Chris Young (outfielder)

This article is about the baseball outfielder. For the baseball pitcher, see Chris Young (pitcher). For other persons of the same name, see Chris Young.
Chris Young

Young with the New York Mets
New York Yankees – No. 24
Outfielder
Born: September 5, 1983
Houston, Texas
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
August 18, 2006 for the Arizona Diamondbacks
Career statistics
(through April 29, 2015)
Batting average .235
Home runs 160
Runs batted in 497
Stolen bases 130
Teams

Christopher Brandon Young (born September 5, 1983) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the New York Yankees. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Oakland Athletics, and New York Mets. In 2007, he became the first rookie in Major League history to hit 30 home runs and steal 25 bases.[1]

Early life

Young began his baseball career at St. Thomas More elementary/middle school before moving on, and graduating from national powerhouse Bellaire High School. He broke his arm in the state playoffs during his senior year attempting to catch a fly ball hit by Elkins High School's Chad Huffman.

Minor leagues

The Chicago White Sox selected Young in the 16th round of the 2001 MLB Draft. In 2003, he was an Appalachian League All-Star outfielder. In 2005, he was a Baseball America 1st team Minor League All-Star outfielder and the Chicago White Sox Minor League Player of the Year.

After the 2005 season, the White Sox traded Young to the Arizona Diamondbacks with Orlando Hernández and Luis Vizcaíno for Javier Vázquez and cash.[2] In 2006, he was a Triple-A All-Star outfielder and Baseball America 2nd team Minor League All-Star outfielder.

Major leagues

Arizona Diamondbacks

Young during his tenure with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2008

Young made his major league debut on August 18, 2006, and began the 2007 season as the Diamondbacks' everyday center fielder. On August 17, 2007, against the Atlanta Braves, he hit his 23rd home run of the year, setting a Diamondbacks rookie record. He also became the 8th rookie to hit 20 home runs and steal 20 bases.[3]

For the season, his 27 stolen bases led all NL rookies (13th in the NL overall), and his 32 home runs were enough for 2nd among NL rookies (behind Ryan Braun, and tied for 10th overall). Among other accomplishments, Young finished 2nd among NL rookies in extra-base hits (64) and at bats (569), 3rd in runs (85) and 5th in runs batted in (68). He also hit .237 with a .295 on-base percentage, and led NL rookies by striking out 141 times.[4]

Young was a unanimous selection for the 2007 Topps Major League Rookie All-Star Team as a result of the 49th annual Topps balloting of Major League managers.[5] He finished fourth (10 points) in the vote for the 2007 NL Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award by 488 major league players and 30 managers,[6][7] losing to Braun (128 points). He also lost out to Braun in the competition for the 2007 Baseball America Rookie of the Year Award,[8] and in the Baseball Prospectus 2007 Internet Baseball NL Rookie of the Year Award, in which he came in 4th with 8 first-place votes (versus 555 for Braun).[9]

In 2008, Young started 157 games in center field. He finished the year with 85 runs and 85 RBIs, and led the Arizona Diamondbacks with 14 stolen bases. His batting average improved to .248, but he hit fewer home runs, ending the year with 22.

In 2009, he hit only .212, the lowest of all NL batters with at least 350 plate appearances. On August 10, 2009, he was demoted to the Diamondbacks' AAA farm club, the Reno Aces. Prospect infielder Rusty Ryal took his spot on the D'backs roster. This was Young's first demotion to the minor leagues since entering the major leagues in 2007.[10] When called back up, he had a slight resurgence with 8 home runs for a season total of 15, including 3 solo home runs in a loss to the Rockies.

On April 11, 2010, Young contributed 4 RBIs to the Diamondbacks' franchise record 13-run inning.[11] He also made the NL All-Star Team for the first time, as a reserve. On July 9, the night before the All-Star Game, he participated in the 2010 State Farm Home Run Derby but hit only one home run and was eliminated in the first round. At the end of the season, he tied for the NL lead in errors by an outfielder, with 7.[12]

On August 11, 2011, he belted a 3-run homer in the bottom of the tenth against the Houston Astros to give the Diamondbacks an 8–5 win and move them a full game in front of the San Francisco Giants in the NL West. The homer came an inning after rookie slugger Paul Goldschmidt hit a game-tying bomb of his own.

Oakland Athletics

On October 20, 2012, Young was traded to the Oakland Athletics for infielder Cliff Pennington and Yordy Cabrera.[13]

New York Mets

On November 22, 2013, the New York Mets agreed to a one year, $7.25 million contract with Young, pending a physical.[14] The contract was finalized on November 26.[15] On August 8, 2014, he was designated for assignment.[16] He was released on August 15.[17]

New York Yankees

The New York Yankees signed Young to a minor league contract on August 27, 2014.[18] He was called up on September 2, 2014, when rosters expanded. Nine days later, on September 11, Young broke up a no-hitter in the 8th inning with a double and then hit a walk-off, three-run home run to seal the Yankees' 5-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. The very next day, Young hit his third HR in three days, breaking a 0-0 tie in the 11th inning, and (temporarily) pushing the Yankees into the lead against the Baltimore Orioles. Also on Sept. 12, in the second game of the Orioles doubleheader, Young also made two dramatic defensive plays, twice sliding to catch fly balls in left field.

Young signed a 1-year, major league contract with the Yankees on November 8, 2014.[19]

Awards

  • 2003 – Appalachian League All-Star OF
  • 2005 – Baseball America 1st team Minor League All-Star OF
  • 2005 – Chicago White Sox Minor League Player of the Year
  • 2006 – Triple-A All-Star OF
  • 2006 – Baseball America 2nd team Minor League All-Star OF
  • 2007 – BET Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year
  • 2007 – Diamondbacks Rookie of the Year[20]
  • 2010 – Diamondbacks MVP Award[20]

References

  1. ↑ "Back-to-back homers give D-Backs the win". East Valley Tribune. September 13, 2007 – but "Updated" in some way (?) at this date/time: 11:49 am, Wed Mar 10, 2010. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved June 28, 2011. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ↑ http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20051220&content_id=1285061&vkey=pr_cws&fext=.jsp&c_id=cws
  3. ↑ Boeck, Greg (August 14, 2007). "D'backs' low numbers add up to success in standings". USA Today. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  4. ↑ "Chris Young Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Topps announces the 49th annual Topps Major League Rookie All-Star Team". Kansascity.royals.mlb.com. November 26, 2007. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Sporting News honors A-Rod | MLB.com: News". Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Real Insight. Real Fans. Real Conversations". Sporting News. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
  8. ↑ Haudricourt, Tom (October 17, 2007). "Record-Setting Bat Propels Braun". Baseballamerica.com. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
  9. ↑ "The 2007 Internet Baseball Awards; Results and Wrap-Up". Baseballprospectus.com. November 1, 2007. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
  10. ↑ Steve Gilbert / MLB.com. "D-backs send struggling Young to Triple-A". Arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
  11. ↑ Steve Gilbert / MLB.com (May 31, 1994). "D-backs' record fourth sinks Pirates". Arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
  12. ↑ "Yearly League Leaders &amp Records for Errors Committed as OF - Baseball-Reference.com". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2014-01-12.
  13. ↑ Slusser, Susan (October 20, 2012). "A’s trade Cliff Pennington for outfielder Chris Young | Oakland Athletics : The Drumbeat | an SFGate.com blog". Blog.sfgate.com. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
  14. ↑ Crasnick, Jerry; Rubin, Adam (November 22, 2013). "Chris Young, Mets reach deal". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Chris Young, Mets finalize $7.25 million deal". kansascity.com. November 26, 2013. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
  16. ↑ Rubin, Adam (August 9, 2014). "Mets designate OF Chris Young". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  17. ↑ Rubin, Adam (August 15, 2014). "Chris Young officially released by Mets". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  18. ↑ "Yankees reach minor league deal with OF Young". ESPN.com. Associated Press. August 27, 2014. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  19. ↑ Marchand, Andew (November 9, 2014). "OF Chris Young re-signs with Yanks". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 9, 2014.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Chris Young 24 CF". Archived from the original on June 19, 2011. Retrieved June 19, 2011.

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