Chris Young (outfielder)

This article is about the Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder. For other uses, see Chris Young.

Chris Young
Young before a spring training game.
Arizona Diamondbacks — No. 24
Center fielder
Born: September 5, 1983 (1983-09-05) (age 28) Houston, Texas
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
MLB debut
August 18, 2006 for the Arizona Diamondbacks
Career statistics (through 2011)
Batting average	.240
Home runs	118
Runs batted in	367
Stolen bases	104
Teams
Arizona Diamondbacks (2006–present)
Career highlights and awards
All-Star selection (2010)

Christopher Brandon Young (born September 5, 1983, in Houston, Texas) is a center fielder for the Arizona Diamondbacks. In 2007, he became the first rookie in Major League history to hit 30 home runs and steal 25 bases.^[1]

Early life

Young began his baseball career at St. Thomas More elementary/middle school before moving on, and graduating from national powerhouse Bellaire High School. He broke his arm in the state playoffs during his senior year attempting to catch a fly ball hit by Elkins High School's Chad Huffman (currently an outfielder in the Cleveland Indians organization).

Drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 16th round of the 2001 MLB Draft, Young was traded to the Diamondbacks with Orlando Hernández and Luis Vizcaíno for Javier Vázquez and cash after the 2005 season.

Minor leagues

Young began showing his potential quickly in the minor leagues. In 2003, he was an Appalachian League All-Star outfielder. In 2005, he was a Baseball America 1st team Minor League All-Star outfielder and the Chicago White Sox Minor League Player of the Year. In 2006, he was a Triple-A All-Star outfielder and Baseball America 2nd team Minor League All-Star outfielder.

Major leagues: Arizona Diamondbacks

Arizona Diamondbacks

Young made his major league debut on August 18, 2006, and began the 2007 season as the Diamondbacks everyday center fielder. On August 17, 2007, against the Atlanta Braves, Young hit his 23rd home run of the year, setting a Diamondbacks rookie record. He also became the 8th rookie to hit 20 home runs and steal 20 bases.^[2]

For the season, his 27 stolen bases led all NL rookies (13th in the NL overall), and his 32 home runs were enough for 2nd among NL rookies (behind Ryan Braun, and tied for 10th overall). Among other accomplishments, Young finished 2nd among NL rookies in extra base hits (64) and at bats (569), 3rd in runs (85), and 5th in runs batted in (68). He also batted .237 with a .295 on-base percentage, and led NL rookies by striking out 141 times.^[3]

Young was a unanimous selection to the 2007 Topps Major League Rookie All-Star Team as a result of the 49th annual Topps balloting of Major League managers.^[4] He finished fourth (10 points) in the vote for the 2007 NL Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award by 488 major league players and 30 managers,^[5][6] losing to Braun (128 points). He also lost out to Braun in the competition for the 2007 Baseball America Rookie of the Year Award,^[7] and in the Baseball Prospectus 2007 Internet Baseball NL Rookie of the Year Award, in which he came in 4th with 8 first place votes (versus 555 for Braun).^[8]

In 2008, Young started 157 games in center field. He finished the year with 85 runs, 85 RBIs, and led the Arizona Diamondbacks with 14 stolen bases. His batting average improved to .248, but he hit fewer home runs, ending the year with 22.

In 2009, Young had a .212 batting average, the lowest in the NL of all players with at least 350 plate appearances. On August 10, 2009, he was demoted to the DiamondBacks's AAA farm club, the Reno Aces. Prospect infielder Rusty Ryal took his spot on the DBacks roster. This was Young's first time being demoted to the minor leagues since entering the major leagues in 2007.^[9] When was called back up had a slight resurgence hitting 8 more home runs, for a season total of 15, including 3 solo home runs in a loss to the Rockies.

On April 11, 2010, Young was responsible for 4 RBIs in the Diamondbacks franchise record for runs scored in one inning with 13 runs.^[10] Young was also elected as a reserve in his first Major League Baseball All-Star game. On July 9, Young participated in the 2010 State Farm Home Run Derby. He only hit 1 home run and he was out in the first round. In 2010, he tied for the NL lead in errors by an outfielder, with 7.^[11]

On August 11, 2011, Young belted a 3-run homer in the bottom of the tenth against the Houston Astros to give the Diamondbacks an 8–5 win and move them a full game in front of the San Francisco Giants in the NL West. The homer came one inning after rookie Paul Goldschmidt hit a game-tying bomb of his own.

Awards

• 2003 – Appalachian League All-Star OF
• 2005 – Baseball America 1st team Minor League All-Star OF
• 2005 – Chicago White Sox Minor League Player of the Year
• 2006 – Triple-A All-Star OF
• 2006 – Baseball America 2nd team Minor League All-Star OF
• 2007 – BET Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year
• 2007 – DIAMONDBACKS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR^[12]
• 2010 – DIAMONDBACKS MVP AWARD^[12]

References

1. ^ "Back-to-back homers give D-Backs the win". East Valley Tribune. September 13, 2007 – but "Updated" in some way (?) at this date/time: 11:49 am, Wed Mar 10, 2010.. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5zluGrddT. Retrieved June 28, 2011. 
2. ^ Boeck, Greg (August 14, 2007). "D'backs' low numbers add up to success in standings". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/nl/diamondbacks/2007-08-13-Deceptive-stats_N.htm. Retrieved April 29, 2010. 
3. ^ "Chris Young Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/y/youngch04.shtml. Retrieved October 6, 2011. 
4. ^ "Topps announces the 49th annual Topps Major League Rookie All-Star Team". Kansascity.royals.mlb.com. November 26, 2007. http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20071126&content_id=2307272&vkey=pr_kc&fext=.jsp&c_id=kc. Retrieved October 6, 2011. 
5. ^ [1]
6. ^ [2]
7. ^ Haudricourt, Tom (October 17, 2007). "Record-Setting Bat Propels Braun". Baseballamerica.com. http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/majors/features/265033.html. Retrieved October 6, 2011. 
8. ^ "The 2007 Internet Baseball Awards; Results and Wrap-Up". Baseballprospectus.com. November 1, 2007. http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=6897. Retrieved October 6, 2011. 
9. ^ By Steve Gilbert / MLB.com. "D-backs send struggling Young to Triple-A". Arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com. http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090810&content_id=6356032&vkey=news_ari&fext=.jsp&c_id=ari. Retrieved October 6, 2011. 
10. ^ By Steve Gilbert / MLB.com (May 31, 1994). "D-backs' record fourth sinks Pirates". Arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com. http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100411&content_id=9231388&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=ari. Retrieved October 6, 2011. 
11. ^ [3]
12. ^ ^{a b} "Chris Young 24 CF". Archived from the original on June 19, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5zYInXOG8. Retrieved June 19, 2011. 

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)

Persondata
Name	Young, Chris
Alternative names
Short description	American baseball player
Date of birth	September 5, 1983
Place of birth	Houston, Texas
Date of death
Place of death