Professional baseball
1978 season
Young began the 1978 season in Evansville. By July,he had an 11–3 record in 20 starts with 3.02 ERA. [3]
Young's strong showing at Evansville led to a call from the Tigers,and he made his major league debut in July 1978. In his first four starts,he pitched four complete games:a 4-1 victory over the Oakland As on July 24 in which he retired the last 12 batters he faced; [4] a four-hit,9-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners on July 29; [5] a 7-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on August 4; [6] and a 4-2 victory over the Texas Rangers on August 9. [7]
After the fourth victory,the crowd of 30,515 demanded a curtain call from Young who obliged and noted,"I can't 100 per cent believe what's happening." [7] Young was billed as the Tigers' third rookie pitching prodigy in three years,following Mark Fidrych in 1976 and Dave Rozema in 1977. [8] Interviewed in mid-August,he noted:"Staying consistent,that's the thing. . . . I don't want to be remembered as a guy who pitched three or four good games,then didn't pitch well the rest of the year." [8]
In his fifth start,Young gave up three runs in seven innings and lost to the Royals. [9] His strong pitching continued with eight consecutive quality starts,at that time tied for the second longest streak in Tigers' history—trailing only Tommy Bridges' nine-game streak in 1942. [10] Young finished the 1978 season with a 6–7 record and a 2.81 ERA in 14 games. [1]
1979 season
Young started the 1979 season pitching well during spring training. He had a string of 12 scoreless innings in March and was the team's "most impressive starter." [11] After a strong showing in spring training,Young began the season as part of the Tigers' four-man starting rotation along with Dave Rozema,Jack Billingham,and Milt Wilcox. [12] In four starts,however,Young struggled to a 9.60 ERA. On May 9,the Tigers sent him back to Evansville to make room for yet another promising rookie Jack Morris. [13] At the time,Young took responsibility for pitching himself out of a job,noting,"My changeup is not there like it was last year. I never threw so many high changeups in my life. . . . I'm just thoroughly disgusted with what's been happening." [13]
In his first start after being sent to Evansville,Young pitched a one-hitter. [14] In mid-June,Tiger starter Dave Rozema was put on the disabled list,and Young was recalled to the Tigers having won three of six decisions with a 3.60 ERA. [15] However,with Sparky Anderson now the Tigers' new manager,Young never figured prominently in the club's plans. [16] He was demoted again to Evansville on July 25 and before being recalled for a final stint in the majors in September. [17] [18]
Young pitched in his final major league game on September 26,1979. He finished the season with a 2–2 record and a 6.39 in 43-2/3 inning pitched. [1] On November 21,1979,the Tigers sold Young to the Spokane Indians,the Triple-A farm club of the Seattle Mariners. [16]
1980 to 1982 seasons
Young did not make the Mariners' major league roster,and appeared in only four games for Spokane,compiling a 7.07 ERA in 14 innings pitched. [3] He was acquired by the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians in late May 1980. [19] He remained with Indianapolis through the 1981 season and at the start of the 1981 season. He started 26 games for Indianapolis in 1981,compiling a 10–12 record and 4.04 ERA. [3]
At the start of the 1982 season,Young,at age 27,acknowledged he had been close to giving up on his pitching career,but was still not ready to quit:"First of all,I still love the game of baseball and if I didn't think I could still pitch I wouldn't be in the game. Second of all,I still think I can pitch in the big leagues if given a chance." [20]
Young finished the 1982 season,and his professional baseball career,with the Toledo Mud Hens in the Minnesota Twins farm system. He started 15 games for Toledo and compiled a 6–5 record and 4.61 ERA. [3] In the spring of 1983,Toledo did not offer Young a contract. He noted at the time:"It's amazing. Not too long ago,I was supposed to be one of the top young pitchers in Detroit,then the next year I'm nobody. But that's baseball,worth a million one day and a dime the next." [21]
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