Happy Birthday to Michael Young. In a 14-year career as an Infielder, Young played for the Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies, and the Los Angeles Dodgers. However, Young spent 13 years with the Rangers and is regarded as one of the greatest players in Texas Rangers franchise history. 

Career Statistics/Accolades (2000-2013):

.300 BA 2,375 HITS 185 HR 1,030 RBI 1,137 RUNS .346 OBP

  • 7x All-Star
  • 2008 Gold Glove
  • 2005 Batting Title

Except for his final three years with the Rangers, Michael Young was playing on a team that never contended for the playoffs; despite Young being a consistent All-Star level player, he was slightly overshadowed. Young was a pure hitter, mostly a contact hitter, but displayed some power. Young found himself at the top of the lineup, and with the luxury of staying healthy for most of his career, Young had eleven years of recording 150 or more Hits. But what’s more impressive is that he had six seasons of recording 200 or more Hits, with five of them being consecutive. Young batted .300 or higher seven times, taking home the Batting Title in 2005 with a .331 average. Despite not being the fastest of runners, he scored 100 or more Runs four times, averaging 93 for his career. Despite being known as a contact hitter, he hit 20 or more Home Runs four times and drove in 100 or more RBIs twice.

Defensively, he was versatile, playing some time at all four Infield positions. He spent most of his time playing Shortstop (6,769.1 Innings). He won a Gold Glove in 2008 and posted a lifetime .977 Fielding Percentage, which was above average. At Second and Third Base, he spent almost 4,000 Innings at those positions, and his Fielding Percentages at those spots were also above the league average. Also, he spent 884.2 Innings at First Base, posting a .994 Fielding Percentage. The fact that Young was versatile and could play anywhere in the Infield as an above-average defender is very underrated. 

Playing on a noncompetitive team for most of his career didn’t help Young. Despite his offensive production, the highest Young ever finished in the MVP voting was 8th in 2004. He only has three “Black-Bold Face Type” on the back of his baseball card, leading the league in Hits twice in 2005 & 2011 and his Batting Title in 2005. However, in 2004 and 2006, Young would’ve led the league in Hits, but you know Ichiro was playing. While Young and the Rangers would eventually make it to the playoffs and the World Series in 2010-11, they would lose to the Giants and Cardinals. 

While I don’t think Young has good enough numbers to get into the Hall of Fame, he had a sneaky, very good career that went a little unnoticed. Had he played on a better team with more protection around him in the lineup, it’s fair to assume that Young would’ve posted even better numbers, probably winning multiple batting titles. Since his retirement, the Rangers have not only put him in their Hall of Fame but have also retired his #10 jersey.

References:

  1. Michael Young via Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Young_(baseball)#
  2. Michael Young Career Statistics via Baseball-Reference: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/y/youngmi02.shtml