To paraphrase New York Mets’ play-by-play announcer Gary Cohen, on July 28, 1993 “it happened!” Mets pitcher Anthony Young had lost a major league record 27 decisions in a row, and on that night against the Marlins at Shea Stadium, he finally recorded a win.

It’s probably not news that the 1993 Mets were not a good team. They finished the season with a record of 59-103. Young’s struggles, which began in the 1992 season, seemed par for the course on the woeful 1993 Mets team. However, albeit for infamous reasons, Young’s plight was one for the record books.

The losing began for Young on May 6, 1992, against the Cincinnati Reds. In that game at Riverfront Stadium, he went six innings and allowed five runs. From that point, he did not register a win for nearly 15 months.

Young worked both as a starter and reliever (he closed games in 1992 and 1993 when John Franco was out with an injury) during his losing streak. The ironic part of his journey is that he did not always pitch badly. For example, on June 15, 1992, the Houston, TX native faced the Montreal Expos, throwing seven innings and allowing two runs. Yet, he took the loss. On June 15, 1993, he tossed seven innings and let up three runs against the Phillies (who won the pennant that year), and on July 7, 1993, he pitched eight innings against the Padres and allowed just two runs. He lost both decisions.

On the night that Young finally got on the left side of the ledger, it happened in an odd fashion (which should not be surprising). He came in the game in relief in the ninth inning with the score tied and allowed the Marlins to score a run. The Mets, however, walked it off in the bottom of the ninth on RBI hits by Ryan Thompson and Eddie Murray.

Young and his teammates were clearly relieved that the streak of futility was over.

“That wasn’t even a big monkey that was on my back. It was a zoo. The guys treated it like I had won a World Series game for them.”

Young had a career that spanned six seasons. In addition to the Mets, he pitched for the Cubs and Astros. As a Met over three seasons, Young had a record of 5-35 with a 3.82 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. He saved 18 games as a Met. Overall, he had a 15-48 record and a career ERA of 3.89 to go with a 1.39 WHIP.

Young, who worked at a chemical plant when his playing days were over, passed away from a brain tumor at the age of 51 in June of 2017. He is survived by three children.