Cy Young
Cy Young | |
---|---|
Pitcher | |
Born: Gilmore, Ohio, U.S. | March 29, 1867|
Died: November 4, 1955 Newcomerstown, Ohio, U.S. | (aged 88)|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
August 6, 1890, for the Cleveland Spiders | |
Last MLB appearance | |
October 11, 1911, for the Boston Rustlers | |
MLB statistics | |
Win–loss record | 511–315 |
Earned run average | 2.63 |
Strikeouts | 2,803 |
Teams | |
As player
As manager | |
Career highlights and awards | |
MLB records
| |
Member of the National | |
Baseball Hall of Fame | |
Induction | 1937 |
Vote | 76.1% (second ballot) |
Denton True "Cy" Young (March 29, 1867 – November 4, 1955) was an American
Young was one of the hardest-throwing pitchers in the game early in his career. After his speed diminished, he relied more on his control and remained effective into his forties. By the time Young retired, he had established numerous pitching records, some of which have stood for over a century. He holds MLB records for the most career wins, with 511, along with most career
Young was elected to the
Early life
Cy Young was the oldest child born to Nancy (Mottmiller) and McKinzie Young, Jr., and was christened Denton True Young. He was of part
Young played for many amateur baseball leagues during his youth, including a semi-professional Carrollton team in 1888. Young pitched and played second base. The first box score known containing the name Young came from that season. In that game, Young played first base and had three hits in three at-bats. After the season, Young received an offer to play for the minor league Canton team, which started Young's professional career.[1]
Professional career
Minor leagues
Young began his professional career in 1890 with the Canton, Ohio based Canton Nadjys, team of the Tri-State League, a professional minor league. During his tryout, Young impressed the scouts, recalling years later, "I almost tore the boards off the grandstand with my fast ball."[4] Cy Young's nickname came from the fences that he had destroyed using his fastball. The fences looked like a cyclone had hit them. Reporters later shortened the name to "Cy", which became the nickname Young used for the rest of his life.[5] During his one year with Canton, he was 15-15.[2]
Franchises in the
Cleveland Spiders (1890–1898)
On August 6, 1890, Young's major league debut, he pitched a three-hit 8–1 victory over the
Two years after Young's debut, the National League moved the
The 1892 regular season was a success for Young, who led the National League in wins (36), ERA (1.93), and shutouts (9). Just as many contemporary Minor League Baseball leagues operate today, the National League was using a split season format during the 1892 season.[10] The Boston Beaneaters won the first-half and the Spiders won the second-half, with a best-of-nine series determining the league champion. Despite the Spiders' second-half run, the Beaneaters swept the series, five games to none. Young pitched three complete games: he lost two and one ended in a scoreless tie.
The Spiders faced the
St. Louis Perfectos / Cardinals (1899–1900)
Prior to the 1899 season, Frank Robison, the Spiders owner, bought the
Boston Americans / Red Sox (1901–1908)
In 1901, the rival
The Boston Americans played the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first modern World Series in 1903. Young, who started Game One against the visiting Pirates, thus threw the first pitch in modern World Series history. The Pirates scored four runs in that first inning, and Young lost the game. Young performed better in subsequent games, winning his next two starts. He also drove in three runs in Game Five. Young finished the series with a 2–1 record and a 1.85 ERA in four appearances, and Boston defeated Pittsburgh, five games to three.
After one-hitting Boston on May 2, 1904, Philadelphia Athletics pitcher Rube Waddell taunted Young to face him so that he could repeat his performance against Boston's ace. Three days later, Young pitched a perfect game against Waddell and the Athletics. It was the first perfect game in American League history.[18][19] Waddell was the 27th and last batter, and when he flied out, Young shouted, "How do you like that, you hayseed?"[b]
Waddell had picked an inauspicious time to issue his challenge. Young's perfect game was the centerpiece of a pitching streak. Young set major league records for the most consecutive scoreless innings pitched and the most consecutive innings without allowing a hit; the latter record still stands at 25+1⁄3 innings, or 76 hitless batters.[21][22] Even after he allowed a hit, Young's scoreless streak reached a then-record 45 shutout innings.
Before Young, only two pitchers had thrown perfect games. This occurred in 1880, when Lee Richmond and John Montgomery Ward pitched perfect games within five days of each other, although under somewhat different rules: the front edge of the pitcher's box was only 45 feet (14 m) from home base (the modern release point is about 10 feet (3.0 m) farther away); walks required eight balls; and pitchers were obliged to throw side-armed. Young's perfect game was the first under the modern rules established in 1893. One year later, on July 4, 1905, Rube Waddell beat Young and the Americans, 4–2, in a 20-inning matchup. Young pitched 13 consecutive scoreless innings before he gave up a pair of unearned runs in the final inning. Young did not walk a batter and was later quoted: "For my part, I think it was the greatest game of ball I ever took part in."[23] In 1907, Young and Waddell faced off in a scoreless 13-inning tie.
In 1908, Young pitched the third no-hitter of his career. Three months past his 41st birthday, he was the oldest pitcher to record a no-hitter, a record which would stand 82 years until 43-year-old Nolan Ryan broke it. Only a walk kept Young from his second perfect game. After that runner was caught stealing, no other batter reached base. At the time, Young was the second-oldest player in either league. In another game one month before his no-hitter, he allowed just one single while facing 28 batters.[16] On August 13, 1908, the league celebrated "Cy Young Day". No American League games were played on that day, and a group of All-Stars from the league's other teams gathered in Boston to play against Young and the Red Sox.[24] When the season ended, he posted a 1.26 ERA, which gave him not only the lowest in his career, but also a major league record of being the oldest pitcher with 150+ innings and an ERA under 1.50.
Cleveland Naps (1909–1911)
Young was traded back to Cleveland, the place where he played over half his career, before the 1909 season, to the
Boston Rustlers (1911) and retirement
He split 1911, his final year, between the Naps and the
Career accomplishments
Young established numerous pitching records, some of which have stood for over a century. Young compiled 511
Y is for Young
The magnificent Cy;
People batted against him,
But I never knew why.
—
Young led his league in wins five times (1892, 1895, and 1901–1903), finishing second twice. His career high was 36 in 1892. He won at least 30 games in a season five times. He had 15 seasons with 20 or more wins, two more than Christy Mathewson and Warren Spahn. Young won two ERA titles during his career, in 1892 (1.93) and in 1901 (1.62), and was three times the runner-up. Young's earned run average was below 2.00 six times, but it was not uncommon during the dead-ball era. Although Young threw over 400 innings in each of his first four full seasons, he did not lead his league until 1902. He had 40 or more complete games nine times. Young also led his league in strikeouts twice (140 in 1896 and 158 in 1901), and in shutouts seven times.[15] Young led his league in fewest walks per nine innings fourteen times and finished second once. Only twice in his 22-year career did he finish lower than 5th in the category. Although the WHIP ratio was not calculated until well after Young's death, he was retroactively league leader seven times and was second or third another seven times.[15]
Young is tied with
Pitching style
Particularly after his fastball slowed, Young relied upon his control. He was once quoted as saying, "Some may have thought it was essential to know how to curve a ball before anything else. Experience, to my mind, teaches to the contrary. Any young player who has good control will become a successful curve pitcher long before the pitcher who is endeavoring to master both curves and control at the same time. The curve is merely an accessory to control."[8] In addition to his exceptional control, Young was also a workhorse who avoided injury, owing partly to his ability to pitch in different arm positions (overhand, three-quarters, sidearm and even submarine). For 19 consecutive years, from 1891 through 1909, Young was in his league's top 10 for innings pitched; in 14 of the seasons, he was in the top five. Not until 1900, a decade into his career, did Young pitch two consecutive incomplete games.[12] By habit, Young restricted his practice throws in spring training. "I figured the old arm had just so many throws in it," said Young, "and there wasn't any use wasting them." He once described his approach before a game:
I never warmed up ten, fifteen minutes before a game like most pitchers do. I'd loosen up, three, four minutes. Five at the outside. And I never went to the bullpen. Oh, I'd relieve all right, plenty of times, but I went right from the bench to the box, and I'd take a few warm-up pitches and be ready. Then I had good control. I aimed to make the batter hit the ball, and I threw as few pitches as possible. That's why I was able to work every other day.[8]
Managerial record
Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
BOA | 1907 | 6 | 3 | 3 | .500 | resigned* | – | – | – | – |
Total | 6 | 3 | 3 | .500 | 0 | 0 | – |
* Stepped down to a player only role.
Later life
In 1910, it was reported that Young became a vegetarian,[38] after baseball and working on his farm.[39] In 1913, he served as manager of the Cleveland Green Sox of the Federal League, which was at the time an outlaw league. However, he never worked in baseball after that.
In 1916, he ran for county treasurer in
Young's wife, Roba,[42] whom he had known since childhood, died in 1933.[1][3] After she died, Young tried several jobs, and eventually moved in with friends John and Ruth Benedum and did odd jobs for them. Young took part in many baseball events after his retirement.[3] In 1937, 26 years after he retired from baseball, Young was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was among the first to donate mementos to the Hall.
By 1940, Young's only source of income was stock dividends of $300 per year ($6,524 today).[1][43] On November 4, 1955, Young died on the Benedums' farm at the age of 88.[1] He was buried in Peoli, Ohio.[44]
Legacy
Young's career is seen as a bridge from baseball's earliest days to its modern era; he pitched against stars such as Cap Anson, already an established player when the National League was first formed in 1876, as well as against Eddie Collins, who played until 1930. When Young's career began, pitchers delivered the baseball underhand and fouls were not counted as strikes. The pitcher's mound was not moved back to its present position of 60 feet 6 inches (18.44 m) until Young's fourth season; he did not wear a glove until his sixth season.[3]
Young was elected to the
On September 23, 1993, a statue dedicated to him was unveiled by Northeastern University on the site of the Red Sox's original stadium, the Huntington Avenue Grounds. It was there that Young had pitched the first game of the 1903 World Series, as well as the first perfect game in the modern era of baseball. A home plate-shaped plaque next to the statue reads:
On October 1, 1903 the first modern World Series between the American League champion Boston Pilgrims (later known as the Red Sox) and the National League champion Pittsburgh Pirates was played on this site. General admission tickets were fifty cents. The Pilgrims, led by twenty-eight game winner Cy Young, trailed the series three games to one but then swept four consecutive victories to win the championship five games to three.[45]
In 1999, 88 years after his final major league appearance and 44 years after his death, editors at The Sporting News ranked Young 14th on their list of "Baseball's 100 Greatest Players".[46] That same year, baseball fans named him to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.
See also
- Major League Baseball titles leaders
- Major League Baseball Triple Crown
- List of Major League Baseball career wins leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career ERA leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career strikeout leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career shutout leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career hit batsmen leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual wins leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual ERA leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual strikeout leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual shutout leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual saves leaders
- List of Major League Baseball individual streaks
- List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
- List of Major League Baseball perfect games
- List of Major League Baseball player-managers
- List of Major League Baseball all-time leaders in home runs by pitchers
Notes
- ^ Although it is not an actual award, many baseball fans and experts call a pitcher who leads his league in wins, strikeouts, and ERA the Triple Crown winner in pitching.
- ^ While the phrase "perfect game" appeared in record books as early as 1922, and was a common expression years before that, Major League Baseball did not formalize the definition of a "perfect game" until 1991, long after Young's death.
An official perfect game occurs when a pitcher (or pitchers) retires each batter on the opposing team during the entire course of a game, which consists of at least nine innings. In a perfect game, no batter reaches any base during the course of the game.[20]
References
- ^ ISBN 1-55849-398-0.
- ^ a b "Cy Young Biography". CMG Worldwide. Archived from the original on June 2, 2007. Retrieved June 14, 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Baseball Book Review: Cy Young : A Life In Baseball". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved June 23, 2007.
- ^ "Cy Young Obituary". The New York Times. November 5, 1955. Retrieved July 27, 2008.
- ^ "The Ballplayers – Cy Young". Baseball Biography. Retrieved July 27, 2008.
- ^ "1890 Chronology". Baseball Library. Archived from the original on May 26, 2008. Retrieved July 27, 2008.
- ^ a b James, Bill. The New Bill James Historical Abstract (Simon & Schuster, 2001), pp. 410–411
- ^ a b c "Cy Young: Quotes". CMG Worldwide. Archived from the original on December 29, 2007. Retrieved July 27, 2008.
- ISBN 0-7432-6158-5.
- HighBeam.
- ^ "1896 Chronology". Baseball Library. Archived from the original on May 25, 2007. Retrieved June 23, 2007.
- ^ a b "1897 Chronology". Baseball Library. Archived from the original on May 31, 2007. Retrieved June 23, 2007.
- ^ Fleitz, David. "The 1899 Cleveland Spiders". wcnet. Archived from the original on May 1, 2008. Retrieved July 27, 2008.
- ^ "Biography:Cy Young". answers.com. Retrieved July 27, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e "Cy Young Statistics". Baseball Reference. Retrieved August 3, 2008.
- ^ a b "Cy Young from the Chronology". Baseball Library. Archived from the original on September 13, 2008. Retrieved July 27, 2008.
- ^ Spright Dowell, A History of Mercer University, 1833–1953 Archived February 21, 2009, at the Wayback Machine (Macon, Georgia: Mercer University, [1958]).
- ^ "Hall of Fame profile". Baseball Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on December 19, 2007. Retrieved June 23, 2007.
- ^ "Cy Young Perfect Game Box Score". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved July 27, 2008.
- ^ "The Official Site of Major League Baseball: Official Info: Rules, regulations and statistics". MLB. Retrieved July 16, 2008.
- ^ "Clarifying Some of the Records*". Society for American Baseball Research. Archived from the original on October 7, 2011.
- ^ Peticca, Mike (July 27, 2011). "No-hitters: Did you ever attend a record-book type major league game? Tell us your memories". The Plain Dealer. Archived from the original on October 14, 2012.
- ^ "Waddell vs Young". By Daniel O’Brien. Philadelphia Athletics. Archived from the original on June 26, 2007. Retrieved June 23, 2007.
- ^ "Cy Young Day". brainyhistory.com. Retrieved November 11, 2006.
- ^ Cleveland Naps Schedule Baseball Almanac. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
- ^ "Cy Young's Great Record" New York Times. July 24, 1910. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
- ^ "Boston Rustlers 1, Pittsburgh Pirates 0". Retrosheet. Retrieved August 3, 2008.
- ^ "Brooklyn Superbas 13, Boston Rustlers 3 (2)". Retrosheet. Retrieved August 3, 2008.
- ^ "Career Leaders for Wins". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved July 16, 2008.
- ^ "Innings Pitched Records". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved July 16, 2008.
- ^ "Games Started Records". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved July 16, 2008.
- ^ "Complete Games Records". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved July 16, 2008.
- ^ "Games Lost Records". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved July 16, 2008.
- ISBN 978-1-4165-3245-3Retrieved on August 3, 2008
- ^ "Pitching Leaders, Career All Time". mlb.com. Retrieved July 29, 2008.
- ^ Ogden Nash. "Line-Up For Yesterday by Ogden Nash". Sport Magazine. Retrieved January 23, 2008.
- ^ "Boston Red Sox All-Time Leaders". Boston Red Sox. MLB. Retrieved June 25, 2007.[permanent dead link]
- ISBN 978-1-4696-0891-4
- ^ "Cy Young | Grand Lodge of Ohio". August 11, 2022.
- ^ "Masons in Baseball". Lodge No. 43, F. & A. M. August 24, 2014. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
- ^ "1916 Cy Young County Treasurer Promotional Card". Pre-War Cards. September 8, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
- ^ File:Cy Young, Roba Miller Young Tombstone.JPG
- ^ "1940 United States Census – Denton Young". FamilySearch. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
- ^ "Cy Young". Retrosheet. Retrieved November 11, 2006.
- ^ Boston's Pastime. "Huntington Avenue Grounds: The Pre-Fenway Era". Retrieved May 20, 2009.
- ^ "Baseball's 100 Greatest Players". The Sporting News. Retrieved July 16, 2008.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Cy Young managerial career statistics at Baseball-Reference.com
- Cy Young at the Baseball Hall of Fame
- Cy Young at the SABR Baseball Biography Project