- ↑ Anthony DiComo (2006-11-29). Rays send Young to Twins for Garza. Retrieved on 2007-11-29.
- ↑ ESPN - MLB Spring Training Stats - Major League Baseball Spring Training Stats
- ↑ ESPN - MLB Baseball Fielding Statistics and League Leaders - Major League Baseball
- ↑ ESPN - MLB Baseball Fielding Statistics and League Leaders - Major League Baseball
- ↑ [1]
External links
| Search Wikimedia Commons | Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Delmon Young |
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
- MLN FAB50 Baseball 2005 - No. 2 - Minor League News
| Preceded by: Bryan Bullington |
First overall pick in the MLB Entry Draft 2003 |
Succeeded by: Matt Bush |
| Preceded by: Melky Cabrera, Andre Ethier, and Nick Markakis |
Topps Rookie All-Star Team; Outfielder 2007 |
Succeeded by: Incumbent |
Template:BD