| Delmon Young | |
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| Detroit Tigers – No. 21 | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born: September 24, 1985 Montgomery, Alabama |
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| Bats: right | Throws: right |
| MLB debut | |
| August 29, 2006 for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays | |
| Career statistics (through 2011 season) |
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| Batting average | .288 |
| Hits | 802 |
| Home runs | 71 |
| Runs batted in | 408 |
| Stolen bases | 34 |
| Teams | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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Delmon Damarcus Young (born September 14, 1985) is an American professional baseball outfielder with the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball. He is the younger brother of former major league outfielder and first baseman Dmitri Young. He was born in Montgomery, Alabama.
Young is known for having a strong and accurate throwing arm.[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 potential has often been compared to that of Albert Belle.[2][3][4]
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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. The bat hit the umpire on his chest and arm but he was not seriously 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 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]
On August 28, 2006, the Devil 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 first official at-bat, Young stroked a curveball for a 412-foot (126 m) 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] hitting .288 with 13 home runs and 93 RBI. 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]
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] Young finished the season with 8 errors, more than any other left fielder in the majors, while his 11 assists led AL left fielders.[16]
In 2008, Young had played in 152 games with the Minnesota Twins, batting .290 with 10 home runs and 69 RBI.[17] He got off to a slow start in 2009, but had a good September, finishing with 12 home runs, 60 RBI and a .284 batting average.
With the trade of Carlos Gomez to the Milwaukee Brewers, Young became the Twins' starting left fielder for the 2010 season. During the off-season Young shed 35 pounds, now weighing 200. The 2010 season ended up being Young's best offensive season to date. Young hit .298 with 21 home runs and 112 RBI, finished tenth in the voting for AL MVP, and was a finalist for a spot on the American League All-Star roster through the online All-Star Final Vote. On defense he led AL left fielders in errors, with 4, and had the lowest fielding percentage, at .984.[18]
Young was traded to the Detroit Tigers in a waiver trade on August 15, 2011, for minor league pitcher Cole Nelson and Lester Oliveros.[19] That night, the Tigers played the Twins, he batted in the number three spot in front of Miguel Cabrera. In his first at bat with the Tigers, Young hit a home run to left field. In 2011, he batted a combined .268 with 12 home runs, while on defense he tied for the major league lead in errors by a left fielder, with 7.[20]
In his first at bat in the playoffs as a Tiger, Young hit a home run to right field off C.C. Sabathia.[21] In addition to his earlier post-season home run, Delmon hit the game winning home run in the bottom of the seventh inning off Rafael Soriano, giving Detroit a 2–1 lead over the Yankees in the ALDS. In Game 5, Young suffered a strained oblique muscle and was left off the ALCS roster.[22] He was activated to play in game 2. During Game 5 of the ALCS against the Texas Rangers, Young hit two home runs off C.J. Wilson, scoring three runs. He is the fourth Detroit Tiger to hit more than one home run in a postseason game (after Alan Trammell, Kirk Gibson and Magglio Ordóñez).[23]
| Preceded by Bryan Bullington |
First overall pick in the MLB Entry Draft 2003 |
Succeeded by Matt Bush |
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