Delwyn Young Sr.

Delwyn Young Sr.

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 180 lb.
• High School Belmont High School (LA)

• Born October 4, 1963

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Delwyn Young Sr. is the father of Delwyn Young, brother of Selwyn Young and son of Fate Young. He played in the minor leagues from 1981-1994. He was picked in the third round of the 1981 amateur draft by the Cincinnati Reds. He debuted with the Billings Mustangs and hit .326 but his defense was a negative, as he made 28 errors in 37 games at shortstop for a .835 fielding percentage. In 1982, Young moved up to the Eugene Emeralds and hit .274/~.291/.384/. He stole 26 bases in 32 tries. Now at second base, he was much more reliable, leading Northwest League second basemen in fielding percentage (.949) and putouts (129).

In 1983, Young moved up to the Cedar Rapids Reds and hit .265/~.327/.328 with 28 steals in 37 tries. Young played for the 1984 Tampa Tarpons, now as an outfielder. He hit .259/~.330/.339. He stole 18 bases and was caught 9 times. His 18 assists were second among Florida State League outfielders, trailing Winston Ficklin.

Young moved up to the Vermont Reds in 1985 and helped them to an Eastern League title. He hit .241/~.294/.368 and his 12 triples were second to Mike Brumley in the EL. He returned to Vermont in 1986 and hit just .231/~.298/.308 in 16 games. He was released in early May when Joe Oliver was activated off the disabled list.

Young played in 1987 for the independent San Bernardino Spirit, hitting .286/~.370/.509 with 15 homers and 20 steals to revive his career. He also played 19 games for the Burlington Expos and batted .314/~.500/.,392 with 19 walks, one per game on average.

In 1988, Young moved to the Detroit Tigers organization after being picked in the AA portion of the 1987 Rule V Draft. He hit .315/~.373/.490 in 80 games for the Glens Falls Tigers with 20 steals in 25 tries. He played his first 46 games in AAA, batting .251/~.311/.377 in 46 games for the Toledo Mud Hens. He was under 50 plate appearances shy of qualifying for the EL batting title; he would have ranked third behind Jerome Walton and Bryan House.

Young hit .220/~.316/.340 in 19 games for Toledo in 1989. He split most of the year between two EL teams, the London Tigers and the Canton-Akron Indians. He hit just .229/~.318/.444 overall in the EL that year. Young split 1990 between Canton-Akron (.250/~.302/.393 in 49 games) and the Salinas Spurs (.248/~.315/.379, 16 stolen bases in 45 games). Both he and his brother Selwyn played for Salinas that year.

Young moved to the Mexican League in 1991, hitting .316/~.410/.421 for the Monterrey Industriales. He also played in Taiwan for the Mercuries Tigers, hitting .231 and slugging .400 in 20 games. He might have played for the Rieleros de Aguascalientes in 1992; it might have been his brother Selwyn as sources are hazy on this point.

In 1994, Young played 14 games for the Appleton Foxes, hitting .306/.405/.500 to wrap up his playing career.

Young was hitting coach of the Riverside Pilots in 1995. Due to poor fan attendance, the team relocated to Lancaster, CA the next year. Young was the 1996 Lancaster JetHawks hitting coach while his son was the team's batboy. 10 years later, Delwyn Jr. was playing in the major leagues.

Sources include 1982-1985, 1989, 1991 and 1995 Baseball Guides, 1986-1987 Baseball America Statistics Reports, 1988-1993 Baseball Almanacs, The Mexican League: Comprehensive Player Statistics by Pedro Treto Cisneros, 2007 Dodgers Media Guide, Wiki Baseball