Rest In Peace Mike Young

Former Orioles, Phillies, Brewers & Indians OF passed away

The passing of Mike Young brings back memories of a terrible era of Phillies baseball. The team couldn't do anything right. If they signed a high priced free agent, he would fail. If they extended one of their own, he would fail, And if they traded for a player, he would fail. This brings us to Mike Young.

Young had one really good season in Baltimore where he hit 28 homeruns to go with his .273 batting average, but that was really his only season to remember. So of course the Phillies gave up 3 players to acquire him from the Orioles after the 1987 season. And here's where the issue is. Two of those players were favorites of mine.

Jeff Stone was one of the fastest players I had ever seen. He hit over .360 in his first year in the major leagues. I watched him steal third without a throw. Keith Hughes was a marginal prospect at best, but he was one of my favorites. I hated seeing the two of them traded. Rich Schu was also in the deal, but he was expendable as he had no place to play.

Much like the rest of the 1988 Phillies, Young had a poor season as a part time player. Why the would trade three players for a part time player I could never figure out. After the season, he was traded to the Brewers for Alex Madrid. No loss or gain for either team.

Meanwhile, the three players he was traded for suffered for the worst team of the 1980s, the Baltimore (0-21) Orioles. Stone couldn't hit and he made multiple baserunning gaffes. He would move on to his final stop, Boston, after the season. Rick Schu was actually the starting 3rd baseman for the Orioles for a good part of the season and he put up Rick Schu numbers. That's why he would move on shortly after the 1989 season began. Lastly, Keith Hughes, the guy I thought was a mega prospect at the time, couldn't hit either. He would be gone shortly also.

In the case of the trade, it was a loser for both teams. That being said, the passing of Mike Young still represents a piece of my past slipping away, as it always does. You don't have to be a Hall of Famer to be remembered here. Most players left some kind of memory with me, which is why I have Sportscard Memories!

Rest In Peace, Mike Young!