Major League Baseball

Young maturing with Twins

Published Jun. 17, 2010 1:00 a.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

foxsports

At the age of 19, Delmon Young was proclaimed the best prospect in baseball.

At the age of 24, he’s finally meeting expectations.

It has been a challenging half decade for the Minnesota Twins left fielder, who responded to his national recognition five years ago by blasting Tampa Bay, the team which had made him a first-round draft choice, for being cheap because despite his youth and inexperience he was not called up to the big leagues.

Even a change of scenery didn’t help. A year ago, his second in Minnesota, he was an outsider, upset that in manager Ron Gardenhire’s attempt to mix and match four players in three outfield spots, Young saw the least amount of playing time.

But then came a life-changing moment.

His mother was diagnosed in the spring of 2009 with liver and pancreatic cancer, and three months later she died.

And today, Young somehow has managed to emerge a better person and player.

"He has become a great teammate," said Gardenhire. "He had a lot thrown at him, and he has met the challenge. You have to be proud of him."

Considered a moody malcontent in both Tampa Bay and Minnesota, Young arrived in spring training this year a changed man. For those who wondered if the new attitude was for real, more than a third of a way into the regular season Young has continued his emotional growth, which has parlayed into his growth on the field.

"In the offseason, I went through the grieving process," Young told the media. "You can't really do that during the season when you're expected to go out there and perform. You want to win games and make a living too."

The first sign of change this spring was that Young had lost nearly 30 pounds, checking in at 202 pounds and having added only five pounds back so far. That allowed Young to feel better for himself, but also gave him more flexibility and mobility. The most significant change, however, was that Young was suddenly a key part of the clubhouse life.

He is still guarded with the media, but no longer has a wall up between himself and teammates.

"He's guarded,’’ Michael Cuddyer said. "A lot goes into that. Look at his career. He didn't spend long in the minor leagues. He had that incident (in the minors in 2006, flipping a bat at an umpire and drawing a 50-game suspension). He was with different teams all the time. He was with Tampa in the big leagues for one year.

"He came over here, and had to get used another environment, another new team, all new coaches, and he changed positions. The second year, his mom passes away. This is the first year where he knows everybody, he's comfortable with everybody, and he doesn't have anything going on in his personal life. There's a lot to be said about all that coming together this year."

Sixty-five games into the 2010 season, Young is hitting.295 with eight home runs and 41 RBIs. While other Twins players were concened about a new ballpark in which the hitter-friendly right field was gone, Young met the challenge head-on and has become a better player because of it. Willing to maintain an inside-out swing that allowed him to flip baseballs into the and over the blue tarp that marked the right-field fence in the Metrodome, Young has shown power in pulling balls to left field.

"Last year was an eye-opener for him," said Twins center fielder Denard Span. "He worked hard last year. But he didn't play like he wanted to. I think he just wasn't satisfied with himself. You can just tell. He wanted to show everybody he was — and still is — the Delmon Young that was the first overall pick in 2003."

And seeing has been believing.

"I'm proud of him," said Gardenhire. "I'm happy for him, and I'm proud of him."

Coincidentally

After a May 10 game at Colorado, the Philadelphia Phillies were accused of having bullpen catcher Mick Billmeyer steal pitch signs and relay them to the bench. The Phillies preached indignation at the accusation and scored 38 runs while winning four of their next five.

The Phillies were 24-13 at the time and had scored 212 runs (5.7 per game) -- and were about to get Jimmy Rollins back into the lineup. But Rollins came and went in the span of a week, and the Phillies are in a 9-17 tailspin in which they have scored 69 runs (2.7 per game) and been shut out six times.

It is offensive

The Rockies' 2-1 loss at Minnesota on Wednesday night left them 4-14 in games in which they scored fewer than three runs. Not surprising that they would have trouble winning in games in which they scored zero, one or two runs. What is surprising, however, is that the Rockies had failed to score at least three runs in 18 of their first 57 games. The Rockies rank 29th in baseball in terms of runs scored after the fifth, having suffered 18 losses in games in which they have had a lead, and have been outscored 61-34 from the eighth inning on. They have come from behind to win seven times, fewest in the majors.

Heavy burden

Florida right-hander Josh Johnson is 7-2 with a 1.86 ERA, adding to his remarkable return from reconstructive right elbow surgery. Johnson is 29-8 since his return in July 2008 for the best winning percentage in baseball during that stretch. The team is 10-4 since mid-May in games started by Johnson and Anibal Sanchez, another returnee from Tommy John surgery, and the two have a combined 1.52 ERA in those 14 games. The Marlins are 5-12 with anyone else starting, and those starters have a combined 65.42 ERA.

Didn't you used to be

OF Dexter Fowler, sent to Triple-A Colorado Springs by Colorado, has seen his average drop to .317 in 16 games for the Sky Sox thanks to a 3-for-28 slide in his last six games. ... Former Royals 3B Alex Gordon has hit .367 in 47 games at Triple-A Omaha, and has made the move to left field. …Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman has eliminated pressure on Cincinnati to promote him to the big leagues. The left-hander is 5-4 with a 4.22 ERA at Triple-A Louisville, and is 0-2 his last three starts, allowing 10 runs in 14 innings. He has 70 stirkeouts in 59 2/3 innings, but also has walked 36.
 

share

Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

Major League Baseball