Delmon Young, Outfield


Date of Birth: 9/14/1985
Birthplace: Birmingham, Alabama

Delmon Young, outfielder, was first drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2003. He played in the Rays' minor league system from 2004 through 2006, joining the Rays for 30 games in 2006. He was an outstanding player in the minor leagues, winning the Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year award in 2005. That season, he batted .315 with 176 hits, 26 doubles, 26 home runs, 99 RBIs, and 32 stolen bases in 136 games.

In 2007, his rookie year in the major leagues, Young batted .288 with a career high 186 hits, 38 doubles, and 93 RBIs in 162 games. Even though he had an excellent first season, the Rays traded him to the Minnesota Twins in November, 2007.

Young continued to play well with the Twins, batting .290 with 167 hits in 152 games in 2008. His best season was perhaps 2010 when he batted .298 with 170 hits in 153 games. That year, he had career highs in doubles (46), home runs (21), and RBIs (112).

After 84 games with the Twins in 2011, they traded Young to the Detroit Tigers. The following year, he batted .267 with 153 hits, 27 doubles, and 18 home runs in 151 games. He had a strong 2012 post-season and he won the American League Championship Series MVP award for batting .313 with 15 hits and 9 RBIs in 13 post-season games.

In January, 2013, Young signed with the Philadelphia Phillies. He was released by the team on August 14, 2013, and eight days later, he signed a minor league contract with the Tampa Bay Rays. In 2013, Young batted .260 with 87 hits in 80 games with the Phillies and 23 games with the Rays.

Young signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles in January, 2014. He finished the 2014 season with 73 hits and a .302 batting average in 83 games. In the postseason, he batted .222 with 2 hits and 4 RBIs in four games.

Young signed a new one-year, $2.25 million contract with the Orioles on December 24, 2014. He played in 52 games in 2015 before being released on July 9th. He finished the season with 47 hits and a .270 batting average. Defensively, he played 2 games in left field and 40 games in right field and he made 62 putouts and 2 errors.

Young didn't play professional baseball in 2016 and 2017. He played in the Mexican League in 2018. He played in the Australian Baseball League from 2019 through 2021.

Career batting statistics for Young through 2015 include:

  • 1,118 games played
  • 1,162 hits
  • 218 doubles
  • 109 home runs
  • 566 RBIs
  • 784 strikeouts to 179 walks
  • .283 batting average

Career fielding statistics for Young as an outfielder through 2015 include:

  • 573 games played in left field, 30 games played in center field, 270 games played in right field
  • 1,522 putouts
  • 41 errors

Personal Life

Young's brother Dmitri played in the major leagues from 1996 through 2008. He played with the St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, and the Washington Nationals. In 2007, he was named the National League Comeback Player of the Year.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Delmon Young
ESPN - Delmon Young