Bobby Young

From BR Bullpen

Robert George Young

Bats Left, Throws Right
Height 6' 1", Weight 175 lb.

Debut August 30, 1948
Final Game September 28, 1958
Born January 22, 1925 in Granite, MD USA
Died January 28, 1985 in Baltimore, MD USA

[edit] Biographical Information

Left-hand hitting second baseman Bobby Young was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before the 1946 season. The 21 year old infielder was assigned to the Allentown Cardinals of the class B Interstate League and hit .347 in 128 games. He would spend both 1947-48 with the IL Rochester Red Wings, have two good seasons and get his first look at Sportsman's Park with the 1948 Cardinals, getting into three games, with no results, late in the year.

Bobby would go back to the minors after his short stay with the Cardinals and on June 11, 1949 the Cardinals traded Young to the St. Louis Browns for Don Richmond. Bobby would spend the 1949 and '50 seasons with his hometown Baltimore Orioles club of the IL, setting a league record of 329 consectutive chances in 60 games at second base without an error.

Bobby got his second shot at being a major leaguer and would become the Browns everyday second sacker from 1951 to 1953. Young had hit a career high .260 as a rookie in '51. On April 23, 1952, he hit a first inning triple off Bob Feller and scored the games only run in a battle of one-hitters between the Hall of Famer to be and Bob Cain of the Browns. A year later on April 16, 1953, his seventh inning double was the only hit against Billy Pierce in a 1-0 loss to the White Sox in which Harry Brecheen gave up only two base hits to Chicago.

Bobby would be the last second baseman in St. Louis Browns history and the first one for the Baltimore Orioles when the Browns moved east in 1954. Young was also the first player inked to a contract by Baltimore. Bobby was traded to Cleveland during the 1955 season and was last in the big leagues with the Phillies in 1958, ending his eight year major league run with a .249 hitting average and a .980 fielding percentage. Young had spent 12 seasons in pro ball (1946-58) and during his tenure in the minor leagues he appeared in 960 contests, hiting at a .291 pace.

After baseball Young owned a janitorial service and was in the construction business in Baltimore, MD where he died on January 28, 1985, at the age of 60.