Walter Earnest Young, Jr. (February 18, 1980 – September 19, 2015) was an American

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 ...

player. He played part of one season 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

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 ...

in 2005 as a

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

and

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

. He was known for his large size and his ability to hit towering

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. Young was listed at and . , his weight was the highest ever recorded by an active Major League Baseball player.

Baseball career

Young was born in

Hattiesburg, Mississippi Hattiesburg is a city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, located primarily in Forrest County, Mississippi, Forrest County (where it is the county seat and largest city) and extending west into Lamar County, Mississippi, Lamar County. The city popu ...

. He played high school

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

Purvis High School Purvis High School is a school within the Lamar County School District. It is located at 220 School St., Purvis, Mississippi.http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/communities/schools/purvishigh.html The principal is Brad Skeen. The school colors are ...

in Purvis, Mississippi. The

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

selected him in the 31st round of the

1999 MLB draft The 1999 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, was held on June 2 and 3, 1999. A total of 1474 players were drafted over the course of 50 rounds. First round selections ...

. Young turned down a scholarship offer from

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

to sign with the Pirates. Young advanced steadily through the system, but before the 2004 season, the Pirates released him. He was claimed on waivers by the Orioles and assigned to their Class AA affiliate, the

Bowie Baysox The Bowie Baysox are a Minor League Baseball team located in Bowie, Maryland. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and play in the Eastern League. Their home ballpark is Prince George's Stadium. History From 1989 to 1992, ...

. Young recovered from a slow start in Bowie to hit 33

home runs 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 ...

and appeared in the Eastern League All-Star Game. In 2005, he participated in the Orioles'

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

and started the regular season with the Orioles' Class AAA affiliate, the

Ottawa Lynx The Ottawa Lynx were a Minor League Baseball team that competed in the Triple-A International League (IL) from 1993 to 2007. The team's home field was Lynx Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. Over 15 seasons, the team was an affiliate of the Montreal ...

. Young was called up to the Orioles on September 1, 2005, after batting .288 with 13 home runs and 81 RBIs at Ottawa. Since 2005 was the last year that he could be optioned to the minors without having to pass through waivers, the Orioles said upon promoting him that they would use him in September to see if he fit into their plans for 2005. Young played 10 games for the Orioles in 2005, finishing with a .303 (10 for 33) batting average, 1 home run, and 3 RBIs. In the offseason, Young played for the Tiburones de La Guaira club of the

Venezuelan Winter League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

. In January 2006, Young was designated for assignment by the Orioles, after the O's had signed first basemen Russell Branyan and

Rafael Palmeiro Rafael Palmeiro Corrales (born September 24, 1964) is a Cuban-American former Major League Baseball first baseman and left fielder. Palmeiro was an All-American at Mississippi State University before being drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 1985. H ...

. Young was then claimed off waivers by the San Diego Padres, but faced much competition for the first base job: although their regular first baseman, Mike Piazza, started the season on the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

, Young did not win a spot on the major league roster out of spring training;

Adrián González Adrián González Savín (born May 8, 1982), also known by his nicknames "A-Gon" and "Titán", is a Mexican-American former professional baseball first baseman He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres, ...

became their starting first baseman instead. Young was sent to the Padres' Class AAA affiliate, the Portland Beavers, where he shared the first-base job. He started the season in a slump; and on April 25, 2006, the Padres released him. On May 8, 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 ...

signed Young and assigned him to their Class AA affiliate, the Corpus Christi Hooks, where he spent the rest of the season hitting .277/.309/.410 with 10 home runs and 60 RBI and alongside

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 ...

lead the team to a

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

championship. On March 29, 2007, the independent

Winnipeg Goldeyes The Winnipeg Goldeyes are a minor-league baseball team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Goldeyes play in the American Association of Professional Baseball, which they joined in 2011. Previously, the Goldeyes were members of the Northern ...

signed Young. Young spent the full 2007 season with the Goldeyes, batting .313 with 21 home runs and 78 RBIs The Goldeyes exercised Young's 2008 option following the season, but instead he signed with the Sussex Skyhawks. Later in 2008, Young moved to the

Sioux City Explorers The Sioux City Explorers are a professional minor league baseball team based in Sioux City, Iowa, in the United States. The Explorers are members American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. Si ...

and became an integral part of leading the team to the American Association playoffs where he hit .367 with 5 home runs and 29 RBIs in only 26 games. In January 2009, Young re-signed with Sioux City and played for the Explorers until the end of June. In July, he signed to play for the Edmonton Capitals of the Golden Baseball League. After about a month there, he was released on August 17 to make room in the dugout. He began playing semi-pro baseball with his hometown Hattiesburg Black Sox in 2010.

Post-baseball career

Young, who had planned to pursue a degree in criminal justice with LSU before signing with the Pirates,Hinton, Alan.
Whatever happened to Walter Young?
, The Hattiesburg American, May 16, 2010. joined the Forrest County Sheriff's Department and began working as a shift sergeant at the county jail. As of 2010, he was pursuing a degree from the online

University of Phoenix University of Phoenix (UoPX) is a private for-profit university headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1976, the university confers certificates and degrees at the certificate, associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree lev ...

. Young died on September 19, 2015, of a heart attack. He weighed at the time of his death.Walter Young Dies: Former SAL MVP had brief MLB career
''Crawdads Beat website''. Retrieved on September 22, 2015.

References

External links

Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Walter 1980 births 2015 deaths African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Mississippi Bowie Baysox players Corpus Christi Hooks players Edmonton Capitals players Gulf Coast Pirates players Hickory Crawdads players Lynchburg Hillcats players Major League Baseball first basemen Ottawa Lynx players Portland Beavers players Sioux City Explorers players Sportspeople from Hattiesburg, Mississippi Sussex Skyhawks players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Williamsport Crosscutters players Winnipeg Goldeyes players 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American sportspeople People from Lamar County, Mississippi