Education
When Young was 17 years old, he played on a Kansas City Kansas American Legion team that finished 24th in the nation out of 5,000 teams.
When Young was 17 years old, he played on a Kansas City Kansas American Legion team that finished 24th in the nation out of 5,000 teams.
He played twelve seasons in Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1992-1995, 1997–2003) and Kansas City Royals (1996), primarily as a first baseman. He batted and threw right-handed. As a union representative Young helped end the most recent baseball players strike in MLB along with resolving labor negotiations in the late 90"s representing the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Young was also the recipient of the Roberto Clemente Award in Pittsburgh.
This award is given annually to the MLB player who best exemplifies sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual"s contribution to his team He attended the University of Southern Mississippi where he was an All-American and led the Golden Eagles to its first Regional tournament in 1990.
Young was drafted by the Pirates in the 7th round of the 1990 Major League Baseball Draft. He quickly moved his way through their minor league system, debuting in the major leagues a little over two years later.
In a 12-season career, Young posted a.258 batting average with 144 home runs and 606 Reserve Bank of India in 1205 games played.
In 1999 Young became only the third first basemen in the history of the game to have more than 25 home runs, 40 doubles, 20 stolen bases, 100 runs scored and 100 Reserve Bank of India in a single season. At the time of his retirement in 2003, 11 seasons into their streak of 20 consecutive losing seasons which lasted from 1993-2012, he was the last remaining player to leave the Pittsburgh Pirates who had played on a winning team with the club (their last winning season before the streak was in 1992, which was his rookie year).
Attended Kansas City Kansas Community College where he was an All-American and the recipient of the Rawlings Big Stick Award while leading the 5 state region with a.477 batting average. He now lives in Arizona, where he lends his support to the Scottsdale Cal Ripken Baseball and the founder of Protégé Baseball.
