Floyd Everett Youmans (born May 11, 1964) is a 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...

. He pitched all or part of five seasons 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 (A ...

from 1985–89. He is one of the players dealt by the

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 lea ...

to the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in ...

for

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the cat ...

Gary Carter Gary Edmund Carter (April 8, 1954 – February 16, 2012) was an American professional baseball catcher whose 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career was spent primarily with the Montreal Expos and New York Mets. Nicknamed "the Kid" for his y ...

Career

New York Mets

Youmans was born in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough ...

, and was a childhood friend and Hillsborough High School teammate of former Mets pitcher

Dwight Gooden Dwight Eugene Gooden (born November 16, 1964), nicknamed "Dr. K" and "Doc", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Gooden pitched from 1984 to 1994 and from 1996 to 2000 for the ...

before moving with his family to

Fontana, California Fontana is a city in San Bernardino County, California. Founded by Azariel Blanchard Miller in 1913, it remained essentially rural until World War II, when entrepreneur Henry J. Kaiser built a large steel mill in the area. It is now a regiona ...

. He was drafted by the Mets in the second round of the

1982 Major League Baseball Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1982 Major League Baseball Draft. Compensation Picks Other notable players * David Wells†, 2nd round, 30th overall by the Toronto Blue Jays * Allan Anderson, 2nd ...

, one round after the club selected Gooden. He and Gooden were teammates on the

Kingsport Mets The Kingsport Mets were a Minor League Baseball team of the Appalachian League from 1921 to 2020. They were located in Kingsport, Tennessee, and were last named for the team's major league affiliate, the New York Mets. The team played its home ga ...

in 1982. With the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

's Columbia Mets in 1983, Youmans went 12-3 with a 3.42

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the numb ...

. After splitting the 1984 season between the Lynchburg and Jackson Mets, Youmans was traded on December 10, to the Montreal Expos along with

Hubie Brooks Hubert "Hubie" Brooks (born September 24, 1956) is an American former professional baseball right fielder, third baseman, and shortstop. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1980 to 1994 for the New York Mets, Montreal Expos, L ...

, Mike Fitzgerald and

Herm Winningham Herman Son Winningham (born December 1, 1961) is an American former professional baseball player. He played all or part of nine seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily as a center fielder, for the New York Mets, Montreal Expos, Cincinnat ...

for future Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter.

Montreal Expos

Youmans made his major league debut in the middle of the following season, starting on July 1, 1985, against the St. Louis Cardinals. For the season, Youmans went 4-3 with a team-best 2.45 ERA. One of those wins came on the second to last day of the season against Ron Darling and the New York Mets in front of 45,404 at

Shea Stadium Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.

. On June 18, 1986, Youmans bested Gooden the first time the two faced off against each other, holding the Mets to only one

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

in 5.1 innings, and drawing a

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ...

in his first at-bat against Gooden. However, they would face off again on August 1, and this time Gooden would emerge victorious. In the hard-throwing right-hander's first full season as a member of the rotation full-time, Youmans threw five double-digit strikeout games and finishing third in the

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 ...

with 202

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is den ...

s. He also led the league with 118 bases on balls, however, limiting his effectiveness and contributing to a 13-12 win–loss record. Youmans' 1987 season was plagued with injuries, as he visited the disabled list three times. However, he still managed to make 23 starts for the Expos and went 4-1 with a 1.13 ERA and three

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

s in the month of July to earn

Pitcher of the Month honors.

Drug rehab

After the 1987 season, Youmans checked into an alcohol rehabilitation center under speculation that he had been forced to do so by Commissioner Peter Ueberroth. Youmans was 3-6 with a 3.21 ERA when his 1988 season was cut short on June 25 by an indefinite suspension for "failing to comply with his drug-testing program." On August 10, the suspension was reduced to sixty days, and the following day, Youmans admitted during a news conference to having used

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Am ...

Philadelphia Phillies

On December 6, 1988, Youmans was traded to the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

with

Jeff Parrett Jeffrey Dale Parrett (born August 26, 1961) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher who played for the Montreal Expos (1986–88), Philadelphia Phillies (1989–90 and 1996), Atlanta Braves (1990–91), Oakland Athletics ( ...

for Kevin Gross. His 1989 season was marked by injuries, as he was on the disabled list for most of May and pitched his last game on June 24, ending the season with a 1-5 record and 5.70 ERA. He had arthroscopic shoulder surgery on August 22, and never pitched at the major league level again.

Comeback attempts

Youmans pitched for the independent Sullivan Mountain Lions and Newburgh Night Hawks of the Northeast League in 1995, and became a coach for the Catskill Cougars the following season. He became interim manager of the club during the 1997 season when Edgar Perez was fired as manager on August 4. He again attempted a comeback in 2003 at age 39 with the

Canadian Baseball League The Canadian Baseball League was an independent minor league that operated in 2003. The league's only Commissioner was Major League Baseball Hall of Famer and Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame member Ferguson Jenkins. The league featured former ...

Saskatoon Legends The Saskatoon Legends were a minor league baseball team during the 2003 season. They played in the Canadian Baseball League, which was not a part of Minor League Baseball and therefore not affiliated with Major League Baseball or its member club ...

, but only pitched five games before the league folded. In 2008 and 2009, Youmans was the pitching coach for the

Joliet Jackhammers The Joliet JackHammers were a professional baseball team based in Joliet, Illinois, in the United States. The JackHammers were a member of the Northern League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. From 2002 to 2010, the JackHammers ...

of the

Northern League Northern League may refer to: Sport Baseball * Northern League (baseball, 1902–71), a name used by several minor leagues that operated in the upper midwestern U.S. and Manitoba from 1902 to 1971 * Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010), an indep ...

References

External links

, o
Baseball Library
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Baseball Almanac
{{DEFAULTSORT:Youmans, Floyd Major League Baseball pitchers American expatriate baseball players in Canada Montreal Expos players Philadelphia Phillies players Kingsport Mets players Columbia Mets players Lynchburg Mets players Jackson Mets players Jacksonville Expos players Indianapolis Indians players Newburgh Night Hawks players Sullivan Mountain Lions players Saskatoon Legends players Baseball players from Tampa, Florida African-American baseball players Baseball players suspended for drug offenses 1964 births Living people 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople