Michael Young
From BR Bullpen
Michael Brian Young
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 1", Weight 190 lb.
- School University of California, Santa Barbara
- High School Bishop Amat Memorial High School
- Debut September 29, 2000
- Born October 19, 1976 in Covina, CA USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Michael Young of the Texas Rangers won the All-Star Game MVP Award in 2006 when he hit a two-run triple with two outs in the top of the ninth inning to give the American League a 3-2 victory. In 2010, he got his 1,748th career hit, breaking Ivan Rodriguez's Rangers record.
Young played for the Rancho Cucamonga Surfers in the California Fall League in 1999.
In spite of his success, Young has played three different positions for the Rangers over the years. He started out as a second baseman, but moved to shortstop when the Rangers acquired Alfonso Soriano from the New York Yankees in return for Alex Rodriguez. He then moved to third base in 2009 to make room for slick-fielding rookie shortstop Elvis Andrus, even though he had just won a Gold Glove at short. After the 2010 season, Rangers management asked him to move again, this time to DH, after they had signed free agent Adrian Beltre. This was the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back: after agreeing at first, he expressed reservations about making another move and asked to be traded. He explained that he had felt he had been misled and manipulated by the team, especially after they acquired C-1B Mike Napoli and said they would use him as their DH, meaning that Young would now be relegated to a "super-utility" role. However, by the time the season rolled around, Young, ever the consummate professional, had accepted his new role for the good of the team, and got back to his forte - hitting. He was second in batting average in the American League at the All-Star break, behind Adrian Gonzalez of the Boston Red Sox, and he was once again named to play in the mid-Summer classic. On August 7th, he collected the 2,000th hit of his career, in his 1,621st game, prompting talk that he had good shot at the 3,000 hit club.
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 7-time AL All-Star (2004-2009 & 2011)
- 2006 All-Star Game MVP
- AL Gold Glove Winner (2008)
- AL Batting Average Leader (2005)
- 2-time AL Hits Leader (2005 & 2011)
- AL Singles Leader (2011)
- 20-Home Run Seasons: 4 (2004, 2005, 2009 & 2010)
- 100 RBI Seasons: 2 (2006 & 2011)
- 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 4 (2003-2005 & 2008)
- 200 Hits Seasons: 6 (2003-2007 & 2011)
