Christopher Brandon Young (born September 5, 1983) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

and

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

. In 2007, he became the first rookie in Major League history to hit 30

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and steal 25 bases. While primarily a

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the c ...

earlier in his career, Young later transitioned to a

fourth outfielder In baseball, a utility player is a player who typically does not have the offensive abilities to justify a regular starting role on the team but is capable of playing more than one defensive position. These players are able to give the various st ...

role.

Early life

Young was born to Carolyn and Robert Young in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. When Young was in high school, his father was a mechanic and his mother was a real estate agent. Young began his baseball career at St. Thomas More elementary/middle school and later attended national powerhouse Bellaire High School. In 1999, the school went 38-2 and won the Texas high school baseball championship over

Duncanville High School Duncanville High School is a secondary school located in Duncanville, Texas, United States, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The school is a part of Duncanville Independent School District. The school includes grades 9 through 12. The high school ...

mercy rule A mercy rule, slaughter rule, knockout rule, or skunk rule ends a two-competitor sports competition earlier than the scheduled endpoint if one competitor has a very large and presumably insurmountable scoring lead over the other. It is called th ...

. Young received All-State honors his senior year, but shattered the

ulna The ulna (''pl''. ulnae or ulnas) is a long bone found in the forearm that stretches from the elbow to the smallest finger, and when in anatomical position, is found on the medial side of the forearm. That is, the ulna is on the same side of t ...

and

radius In classical geometry, a radius ( : radii) of a circle or sphere is any of the line segments from its center to its perimeter, and in more modern usage, it is also their length. The name comes from the latin ''radius'', meaning ray but also the ...

bones in his left arm in the state playoffs while attempting to catch a fly ball hit by Elkins High School's

Chad Huffman Chad Daniel Huffman (born April 29, 1985) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NP ...

Professional career

Chicago White Sox

The

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

selected Young in the 16th round of the

2001 MLB Draft The 2001 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 5 and 6. First round selections Supplemental First Round Selections Compensation Picks Background On June 1, 2001, Rolando Viera, a Cuban ba ...

. The broken arm suffered in his senior year caused his draft stock to fall but he signed for $130,000, more typical of a fifth round draft pick. In , he was an

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wood bats, its season runs from ...

All-Star outfielder. In 2005, he was a ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

'' 1st team Minor League All-Star outfielder and the Chicago White Sox Minor League Player of the Year.

Arizona Diamondbacks

After the 2005 season, the White Sox traded Young to the

with

Orlando Hernández Orlando Hernández Pedroso (born October 11, 1965), nicknamed "El Duque" (Spanish for "The Duke"), is a Cuban-born right-handed former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched for the Industriales of the Cuban National Series, the New York Yan ...

and

Luis Vizcaíno Luis Vizcaíno Árias (born August 6, 1974) is a Dominican Republic former professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago White Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Yankees, Colorado Rockies, Chicago ...

for Javier Vázquez and cash. In , he was a Triple-A All-Star outfielder and ''Baseball America'' 2nd team Minor League All-Star outfielder. D-Backs Chris Young

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 The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

, he 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. For the season, his 27

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s led all

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

(NL) rookies (13th in the NL overall), and his 32 home runs were enough for 2nd among NL rookies (behind

Ryan Braun Ryan Joseph Braun (born November 17, 1983) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played his entire career for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2007 to 2020. Braun also played right field and firs ...

, 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 A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

(68). He also hit .237 with a .295

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

, and led NL rookies by

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Irish television legal drama series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017. Produced by Bl!nder F!lms for RTÉ Television, ''Striking Out'' stars Amy Huberman as Dublin-based solicitor Tara Rafferty, who is ...

141 times. Besides, he hit nine

leadoff In baseball, a lead or lead off is the short distance that a player stands away from their current base. On the bases In baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batti ...

home runs, to set an MLB rookie record. Young was a unanimous selection for the 2007 Topps Major League Rookie All-Star Team as a result of the 49th annual Topps balloting of Major League managers. He finished fourth (10 points) in the vote for the 2007 NL

Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award The ''Sporting News'' Rookie of the Year Award is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award established in 1946 by ''Sporting News''. For the first three years (1946–1948) and again in 1950, there was a single award. In 1949 and since 1951, ...

by 488 major league players and 30 managers, being only surpassed by

Troy Tulowitzki Troy Trevor Tulowitzki (born October 10, 1984), nicknamed "Tulo", is an American retired professional baseball shortstop, who played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Colorado Rockies. He also played for the Toronto B ...

and

Hunter Pence Hunter Andrew Pence (born April 13, 1983), nicknamed "The Reverend", is an American former professional baseball right fielder and designated hitter. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, San Fra ...

, as well as in the 2007

Baseball America Rookie of the Year The ''Baseball America'' Rookie of the Year Award is an annual award granted by '' Baseball America'' to the best rookie in the major leagues. Awardees See also * *Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award (MLB; in each league) * "Esurance MLB ...

award and the

Baseball Prospectus Baseball Prospectus (BP) is an organization that publishes a website, BaseballProspectus.com, devoted to the sabermetric analysis of baseball. BP has a staff of regular columnists and provides advanced statistics as well as player and team perf ...

2007 Internet Baseball NL

Rookie of the Year Award A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

competitions. Young signed a $28 million, five-year extension with the Diamondbacks in April 2008. In 2008, Young started 157 games in center field. He finished the year with 85 runs and 85

RBIs A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

, and led the

with 14

stolen bases In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

. His

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

improved to .248, but he hit fewer home runs, ending the year with 22. In 2009, he hit only .212, the lowest of all NL batters with at least 350 plate appearances. On August 10, 2009, he was demoted to the Diamondbacks' AAA farm club, the

Reno Aces The Reno Aces are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Reno, Nevada, and play their home games at Greater Nevada Field, which opened in 2009. ...

. Prospect infielder

Rusty Ryal Rusty Allen Ryal (born March 16, 1983) is an American former professional baseball utility man. He was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 14th round of the 2005 MLB Draft, out of Oklahoma State University. He is the son of the former ma ...

took his spot on the D'backs roster. This was Young's first demotion to the minor leagues since entering the major leagues in 2007. When called back up, he had a slight resurgence with 8 home runs for a season total of 15, including 3 solo home runs in a loss to the Rockies. On April 11, 2010, Young contributed 4 RBIs to the Diamondbacks' franchise record 13-run inning. He also made the NL All-Star Team for the first time, as a reserve. On July 9, the night before the All-Star Game, he participated in the 2010 State Farm Home Run Derby but hit only one home run and was eliminated in the first round. At the end of the season, he tied for the NL lead in errors by an outfielder, with 7. During a game on August 7, 2010, he became the first

player in 117 years to hit a lead-off and walk-off home run in the same game. On August 11, 2011, he belted a 3-run homer in the bottom of the tenth against the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

to give the Diamondbacks an 8–5 win and move them a full game in front of the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

in the NL West. The homer came an inning after rookie slugger

Paul Goldschmidt Paul Edward Goldschmidt (born September 10, 1987) is an American professional baseball first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Lightly recruited out of The Woodlands High School in The Woodlands, Texas, Goldsch ...

hit a game-tying bomb of his own.

Oakland Athletics

On October 20, 2012, Young was traded to the

for infielder Cliff Pennington and Yordy Cabrera. In 2013 playing for Oakland he batted .200/.280/.379.

New York Mets

On November 22, 2013, the

agreed to a one-year, $7.25 million contract with Young. Young struggled with the Mets, batting .205 with eight home runs in 254 at-bats. On August 8, 2014, the Mets designated Young for assignment. He was released on August 15.

New York Yankees

The New York Yankees signed Young to a minor league contract on August 27, 2014. He was called up on September 2, 2014, when rosters expanded. Nine days later, on September 11, Young broke up a no-hitter in the 8th inning with a double and then hit a walk-off, three-run home run to seal the Yankees' 5-4 win over the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

. The next day, Young hit his third home run in three days, breaking a scoreless tie in the 11th inning, and (temporarily) pushing the Yankees into the lead against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

. Also on September 12, in the second game of the Orioles doubleheader, Young also made two dramatic defensive plays, twice sliding to catch fly balls in left field. In 23 games for the Yankees, Young batted .282 with three home runs. Young signed a one-year, major league contract with the Yankees worth $2.5 million on November 8, 2014. Young batted .252 for the Yankees in 2015, playing mostly against left-handed pitchers. He started the 2015 AL Wild Card Game over

Jacoby Ellsbury Jacoby McCabe Ellsbury ( ; born September 11, 1983) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox from 2007 through 2013 and then played for the New York Yankees from 2 ...

against left-handed pitcher

Dallas Keuchel Dallas Keuchel (, ; born January 1, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He has previously played in MLB for the Houston Astros, Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Texas Ran ...

Boston Red Sox

On December 2, 2015, Young signed a two-year, $13 million deal with the

. The team placed Young on the 15-day disabled list on June 24, citing a strained right hamstring. Young did not return to the team until August 22. Young ended his 2016 season with a .276 batting average in 76 games. In 2017, Young saw the field in 90 games, 14 more than the previous season; however his batting average took a large fall, as he finished the season hitting .235/.322/.387. On November 2, the Red Sox granted Young his free agent rights.

Los Angeles Angels

On February 18, 2018, Young signed a one-year, $2 million deal with the

. He was ruled out for the season on August 5 after undergoing hip surgery. He finished the season hitting a career-low .168 in 56 games. He elected free agency on October 29.

Post-playing career

On May 25, 2021, Young joined

MLB Network The MLB Network is an American television sports channel dedicated to baseball. It is primarily owned by Major League Baseball, with Warner Bros. Discovery through its sports unit, Comcast's NBC Sports Group, Charter Communications, and Cox Com ...

as an on-air analyst. In 2022, he graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in business administration.

Awards

* 2003 – Appalachian League All-Star OF * 2005 – ''

'' 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 – Diamondbacks Rookie of the Year * 2010 – Diamondbacks MVP Award

Personal life

Young's cousin, Jarrett Higgins, played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

and was selected by the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

in the 36th round of the 2009 MLB draft. Young took classes at

Houston Baptist University Houston Christian University (HCU), formerly Houston Baptist University, is a private Baptist university in Houston, Texas. It is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas (Southern Baptist Convention). Its Cultural Arts Center hou ...

during his first few offseasons as a minor leaguer. After

Hurricane Harvey Hurricane Harvey was a devastating Category 4 hurricane that made landfall on Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, causing catastrophic flooding and more than 100 deaths. It is tied with 2005's Hurricane Katrina as the costliest t ...

hit his hometown of Houston in 2017, Young donated to a relief fundraiser started by

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

J. J. Watt Justin James Watt (born March 22, 1989) is an American football defensive end for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Central Michigan and Wisconsin and was drafted by the Houston Texans i ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Chris 1983 births Living people African-American baseball players Arizona Diamondbacks players Arizona League White Sox players Baseball players from Houston Bellaire High School (Bellaire, Texas) alumni Birmingham Barons players Boston Red Sox players Bristol White Sox players Great Falls White Sox players Kannapolis Intimidators players Las Vegas 51s players Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball center fielders National League All-Stars New York Mets players New York Yankees players Oakland Athletics players Pawtucket Red Sox players Peoria Saguaros players Reno Aces players Sacramento River Cats players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Tucson Sidewinders players Visalia Rawhide players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people