If I had a dollar for every time I read or heard a Met fan say that we should trade for Michael Young, I would probably have enough money to fund a European Vacation… Okay maybe just a weekend trip to the Grand Canyon, but still…
On Friday afternoon, the seven time All-Star got into his old Texas Rangers uniform and formally announced his retirement, ending what was a very solid 13 year career.
Young, 37, wraps up his career with 2,375 hits including 441 doubles and 185 home runs, and an even .300 batting average. He led the league with a .331 average in 2005 and had six 200+ hit seasons in his career including 211 base-knocks only three seasons ago.
In 1,894 at-bats with Runners In Scoring Position, Young has an impressive .320/.376/.454 slash with an .830 OPS, and with the bases loaded that OPS jumps to .903. That’s my kind of player…
It’s a good thing that the Mets didn’t see Young that much over the last 10+ years. He would have gone down as one of the most notorious Met killers. He abused the Amazins with a .374 batting average and a 1.097 OPS in 107 plate appearances. Against teams whom he has had 100 or more plate appearances, that is the highest OPS by far.
The scrappy infielder was selected in the 5th round of the 1997 amateur draft by the Toronto Blue Jays and was traded to the Rangers in 2000. He would make him MLB debut in the final weekend of that season. In 2001 he took over at second and won himself a gold glove and five All Star nods before moving to shortstop after the Rangers traded Alex Rodriguez, and then to third to make way for Elvis Andrus.
His manager Ron Washington called Young the ultimate teammate. “The game of baseball is going to miss you, and I certainly hope you don’t stay away from the game. I don’t think this game will be able to survive without a Michael Young in it.”
Young cites his desire to be with his three sons as the reason for his retirement and that the Dodgers made him a very tempting offer.
“My boys are the driving reason why my playing days are done,” Young said. “You’ve got to be there with them, you have to be there for every success, every failure. If something doesn’t go right, I want them to see me first.”
There’s something you don’t hear everyday.
Enjoy your retirement Mike…
