Walter Young (baseball player)

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For the American football player with the same name, see Walter Young.

Walter Ernest Young (born February 18, 1980 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi) is a first baseman and designated hitter who played for the Baltimore Orioles in 2005 and is currently in the Houston Astros organization. He is known for his large size (he is listed at 6-5 and 322 pounds) and his ability to hit towering home runs.

An accomplished high school football player, Young turned down a scholarship offer from LSU to sign with and play baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He advanced steadily through the system, but before the 2004 season, the Pirates released him. He was claimed on waivers by the Orioles and assigned to their Class AA affiliate, the Bowie Baysox. He recovered from a slow start in Bowie to set a club record with 33 home runs and appear in the Eastern League All-Star Game. In 2005, he participated in the Orioles' spring training and started the regular season with the Orioles' Class AAA affiliate, the Ottawa Lynx; he started the season by hitting 24-for-48.

Young was called up to the Orioles on September 1, 2005, after batting .286 with 13 home runs and 81 RBI at Ottawa. Since 2005 was the last year that he could be optioned to the minors without having to pass through waivers, the Orioles said upon promoting him that they would use him in September to see if he fits into their plans for 2006. He played 15 games for the Orioles in 2005, finishing with a .303 (10-for-33) batting average, one home run, and 3 RBI. In the offseason, Young played for LaGuaria in the Venezuelan Winter League.

In January 2006, Young was designated for assignment by the Orioles, after the Orioles had signed first basemen/outfielders Jeff Conine and Kevin Millar. Young was then claimed off waivers by the Padres. However, he faced much competition for the first base job with the Padres. Although their regular first baseman, Ryan Klesko, started the season on the disabled list, Young did not win a spot on the major league roster out of spring training; Adrian Gonzalez became their starting first baseman instead. Young was sent to the Padres' Class AAA affiliate, the Portland Beavers, where he shared a first-base job with Paul McAnulty. He started the season in a slump; and although he hit his second and third home runs for the Beavers on April 23, 2006, the Padres released him two days later to make room for pitcher Jon Adkins, who they were sending back to Portland. On May 8, the Houston Astros signed Young and assigned him to their Class AA affiliate, the Corpus Christi Hooks.

[edit] Trivia

During one batting practice in the 2005 season, Young hit a home run that reached the Camden Yards warehouse. The distance to the warehouse from home plate is 432 ft (132 m) along the right field line, and the only other known player to hit the warehouse is Ken Griffey, Jr..
If Walter's listed weight of 322 pounds is correct, he is the heaviest player to ever play in MLB. The previous record, listed at Baseball Almanac was Jumbo Brown, who weighed 295 pounds.