Baseball Wiki
m (Elected in 2nd Hall Election (1937) with Lajoie and Speaker.)
(13 intermediate revisions by 4 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
  +
{{Mlbretired
:''For the [[Major League Baseball]] award named the 'Cy Young Award', see [[Cy Young Award]].''
 
  +
| name = Cy Young
{{Mlbretired|
 
bgcolor1=#ba313c|
+
| bgcolor1 = #0d2b56
bgcolor2=#0d2b56|
+
| bgcolor2 = #ba313c
textcolor1=white|
+
| textcolor1 = white
textcolor2=white|
+
| textcolor2 = white
  +
| image = Cy_young.jpg
name=Cy Young|
 
  +
| position = [[Pitcher]]
image=Cy_young.jpg|
 
  +
| number = n/a
position=[[Pitcher]]|
 
  +
| bats = Right
number=n/a|
 
bats=Right|
+
| throws = Right
  +
| birthdate = [[March 29]], [[1867]]
throws=Right|
 
  +
| deathdate = {{death date and age|1955|11|4|1867|3|29}}
debutdate=[[August 6]]|
 
  +
| debutdate = [[August 6]]
debutyear=[[1890 in baseball|1890]]|
 
  +
| debutyear = [[1890 in baseball|1890]]
debutteam=[[Cleveland Spiders]]|
 
  +
| debutteam = [[Cleveland Spiders]]
finaldate=[[October 11]]|
 
  +
| finaldate = [[October 11]]
finalyear=[[1911 in baseball|1911]]|
 
  +
| finalyear = [[1911 in baseball|1911]]
finalteam=[[Atlanta Braves|Boston Rustlers]]|
 
  +
| finalteam = [[Atlanta Braves|Boston Rustlers]]
statyear=Career|
 
  +
| statyear = Career
stat1label=[[Wins]]|
 
  +
| stat1label = [[Win (baseball)|Win]]-[[Loss (baseball)|Loss]]
stat1value=511|
 
  +
| stat1value = 511-316
stat2label=[[Earned run average|E.R.A.]]|
 
  +
| stat2label = [[Earned run average|E.R.A.]]
stat2value=2.63|
 
  +
| stat2value = 2.63
stat3label=[[Strike Out]]s|
 
  +
| stat3label = [[Strike Out]]s
stat3value=2803|
 
  +
| stat3value = 2798
teams=<nowiki></nowiki>
 
  +
| teams = <nowiki></nowiki>
[[Cleveland Spiders]] ([[1890 in baseball|1890]] - [[1898 in baseball|1898]])<br/>
 
[[St. Louis Cardinals|St. Louis Perfectos]] ([[1899 in baseball|1899]] - [[1900 in baseball|1900]])<br/>
+
[[Cleveland Spiders]] ([[1890 in baseball|1890]]-[[1898 in baseball|1898]])<br/>
[[Boston Red Sox|Boston American/Red Sox]] ([[1901 in baseball|1901]] - [[1908 in baseball|1908]])<br/>
+
[[St. Louis Cardinals|St. Louis Perfectos]] ([[1899 in baseball|1899]]-[[1900 in baseball|1900]])<br/>
[[Cleveland Indians|Cleveland Naps]] ([[1909 in baseball|1909]] - [[1911 in baseball|1911]])<br/>
+
[[Boston Red Sox|Boston Americans/Red Sox]] ([[1901 in baseball|1901]]-[[1908 in baseball|1908]])<br/>
  +
[[Cleveland Indians|Cleveland Naps]] ([[1909 in baseball|1909]]-[[1911 in baseball|1911]])<br/>
 
[[Atlanta Braves|Boston Rustlers]] ([[1911 in baseball|1911]])
 
[[Atlanta Braves|Boston Rustlers]] ([[1911 in baseball|1911]])
|highlights=<nowiki></nowiki>
+
| highlights = <nowiki></nowiki>
 
* Won the [[1901 in baseball|1901]] [[Triple crown (baseball)#American League winners 2|AL Triple Crown]] for Pitchers.
 
* Won the [[1901 in baseball|1901]] [[Triple crown (baseball)#American League winners 2|AL Triple Crown]] for Pitchers.
 
* 1st All-Time [[Win (baseball)|wins]] (511)
 
* 1st All-Time [[Win (baseball)|wins]] (511)
Line 36: Line 37:
 
* 1st All-Time Games Started (815)
 
* 1st All-Time Games Started (815)
 
* 1st All-Time [[Complete game|Complete Games]] (749)
 
* 1st All-Time [[Complete game|Complete Games]] (749)
  +
* Boston Red Sox Career Leader in WHIP (.97), Walks/9IP (.99) and Complete Games (275)
  +
| hofdate = [[1937 in baseball|1937]]
  +
| hofvote = 76.12%
 
}}
 
}}
  +
{{for|the [[Major League Baseball]] award|Cy Young Award}}
   
  +
'''Denton True "Cy" Young''' ([[March 29]], [[1867]] – [[November 4]], [[1955]]) was an [[United States|American]] [[baseball]] player who [[pitched]] for five different [[professional baseball|major league]] teams from 1890 to 1911. He established numerous professional [[pitcher|pitching]] records during his 22-year career in [[Major League Baseball|the majors]], some of which have stood for a century. Young retired with 511 career wins, the [[List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins|most in MLB history]] and 94 more wins than [[Walter Johnson]], who is second on the list.
'''Denton True Young''' ([[March 29]], [[1867]] – [[November 4]], [[1955]]) was an [[United States|American]] [[baseball]] pitcher during the 1890s and 1900s. The [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Baseball Hall of Fame]] inducted Young in 1937. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in the 2nd BBWAA election, along with Nap Lajoie and Tris Speaker. He won one [[championship]] in [[1903 World Series|1903]] as a member of the [[Boston Red Sox|Boston Americans]]. An accomplished [[athlete]], Young won the [[1901 in baseball|1901]] [[Triple crown (baseball)#American League winners 2|AL Triple Crown]] for Pitchers. The annual award given for the pitcher of the year in each league is named the [[Cy Young Award]]. Young played twenty-two years of professional baseball. He set the records for most [[Win (baseball)|wins]] all-time, most [[innings pitched]] all-time, most games started all-time, and most [[complete game]]s all-time. His longevity also allowed him to set the record for the most career losses, despite winning 62% of his decisions. He shares the career records for both wins and shutouts with Roger Clemens.
 
   
  +
In honor of Young's contributions to [[Major League Baseball]], MLB created the [[Cy Young Award]], an annual award given to the pitcher voted the most effective in each of the two leagues. The [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Baseball Hall of Fame]] elected Young in [[1937 in baseball|1937]] in the 2nd election, along with [[Nap Lajoie]] and [[Tris Speaker]]. During his professional career, Young won at least 30 games in a season five times, with ten other seasons of 20+ wins. He also pitched three [[no-hitter]]s, including the first [[perfect game]] of baseball's "modern era."<ref name=perfect>{{citeweb| title=Cy Young's Perfect Game | work=columbia.edu | url=http://www.jrn.columbia.edu/studentwork/cns/2004-05-03/782.asp | accessdate-2007-06-23}}</ref>{{ref_label|A|a|none}}
There are several different stories as to how Young earned the nickname "Cy", however they all acknowledge that it is short short for "[[Tornado|Cyclone]]." One version is that when pitching he twisted his body around and whipped around with such speed, it resembled a cyclone. Another story says that barns and fences would show cyclone-like damage after Young hit them with a throw.{{fact}} He was born in [[Gilmore, Ohio]], and raised in [[Newcomerstown, Ohio]]. Young later died in Newcomerstown, where the local park bears his name and a [[memorial]] to the pitcher stands.
 
   
  +
In addition to wins, Young holds the MLB records for most career [[innings pitched]] (7,355), most career games started (815), and most [[complete game]]s (749). He also retired with 316 [[Loss (baseball)|losses]] the most in MLB history (the only other pitcher with more than 300 career losses was [[Pud Galvin]]). Young had 76 career shutouts, fourth most in history.
== Later life & baseball career ==
 
   
  +
In [[1999]], 88 years after his final major league appearance and 44 years after his death, [[literary editor|editors]] at ''[[The Sporting News]]'' ranked Cy Young 14th on their list of "Baseball's 100 Greatest Players". That same year, baseball fans named Young to the [[Major League Baseball All-Century Team]].
[[Image:cy_young_t205.jpg|thumb|left|''Cy Young, 1911 baseball card'']]
 
|{{MLB HoF}}
 
{{end}}
 
   
  +
== Early life ==
Young began his major league career in 1890 with the [[Cleveland Spiders]]. He allowed three hits in his debut. In [[1893 in sports|1893]], the pitching mound was placed 60 feet 6 inches from home plate.<ref>This is the current distance from home plate to the pitching mound.</ref> He was one of the few pitchers whose statistical performance did not suffer as a consequence of the move.
 
  +
Young was born in [[Harrison County, Ohio|Gilmore, Ohio]], a [[farm]]ing community located in the eastern portion of [[Ohio]]. Raised on one of these local farms, Young went by the name Dent Young in his early years.<ref name=bio>{{citeweb | title=Cy Young Biography | work=cmgworldwide.com | url=http://www.cmgworldwide.com/baseball/young/biography.htm | accessdate=2007-06-14}}</ref>
  +
Also known from time to time as "Farmer Young" and "Farmboy Young," Young stopped his [[Education|formal education]] after he completed the [[sixth grade]].
  +
<ref name=dugout>{{citeweb | title=BA Dugout | work=baseball-almanac.com | url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/dugout0e.shtml | accessdate=2007-06-23}}</ref>
   
  +
== Professional career ==
In [[1899 in baseball|1899]], the Spiders and the [[St. Louis Cardinals|St. Louis Perfectos]] essentially swapped teams by trading rosters.{{fact}} He played for St. Louis in 1899 and [[1900 in baseball|1900]], although by 1900, they had become the Cardinals.
 
  +
[[Image:Young Cy 1 MLB HOF.jpg|left|100px]]
  +
Young began his professional career in [[1889 in baseball|1889]] with the [[Canton, Ohio]] team of the [[Tri-State League]], a professional minor league. Young impressed scouts during his tryout; years later, he recalled, "I almost tore the boards off the grandstand with my fast ball."<ref> http://www.baseball-almanac.com/deaths/cy_young_obituary.shtml </ref> The [[catcher]] who [[Warming up|warmed up]] Young gave him the nickname "Cyclone" in reference to the speed of his fastball. [[Reporter]]s then shortened the name to "Cy". "Cy" became the nickname he used the rest of his life.<ref name=bl>{{cite web | title=The Ballplayers - Cy Young | work=baseballlibrary.com | url=http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=Cy_Young_1867 | accessdate=2007-06-19}}</ref>The nickname may also derive from "Cy" (as in "Cyrus") or "Si" (as in "Silas"), which like "Rube" was a colloquial and somewhat pejorative catch-all nickname for a country boy. In Young's one year with the Canton team, he won 15 games and lost 15 games.<ref name=bio/>
   
  +
Franchises in the [[National League]], the major professional sports league, wanted the best players available to them. Therefore, in [[1890 in baseball|1890]], Young signed for $500 with the [[Cleveland Spiders]], which had moved up from the [[American Association (19th century)|American Association]] to the National League the previous year.
In 1901, he left St. Louis and jumped to the newly formed [[American League]].{{fact}} He joined the [[Boston Red Sox|Boston Americans]] and spent the next seven seasons with the franchise. In his first season with the Americans, Young earned the [[Triple crown (baseball)#American League winners 2|AL Triple Crown]] for Pitchers when he lead the league with 33 wins, 158 strike outs, and a 1.62 ERA.
 
   
  +
On [[August 6]], 1890, in his first major league start, Young pitched a three-hit [[shutout#baseball|shutout]].<ref name=1890chron>{{citeweb | title=1890 Chronology | work=baseballlibrary.com | url=http://www.baseballlibrary.com/chronology/byyear.php?year=1890#August | accessdate=2007-07-21}}</ref>. While Young was on the Spiders, [[Chief Zimmer]] was his catcher more often than any other player. [[Bill James]], a noted baseball [[statistician]], estimated that Zimmer caught Young in more games than any other [[battery (baseball)|battery]] in baseball history.<ref name=abstract>The New Bill James Historical Abstract, Simon & Schuster, 2001, pgs. 410-411</ref>
In [[1903 in baseball|1903]], the Americans played the [[Pittsburgh Pirates|Pittsburg Pirates]] in the [[1903 World Series|World Series]]. Young pitched in the first game on October 1, 1903. He lost the game 7-3, but Boston won the series five games to three. Young finished the series with a 2-1 record and a 1.83 ERA.
 
   
  +
Early on, Young established himself as one of the harder throwing pitchers in the sport. In the absence of [[radar gun]]s, it is difficult to say just how hard Young actually threw. However, James wrote that Zimmer often put a piece of beefsteak inside his [[baseball glove]] to protect his catching hand from Young's fastball.<ref name=abstract/> Young continued to perform at a high level and on the last day of the 1890 season, he won both games of a doubleheader.<ref name=dugout/> By the end of his rookie season, Young was the team's top pitcher.
Young pitched a [[perfect game]] on [[May 5]], [[1904]] in Boston, against the [[Oakland Athletics|Philadelphia Athletics]]. In later years, he considered this game his greatest day in baseball.{{fact}} It was the centerpiece of a sterling pitching streak. During that streak Young set records for the most consecutive scoreless innings pitched and for the most consecutive innings without allowing a hit; the latter record still stands at twenty-four innings. He also had two other no-hitters in his career. Between 1891 and 1896, Young averaged 415 innings per season and he still holds the record for complete games with 749.
 
   
  +
In the first weeks of Young's career, [[Cap Anson]], the famous player-manager of the [[Chicago Cubs|Chicago Colts]] spotted his ability. Anson told Spiders manager [[Gus Schmelz]] "He's too green to do your club much good, but I believe if I taught him what I know, I might make a pitcher out of him in a couple of years. He's not worth it now, but I'm willing to give you $1,000 for him." Schmelz replied, "Cap, you can keep your thousand and we'll keep the rube."<ref name=quotes>{{citeweb |url=http://www.cmgworldwide.com/baseball/young/quotes.htm |title=Cy Young: Quotes |work=cmgworldwide.com}}</ref>
Young was honored on [[August 13]], [[1908 in baseball|1908]]. No American League games were played on that day and a group of All-Stars from the league's other teams gathered in Boston to play against Young and the Red Sox.<ref>{{cite web| title = Cy Young Day | work = brainyhistory.com | url=http://www.brainyhistory.com/events/1908/august_13_1908_72365.html | accessdate = 2006-11-11 }}</ref>
 
   
  +
Two years after his debut, the National League moved the [[Baseball field#Pitcher's mound|pitcher's mound]] from fifty feet (where it had been since 1881) to sixty feet and six inches.
Young spent his penultimate year with the [[Cleveland Indians|Cleveland Naps]] in [[1910 in baseball|1910]]. He split [[1911 in baseball|1911]], his final year, between the Naps and the [[Atlanta Braves|Boston Rustlers]]. In his final game, the last seven batters Young faced hit combined to hit one [[Triple (baseball)|triple]], three [[Single (baseball)|singles]] and three [[Double (baseball)|doubles]]. He retired after the season with 511 career wins. This was 147 more wins than then runner-up, [[Pud Galvin]]. Currently, [[Walter Johnson]] is second on the list with 417 wins.
 
  +
In the book ''[[The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers]]'', [[Sports journalism|sports journalist]] [[Rob Neyer]] wrote that the speed with which pitchers like Cy Young, [[Amos Rusie]], and [[Jouett Meekin]] threw was the impetus that caused the move.<ref name=guide>{{cite book | last=Neyer | first=Rob | coauthors=Bill James | title=[[The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers]] | publisher=Fireside | date=2004 | pages=496 | month=June | isbn=0-7432-6158-5 }}</ref>
   
  +
The [[1892 in baseball|1892]] regular season was a success for Young, who led the National League in wins (36), ERA (1.93), and shutouts (9). Just as many contemporary Minor League Baseball leagues operate today, the National League was using a [[split season]] format during the [[1892 in baseball|1892]] season.<ref name=1892spiders>{{citeweb | title=Of double seasons | work=findarticles.com | url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1208/is_n20_v216/ai_14655929 | accessdate=2007-06-27}}</ref> The [[Atlanta Braves#Boston|Boston Beaneaters]] won the first-half title and the Spiders won the second-half title, with a best-of-nine series determining the league champion. Despite the Spiders' second half run, the Beaneaters swept the series five games to none. Young pitched three complete games in the series but lost his only two decisions. He also threw a complete game shutout, but the game ended in a 0-0 tie.
In [[1993]], [[Northeastern University, Boston|Northeastern University]] unveiled a statue of Young outside the Cabot Center, one of its athletic complexes. The statue stands near the spot of the pitcher's mound from [[Huntington Avenue Grounds]], the home field of the Red Sox in Young's time.
 
 
In 1999, 88 years after his final major league appearance and 44 years after his death, he ranked Number 14 on ''[[The Sporting News]]''' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was elected to the [[Major League Baseball All-Century Team]], even though half of his career took place in the 19th century.
 
   
  +
In [[1895 in baseball|1895]], the Spiders faced the [[Baltimore Orioles (19th century)|Baltimore Orioles]] in the [[Temple Cup]], a precursor to the [[World Series]]. Young won three games and Cleveland won the Cup, four games to one. It was around this time that Young added what he called a "slow ball" to his pitching repertoire, to reduce stress on his arm; today, the pitch is called a [[changeup]].<ref name=dugout/>
== Career statistics==
 
=== Pitching statistics ===
 
<table border="true">
 
<tr>
 
<td>W</td>
 
<td>L</td>
 
<td>ERA</td>
 
<td>G</td>
 
<td>GS</td>
 
<td>CG</td>
 
<td>SHO</td>
 
<td>SV</td>
 
<td>IP</td>
 
<td>H</td>
 
<td>ER</td>
 
<td>HR</td>
 
<td>BB</td>
 
<td>SO</td>
 
</tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>511</td>
 
<td>316</td>
 
<td>2.63</td>
 
<td>906</td>
 
<td>815</td>
 
<td>749</td>
 
<td>76</td>
 
<td>17</td>
 
<td>7354 2/3</td>
 
<td>7,092</td>
 
<td>2,147</td>
 
<td>138</td>
 
<td>1,217</td>
 
<td>2,803</td>
 
</tr>
 
</table>
 
   
  +
In July, [[1896 in baseball|1896]], Young lost a no-hitter with two outs in the ninth inning when [[Ed Delahanty]] of the [[Oakland Athletics#Philadelphia (1901-1954)|Philadelphia Athletics]] hit a single.<ref name=1896chron>{{citeweb| title=1896 Chronology | work=baseballlibrary.com | url=http://www.baseballlibrary.com/chronology/byyear.php?year=1896#July | accessdate=2007-06-23}}</ref> On [[September 18]], [[1897 in baseball|1897]], Young pitched the first no-hitter of his career in a game against the [[Cincinnati Reds]]. Although Young did not walk a batter, the Spiders committed four [[error (baseball)|errors]] while on defense. One of the errors had originally been ruled a [[Hit (baseball)|hit]], but the Cleveland [[third baseman]] sent a note to the press box after the eighth inning, saying he had made an error, and the ruling was changed. Young later said that despite his teammate's gesture, he considered the game to be a one-hitter.<ref name=1897chron>{{citeweb| title=1897 Chronology | work=baseballlibrary.com | url=http://www.baseballlibrary.com/chronology/byyear.php?year=1897#September | accessdate=2007-06-23}}</ref>
=== Hitting statistics ===
 
   
  +
Prior to the [[1899 in baseball|1899]] season, Frank Robison, the Spiders owner, bought the [[St. Louis Cardinals|St. Louis Browns]], thus owning two clubs at the same time. The Browns were renamed the "Perfectos," and restocked with Cleveland talent. Just weeks before the season opener, most of the better Spiders players were transferred to St. Louis, including three future Hall of Famers: Young, [[Jesse Burkett]] and [[Bobby Wallace]].<ref name=perfectos>{{cite web| title=The Perfectos |work=wcnet.org |url=
{| border="1" cellpadding="2"
 
  +
http://www.wcnet.org/~dlfleitz/cleve.htm | accessdate=2007-06-23}}</ref> The roster maneuvers failed to create a powerhouse Perfectos team, as St. Louis finished fifth in both [[1899 in baseball|1899]] and [[1900 in baseball|1900]]. But the depleted Spiders lost 134 games, the most in MLB history, before folding.
|-
 
| G
 
| AB
 
| R
 
| H
 
| 2B
 
| 3B
 
| HR
 
| RBI
 
| SB
 
| CS
 
| BB
 
| SO
 
| BA
 
| OBP
 
| SLG
 
| TB
 
| SH
 
| HBP
 
|-
 
| 918
 
| 2960
 
| 325
 
| 623
 
| 87
 
| 36
 
| 18
 
| 290
 
| 29
 
| ---
 
| 81
 
| ---
 
| .210
 
| ---
 
| .281
 
| 834
 
| ---
 
| 10
 
|}
 
   
  +
Young spent two years with St. Louis, while finding his favorite catcher, [[Lou Criger]]. The two men would be teammates for a decade.<ref>http://www.answers.com/topic/cy-young-award</ref><ref>http://www.baseball-almanac.com/dugout0e.shtml</ref>
''Young predates statistics such as on-base percentage, strike-outs, sac hits and caught stealing''
 
  +
  +
In [[1901 in baseball|1901]], the rival [[American League]] declared major league status, and set about raiding National League rosters. Young left St. Louis and joined the [[American League]]'s [[Boston Red Sox#The Golden Era 1900-1919|Boston Americans]] for a $3,500 contract. Young would remain with the Boston team until [[1909 in baseball|1909]].
  +
  +
In his first year in the American League, Young was dominant. Pitching to Criger, who had also jumped to Boston, Young led the league in wins, strikeouts and ERA{{ref_label|B|b|none}}, thus earning the colloquial [[Triple crown (baseball)#American League winners 2|AL Triple Crown]] for Pitchers. That season, he also pitched the first perfect game in American League history.<ref name=bbhof>{{citeweb| title=HofF profile | work=baseballhalloffame.org | url=http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers_and_honorees/hofer_bios/young_cy.htm | accessdate=2007-06-23}}</ref>{{ref_label|A|a2|none}} Young won almost 42% of his team's games in 1901, a record which would stand for over seventy years until broken by [[Steve Carlton]]'s 27-10 record for a 59-win Phillies team.<ref name="Chronology">[http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=Cy_Young_1867&page=chronology Cy Young from the Chronology] from BaseballLibrary.com</ref>
  +
  +
In February, [[1902 in baseball|1902]], before the start of the baseball season, Young served as a pitching coach at [[Harvard University]]. The sixth-grade graduate instructing Harvard students made great copy for the delighted Boston newspapers.<ref name=dugout/>
  +
  +
In [[1903 in baseball|1903]] the Boston Americans played the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] in the first modern [[World Series]]. Young, who started [[1903 World Series#Game 1|Game One]], threw the first pitch in World Series history. But the Pirates scored four runs in the first inning and Young lost the game. Young performed better in subsequent games, winning his next two starts. He also drove in three runs in [[1903 World Series#Game 5|Game Five]]. Young finished the series with a 2-1 record and a 1.85 ERA in four appearances, and the Americans defeat the Pirates five games to three games.
  +
  +
After one-hitting Boston on [[May 2]], [[1904]], [[Oakland Athletics|Philadelphia Athletics]] star pitcher [[Rube Waddell]] taunted Young to face him so that he could repeat his performance against Boston's ace. The matchup occurred three days later, but the results were not what Waddell had hoped for.
  +
  +
Three days later, Young pitched a [[perfect game]] against Waddell and the Athletics.{{ref_label|A|a3|none}} It was the first perfect game in [[American League]] history. <ref>[http://www.baseball-almanac.com/boxscore/05051904.shtml Cy Young Perfect Game Box Score], ''baseball-almanac.com''</ref> Waddell was the 27th and last batter, and when he flied out, Young shouted, "How do you like that, you hayseed?" <ref>http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/Y/Young_Cy.stm</ref>
  +
  +
Waddell had picked an inauspicious time to issue his challenge. Young's perfect game was the centerpiece of a sterling pitching streak. Young set major league records for both the most consecutive scoreless innings pitched, and for the most consecutive innings without allowing a hit; the latter record still stands at 24.3 innings, or 73 hitless batters. Even after allowing a hit, Young's scoreless streak reached 45 shutout innings, a record not broken until 1968.<ref name="Chronology" />
  +
  +
Before Young, only two pitchers had thrown perfect games.{{ref_label|A|a3|none}} During the [[1880 in baseball|1880]] season, [[Lee Richmond]] and [[John Ward]] pitched perfect games within five days of each other. However, the circumstances for Richmond and Ward were very different from Young's. In 1880, the [[Baseball field#Pitcher's mound|mound]] was 15 feet closer to the batter, walks required eight [[Strike zone|balls]], and pitchers were obliged to throw side-armed.<ref name=perfect />
  +
  +
One year later, on [[July 4]], [[1905 in baseball|1905]], Rube Waddell got a measure of revenge when he beat Young and the Americans 4-2 in a 20-inning matchup. Young pitched 13 consecutive scoreless innings before he gave up a pair of unearned runs in the final inning. Young did not walk a batter, and was later quoted: "For my part, I think it was the greatest game of ball I ever took part in."<ref name=waddell>{{citeweb| title=Waddell vs Young | work=philadelphiaathletics.org | url=http://www.philadelphiaathletics.org/history/rubevscy.htm | accessdate=2007-06-23}}</ref> In 1907, Young and Waddell faced off in a scoreless 13-inning tie.
  +
  +
On [[June 30]], [[1908]], Young pitched the third no-hitter of his career. Three months past his 41st birthday, Cy Young was the oldest pitcher to record a no-hitter, a record which would stand 82 years until 43-year-old Nolan Ryan surpassed the feat. Only a leadoff walk kept Young from his second perfect game; after that runner was caught stealing, no other batter reached base. Young was now the second-oldest player in either league, but was still one of the AL's elite pitchers. One month before his no-hitter, he'd allowed just one single while facing 28 batters.<ref name="Chronology"/>
  +
  +
On [[August 13]], [[1908 in baseball|1908]], the league celebrated "Cy Young Day." No American League games were played on that day, and a group of All-Stars from the league's other teams gathered in Boston to play against Young and the Red Sox.<ref>{{cite web| title = Cy Young Day | work = brainyhistory.com | url=http://www.brainyhistory.com/events/1908/august_13_1908_72365.html | accessdate = 2006-11-11 }}</ref>
  +
  +
Young was traded back to Cleveland before the 1909 season, this time to the [[Cleveland Indians|Cleveland Naps]] of the American League. He split [[1911 in baseball|1911]], his final year, between the Naps and the [[Atlanta Braves|Boston Rustlers]].
  +
  +
On [[September 22]], [[1911]], Young shut out the Pittsburgh Pirates and their pitcher [[Babe Adams]] 1-0, for his last career victory. But two weeks later, Young's 906th and final game was an unsatisfying coda: the last eight batters of Young's career combined to hit a [[Triple (baseball)|triple]], four [[Single (baseball)|singles]] and three [[Double (baseball)|doubles]].
  +
  +
==Young's legacy==
  +
[[Image:CyYoung photo and painting1.JPG|thumb|left|300px|A photo of Young taken in 1908 was the source for a painting that was displayed in the Baseball Hall of Fame.]]
  +
Young retired after the 1911 season with 511 career wins. His win total set the record for most career wins by a pitcher. At the time, [[Pud Galvin]] had the second most career wins with 364. [[Walter Johnson]], then in his fourth season, finished his career with 417 wins and is now second on the list. However, Johnson broke Young's career record for strikeouts.
  +
  +
Cy Young's career spanned several decades and is seen as a bridge from baseball's earliest days to its modern era; he pitched against stars such as [[Cap Anson]], already an established player when the [[National League]] was first formed in 1876, as well as against [[Eddie Collins]], who played until 1930. When Young's career began, pitchers delivered the baseball underhand and fouls were not counted as strikes. The pitcher's mound was not moved back to its present position of 60 feet, six inches until Young's fourth season; he did not wear a glove until his sixth.<ref name=dugout/>
  +
  +
Young led his leagues in wins five times (1892, 1895, and 1901-1903), finishing second twice. His career high was 36 in 1892. He had fifteen seasons with twenty or more wins, two more than the runners-up, [[Christy Mathewson]] and [[Warren Spahn]]. Young won two [[ERA]] titles during his career, in 1892 (1.93) and in 1901 (1.62), and was three times the runner-up. Young's earned run average was below 2.00 six times, but this was not uncommon during the [[dead ball era]]. Although Young threw over 400 innings in each of his first four full seasons, he did not lead his league until 1902. He had 40 or more complete games nine times. Young also led his league in strikeouts twice (with 140 in 1896, and 158 in 1901), and in shutouts nine times.
  +
  +
Particularly after his fastball slowed, Young's success relied upon his great control. Young said:
  +
:"Some may have thought it was essential to know how to curve a ball before anything else. Experience, to my mind, teaches to the contrary. Any young player who has good control will become a successful curve pitcher long before the pitcher who is endeavoring to master both curves and control at the same time. The curve is merely an accessory to control."<ref name=quotes />
  +
  +
For fourteen consecutive years, from 1893 through 1906, Young led his league in fewest walks per nine innings thirteen times, and finished second the other season. Only twice in his 22-year career did Young finish lower than 6th in the category. Although the [[WHIP]] ratio was not calculated until well after Young's death, Young was the retroactive league leader in this category seven times, and was second or third another seven times.
  +
  +
In addition to his peerless control, Young was also a workhorse who avoided injury. For nineteen consecutive years, from 1891 through 1909, Cy Young was in his leagues' top ten for innings pitched; in fourteen of the seasons, he was in the top five. Not until 1900, a decade into his career, did Young pitch two consecutive incomplete games.<ref name=1897chron />
  +
  +
By habit, Young restricted his practice throws in [[spring training]]. "I figured the old arm had just so many throws in it," said Young, "and there wasn't any use wasting them." Young once described his approach before a game:
  +
:"I never warmed up ten, fifteen minutes before a game like most pitchers do. I'd loosen up, three, four minutes. Five at the outside. And I never went to the bullpen. Oh, I'd relieve all right, plenty of times, but I went right from the bench to the box, and I'd take a few warm-up pitches and be ready. Then I had good control. I aimed to make the batter hit the ball, and I threw as few pitches as possible. That's why I was able to work every other day."<ref name=quotes />
  +
  +
Young also credited his offseason farming chores, including wood chopping, with keeping his pitching strength in good shape until he was 44.<ref>http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=cy_young_1867</ref> Even at the time of his retirement, his arm was healthy, but Young had gained weight and was unable to field his position anymore.<ref>http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=cy_young_1867</ref> In three of his last four years, he was the oldest player in the league.
  +
  +
The first Cy Young Award was voted on in 1956, and was given to Brooklyn's [[Don Newcombe]]. Originally, it was a single award covering the whole of baseball. The honor was divided into two Cy Young Awards in 1967, one for each league.
  +
  +
Cy Young is tied with [[Roger Clemens]] for the most career wins by a Boston Red Sox pitcher. They each won 192 games while with the franchise.<ref name=redsoxleaders>{{citeweb| title=Boston Red Sox All-Time Leaders | work=mlb.com | url=http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/stats/historical/player_stats.jsp?c_id=bos&baseballScope=BOS&teamPosCode=all&statType=2&sitSplit=&venueID=&timeFrame=3&timeSubFrame2=0&Submit=Submit&timeSubFrame=0&&sortByStat=W | accessdate=2007-06-25}}</ref>
  +
  +
Young was saluted in the poem "Lineup for Yesterday" by [[Ogden Nash]]:<br/>
  +
Y is for Young, <br/>
  +
The magnificent Cy; <br/>
  +
People batted against him, <br/>
  +
But I never knew why.
   
 
== See also ==
 
== See also ==
 
* [[Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame]]
 
* [[Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame]]
  +
* [[List of MLB individual streaks]]
* [[Top 100 winning pitchers of all time]]
 
  +
* [[300 win club]]
*[[List of MLB individual streaks]]
 
  +
* [[List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins]]
  +
* [[List of Major League Baseball ERA champions]]
  +
* [[Triple crown (baseball)#American League winners 2|Triple Crown]]
  +
* [[List of Major League Baseball saves champions]]
  +
* [[List of Major League Baseball strikeout champions]]
  +
* [[List of Major League Baseball wins champions]]
  +
* [[MLB All-Time Hit Batsmen List]]
  +
* [[Top 100 strikeout pitchers of all time]]
  +
* [[MLB all-time leaders in home runs by pitchers]]
  +
* [[Major League Baseball titles leaders]]
  +
* [[Perfect Game|Pitchers who have thrown a perfect game]]
  +
* [[List of Major League Baseball no-hitters]]
  +
* [[Boston Red Sox all-time roster]]
  +
  +
== Notes ==
  +
* '''a.'''{{note_label|A|a|none}}{{ref_label|A|a2|none}}{{ref_label|A|a3|none}} Although the phrase "perfect game" appeared in record books as early as 1922,<ref>{{cite book
  +
|last = Lanigan
  +
|first = Ernest J.
  +
|title = Baseball Cyclopedia
  +
|publisher = Baseball Magazine Co.
  +
|date = 1922
  +
|pages = 83-84
  +
|url=http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v1=2&ti=1,2&SEQ=20070625010745&Search%5FArg=Baseball%20cyclopedia&Search%5FCode=TALL&CNT=25&PID=28887&SID=1
  +
}}</ref> Major League Baseball did not officially define a "perfect game" until 1991, after Young's death. Nonetheless, Young's 1955 obituary also used the phrase.
  +
::''"An official perfect game occurs when a pitcher (or pitchers) retires each batter on the opposing team during the entire course of a game, which consists of at least nine innings. In a perfect game, no batter reaches any base during the course of the game."'' <ref>{{cite web
  +
| url = http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/about_mlb/rules_regulations.jsp
  +
| title = The Official Site of Major League Baseball
  +
| work = Official Info: Rules, regulations and statistics
  +
}}</ref>
  +
* '''b.'''{{note_label|B|b|none}}Although not an actual award, many baseball fans and experts call a pitcher who leads his league in wins, strikeouts, and ERA the [[Triple crown (baseball)|Triple Crown]] winner.
   
 
== References ==
 
== References ==
  +
{{reflist}}
<references/>
 
   
 
== External links ==
 
== External links ==
  +
{{wikiquote}}
*[http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers_and_honorees/hofer_bios/young_cy.htm Baseball Hall of Fame]
 
*{{baseball-reference|id=y/youngcy01}}
+
* {{baseball-reference|id=y/youngcy01}}
  +
* {{baseball-reference manager|id=youngcy01}}
  +
* {{bbhof|124692}}
  +
* [http://www.cmgworldwide.com/baseball/young/ cmgworldwide.com] official homepage
  +
* [http://baseballevolution.com/halloffame/youngc.html BaseballEvolution.com] Profile Page at Baseball Evolution
   
  +
<!--Navigation boxes--><br/>
{{start box}}
 
  +
{{s-start}}
{{succession box | before = [[Monte Ward]] | title = [[Perfect game|Perfect game pitcher]] | years = May 5, 1904 | after = [[Addie Joss]]}}
 
  +
{{s-bus}}
{{succession box|title=[[Boston Red Sox|Boston Red Sox manager]]|before=[[Chick Stahl]]|years=1907| after=[[George Huff (baseball)|George Huff]]}}
 
{{end box}}
+
{{succession box
  +
| title = [[Boston Red Sox|Boston Red Sox manager]]
{{MLBATT}}
 
  +
| years = 1907
  +
| before = [[Chick Stahl]]
  +
| after = [[George Huff (baseball)|George Huff]]
  +
}}
  +
{{s-ach|ach}}
  +
{{succession box
  +
| title = [[List of Major League Baseball ERA champions|National League ERA Champion]]
  +
| years = 1892
  +
| before = [[John Ewing (baseball player)|John Ewing]]
  +
| after = [[Ted Breitenstein]]
  +
}}
  +
{{succession box
  +
| title = [[List of Major League Baseball strikeout champions|National League Strikeout Champion]]
  +
| years = 1896
  +
| before = [[Amos Rusie]]
  +
| after = [[Doc McJames]]
  +
}}
  +
{{succession box
  +
| title = [[American League]] [[Triple crown (baseball)|Pitching Triple Crown]]
  +
| years = 1901
  +
| before = ''First Triple Crown Winner''
  +
| after = [[Rube Waddell]]
  +
}}
  +
{{succession box
  +
| title = [[List of Major League Baseball ERA champions|American League ERA Champion]]
  +
| years = 1901
  +
| before = ''First Champion''
  +
| after = [[Ed Siever]]
  +
}}
  +
{{succession box
  +
| title = [[List of Major League Baseball strikeout champions|American League Strikeout Champion]]
  +
| years = 1901
  +
| before = ''First Champion''
  +
| after = [[Rube Waddell]]
  +
}}
  +
{{s-ach|rec}}
  +
{{succession box
  +
| title = [[Perfect game|Perfect game pitcher]]
  +
| years = May 5, 1904
  +
| before = [[John Montgomery Ward]]
  +
| after = [[Addie Joss]]
  +
}}
  +
{{s-end}}
  +
{{MLBACT}}
  +
{{300 win club}}
  +
{{Boston Red Sox managers|width=100%}}
  +
{{Atlanta Braves|width=100%}}
   
[[Category:Baseball Hall of Fame|Young, Cy]]
+
{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Cy}}
[[Category:Major league pitchers|Young, Cy]]
+
[[Category:1867 births]]
[[Category:19th century baseball players|Young, Cy]]
+
[[Category:1955 deaths]]
[[Category:Boston Americans players|Young, Cy]]
+
[[Category:19th century baseball players]]
[[Category:Boston Somersets players|Young, Cy]]
+
[[Category:300 win club]]
[[Category:Boston Pilgrims players|Young, Cy]]
+
[[Category:American League ERA champions]]
[[Category:Boston Red Sox players|Young, Cy]]
+
[[Category:American League Pitching Triple Crown winners]]
[[Category:Boston Rustlers players|Young, Cy]]
+
[[Category:American League strikeout champions]]
[[Category:Cleveland Naps players|Young, Cy]]
+
[[Category:Hall of Fame]]
[[Category:Cleveland Spiders players|Young, Cy]]
+
[[Category:Player-managers]]
[[Category:St. Louis Cardinals players|Young, Cy]]
+
[[Category:Boston Americans players]]
[[Category:Major league players from Ohio|Young, Cy]]
+
[[Category:Boston Somersets players]]
[[Category:300 win club|Young, Cy]]
+
[[Category:Boston Pilgrims players]]
  +
[[Category:Boston Red Sox managers]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball pitchers who have pitched a perfect game|Young, Cy]]
 
  +
[[Category:Boston Red Sox players]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball pitchers who have pitched a no-hitter|Young, Cy]]
 
[[Category:1903 Boston Red Sox World Series Championship Team|Young, Cy]]
+
[[Category:Boston Rustlers players]]
[[Category:Boston Red Sox managers|Young, Cy]]
+
[[Category:Cleveland Naps players]]
[[Category:Player-managers|Young, Cy]]
+
[[Category:Cleveland Spiders players]]
[[Category:1867 births|Young, Cy]]
+
[[Category:1903 Boston Americans World Series Championship Team]]
  +
[[Category:Major League Baseball pitchers who have pitched a perfect game]]
[[Category:1955 deaths|Young, Cy]]
 
  +
[[Category:Major League Baseball pitchers who have pitched a no-hitter]]
[[Category:Players|Young, Cy]]
 
  +
[[Category:Major league players from Ohio]]
  +
[[Category:Major league pitchers]]
  +
[[Category:National League ERA champions]]
  +
[[Category:National League strikeout champions]]
  +
[[Category:Players]]

Revision as of 21:31, 28 November 2008

Cy Young
Cy Young
Pitcher
Batted: Right Threw: Right
Born: March 29, 1867
MLB Debut
August 6, 1890 for the Cleveland Spiders
Final game
October 11, 1911 for the Boston Rustlers
Career Statistics
Win-Loss     511-316
E.R.A.     2.63
Strike Outs     2798
Teams

Cleveland Spiders (1890-1898)
St. Louis Perfectos (1899-1900)
Boston Americans/Red Sox (1901-1908)
Cleveland Naps (1909-1911)
Boston Rustlers (1911)

Career Highlights and Awards
  • Won the 1901 AL Triple Crown for Pitchers.
  • 1st All-Time wins (511)
  • 1st All-Time IP (7354 2/3)
  • 1st All-Time Games Started (815)
  • 1st All-Time Complete Games (749)
  • Boston Red Sox Career Leader in WHIP (.97), Walks/9IP (.99) and Complete Games (275)
For the Major League Baseball award, see Cy Young Award.

Denton True "Cy" Young (March 29, 1867November 4, 1955) was an American baseball player who pitched for five different major league teams from 1890 to 1911. He established numerous professional pitching records during his 22-year career in the majors, some of which have stood for a century. Young retired with 511 career wins, the most in MLB history and 94 more wins than Walter Johnson, who is second on the list.

In honor of Young's contributions to Major League Baseball, MLB created the Cy Young Award, an annual award given to the pitcher voted the most effective in each of the two leagues. The Baseball Hall of Fame elected Young in 1937 in the 2nd election, along with Nap Lajoie and Tris Speaker. During his professional career, Young won at least 30 games in a season five times, with ten other seasons of 20+ wins. He also pitched three no-hitters, including the first perfect game of baseball's "modern era."[1][a]

In addition to wins, Young holds the MLB records for most career innings pitched (7,355), most career games started (815), and most complete games (749). He also retired with 316 losses the most in MLB history (the only other pitcher with more than 300 career losses was Pud Galvin). Young had 76 career shutouts, fourth most in history.

In 1999, 88 years after his final major league appearance and 44 years after his death, editors at The Sporting News ranked Cy Young 14th on their list of "Baseball's 100 Greatest Players". That same year, baseball fans named Young to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

Early life

Young was born in Gilmore, Ohio, a farming community located in the eastern portion of Ohio. Raised on one of these local farms, Young went by the name Dent Young in his early years.[2] Also known from time to time as "Farmer Young" and "Farmboy Young," Young stopped his formal education after he completed the sixth grade. [3]

Professional career

Young began his professional career in 1889 with the Canton, Ohio team of the Tri-State League, a professional minor league. Young impressed scouts during his tryout; years later, he recalled, "I almost tore the boards off the grandstand with my fast ball."[4] The catcher who warmed up Young gave him the nickname "Cyclone" in reference to the speed of his fastball. Reporters then shortened the name to "Cy". "Cy" became the nickname he used the rest of his life.[5]The nickname may also derive from "Cy" (as in "Cyrus") or "Si" (as in "Silas"), which like "Rube" was a colloquial and somewhat pejorative catch-all nickname for a country boy. In Young's one year with the Canton team, he won 15 games and lost 15 games.[2]

Franchises in the National League, the major professional sports league, wanted the best players available to them. Therefore, in 1890, Young signed for $500 with the Cleveland Spiders, which had moved up from the American Association to the National League the previous year.

On August 6, 1890, in his first major league start, Young pitched a three-hit shutout.[6]. While Young was on the Spiders, Chief Zimmer was his catcher more often than any other player. Bill James, a noted baseball statistician, estimated that Zimmer caught Young in more games than any other battery in baseball history.[7]

Early on, Young established himself as one of the harder throwing pitchers in the sport. In the absence of radar guns, it is difficult to say just how hard Young actually threw. However, James wrote that Zimmer often put a piece of beefsteak inside his baseball glove to protect his catching hand from Young's fastball.[7] Young continued to perform at a high level and on the last day of the 1890 season, he won both games of a doubleheader.[3] By the end of his rookie season, Young was the team's top pitcher.

In the first weeks of Young's career, Cap Anson, the famous player-manager of the Chicago Colts spotted his ability. Anson told Spiders manager Gus Schmelz "He's too green to do your club much good, but I believe if I taught him what I know, I might make a pitcher out of him in a couple of years. He's not worth it now, but I'm willing to give you $1,000 for him." Schmelz replied, "Cap, you can keep your thousand and we'll keep the rube."[8]

Two years after his debut, the National League moved the pitcher's mound from fifty feet (where it had been since 1881) to sixty feet and six inches. In the book The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers, sports journalist Rob Neyer wrote that the speed with which pitchers like Cy Young, Amos Rusie, and Jouett Meekin threw was the impetus that caused the move.[9]

The 1892 regular season was a success for Young, who led the National League in wins (36), ERA (1.93), and shutouts (9). Just as many contemporary Minor League Baseball leagues operate today, the National League was using a split season format during the 1892 season.[10] The Boston Beaneaters won the first-half title and the Spiders won the second-half title, with a best-of-nine series determining the league champion. Despite the Spiders' second half run, the Beaneaters swept the series five games to none. Young pitched three complete games in the series but lost his only two decisions. He also threw a complete game shutout, but the game ended in a 0-0 tie.

In 1895, the Spiders faced the Baltimore Orioles in the Temple Cup, a precursor to the World Series. Young won three games and Cleveland won the Cup, four games to one. It was around this time that Young added what he called a "slow ball" to his pitching repertoire, to reduce stress on his arm; today, the pitch is called a changeup.[3]

In July, 1896, Young lost a no-hitter with two outs in the ninth inning when Ed Delahanty of the Philadelphia Athletics hit a single.[11] On September 18, 1897, Young pitched the first no-hitter of his career in a game against the Cincinnati Reds. Although Young did not walk a batter, the Spiders committed four errors while on defense. One of the errors had originally been ruled a hit, but the Cleveland third baseman sent a note to the press box after the eighth inning, saying he had made an error, and the ruling was changed. Young later said that despite his teammate's gesture, he considered the game to be a one-hitter.[12]

Prior to the 1899 season, Frank Robison, the Spiders owner, bought the St. Louis Browns, thus owning two clubs at the same time. The Browns were renamed the "Perfectos," and restocked with Cleveland talent. Just weeks before the season opener, most of the better Spiders players were transferred to St. Louis, including three future Hall of Famers: Young, Jesse Burkett and Bobby Wallace.[13] The roster maneuvers failed to create a powerhouse Perfectos team, as St. Louis finished fifth in both 1899 and 1900. But the depleted Spiders lost 134 games, the most in MLB history, before folding.

Young spent two years with St. Louis, while finding his favorite catcher, Lou Criger. The two men would be teammates for a decade.[14][15]

In 1901, the rival American League declared major league status, and set about raiding National League rosters. Young left St. Louis and joined the American League's Boston Americans for a $3,500 contract. Young would remain with the Boston team until 1909.

In his first year in the American League, Young was dominant. Pitching to Criger, who had also jumped to Boston, Young led the league in wins, strikeouts and ERA[b], thus earning the colloquial AL Triple Crown for Pitchers. That season, he also pitched the first perfect game in American League history.[16][a2] Young won almost 42% of his team's games in 1901, a record which would stand for over seventy years until broken by Steve Carlton's 27-10 record for a 59-win Phillies team.[17]

In February, 1902, before the start of the baseball season, Young served as a pitching coach at Harvard University. The sixth-grade graduate instructing Harvard students made great copy for the delighted Boston newspapers.[3]

In 1903 the Boston Americans played the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first modern World Series. Young, who started Game One, threw the first pitch in World Series history. But the Pirates scored four runs in the first inning and Young lost the game. Young performed better in subsequent games, winning his next two starts. He also drove in three runs in Game Five. Young finished the series with a 2-1 record and a 1.85 ERA in four appearances, and the Americans defeat the Pirates five games to three games.

After one-hitting Boston on May 2, 1904, Philadelphia Athletics star pitcher Rube Waddell taunted Young to face him so that he could repeat his performance against Boston's ace. The matchup occurred three days later, but the results were not what Waddell had hoped for.

Three days later, Young pitched a perfect game against Waddell and the Athletics.[a3] It was the first perfect game in American League history. [18] Waddell was the 27th and last batter, and when he flied out, Young shouted, "How do you like that, you hayseed?" [19]

Waddell had picked an inauspicious time to issue his challenge. Young's perfect game was the centerpiece of a sterling pitching streak. Young set major league records for both the most consecutive scoreless innings pitched, and for the most consecutive innings without allowing a hit; the latter record still stands at 24.3 innings, or 73 hitless batters. Even after allowing a hit, Young's scoreless streak reached 45 shutout innings, a record not broken until 1968.[17]

Before Young, only two pitchers had thrown perfect games.[a3] During the 1880 season, Lee Richmond and John Ward pitched perfect games within five days of each other. However, the circumstances for Richmond and Ward were very different from Young's. In 1880, the mound was 15 feet closer to the batter, walks required eight balls, and pitchers were obliged to throw side-armed.[1]

One year later, on July 4, 1905, Rube Waddell got a measure of revenge when he beat Young and the Americans 4-2 in a 20-inning matchup. Young pitched 13 consecutive scoreless innings before he gave up a pair of unearned runs in the final inning. Young did not walk a batter, and was later quoted: "For my part, I think it was the greatest game of ball I ever took part in."[20] In 1907, Young and Waddell faced off in a scoreless 13-inning tie.

On June 30, 1908, Young pitched the third no-hitter of his career. Three months past his 41st birthday, Cy Young was the oldest pitcher to record a no-hitter, a record which would stand 82 years until 43-year-old Nolan Ryan surpassed the feat. Only a leadoff walk kept Young from his second perfect game; after that runner was caught stealing, no other batter reached base. Young was now the second-oldest player in either league, but was still one of the AL's elite pitchers. One month before his no-hitter, he'd allowed just one single while facing 28 batters.[17]

On August 13, 1908, the league celebrated "Cy Young Day." No American League games were played on that day, and a group of All-Stars from the league's other teams gathered in Boston to play against Young and the Red Sox.[21]

Young was traded back to Cleveland before the 1909 season, this time to the Cleveland Naps of the American League. He split 1911, his final year, between the Naps and the Boston Rustlers.

On September 22, 1911, Young shut out the Pittsburgh Pirates and their pitcher Babe Adams 1-0, for his last career victory. But two weeks later, Young's 906th and final game was an unsatisfying coda: the last eight batters of Young's career combined to hit a triple, four singles and three doubles.

Young's legacy

File:CyYoung photo and painting1.JPG

A photo of Young taken in 1908 was the source for a painting that was displayed in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Young retired after the 1911 season with 511 career wins. His win total set the record for most career wins by a pitcher. At the time, Pud Galvin had the second most career wins with 364. Walter Johnson, then in his fourth season, finished his career with 417 wins and is now second on the list. However, Johnson broke Young's career record for strikeouts.

Cy Young's career spanned several decades and is seen as a bridge from baseball's earliest days to its modern era; he pitched against stars such as Cap Anson, already an established player when the National League was first formed in 1876, as well as against Eddie Collins, who played until 1930. When Young's career began, pitchers delivered the baseball underhand and fouls were not counted as strikes. The pitcher's mound was not moved back to its present position of 60 feet, six inches until Young's fourth season; he did not wear a glove until his sixth.[3]

Young led his leagues in wins five times (1892, 1895, and 1901-1903), finishing second twice. His career high was 36 in 1892. He had fifteen seasons with twenty or more wins, two more than the runners-up, Christy Mathewson and Warren Spahn. Young won two ERA titles during his career, in 1892 (1.93) and in 1901 (1.62), and was three times the runner-up. Young's earned run average was below 2.00 six times, but this was not uncommon during the dead ball era. Although Young threw over 400 innings in each of his first four full seasons, he did not lead his league until 1902. He had 40 or more complete games nine times. Young also led his league in strikeouts twice (with 140 in 1896, and 158 in 1901), and in shutouts nine times.

Particularly after his fastball slowed, Young's success relied upon his great control. Young said:

"Some may have thought it was essential to know how to curve a ball before anything else. Experience, to my mind, teaches to the contrary. Any young player who has good control will become a successful curve pitcher long before the pitcher who is endeavoring to master both curves and control at the same time. The curve is merely an accessory to control."[8]

For fourteen consecutive years, from 1893 through 1906, Young led his league in fewest walks per nine innings thirteen times, and finished second the other season. Only twice in his 22-year career did Young finish lower than 6th in the category. Although the WHIP ratio was not calculated until well after Young's death, Young was the retroactive league leader in this category seven times, and was second or third another seven times.

In addition to his peerless control, Young was also a workhorse who avoided injury. For nineteen consecutive years, from 1891 through 1909, Cy Young was in his leagues' top ten for innings pitched; in fourteen of the seasons, he was in the top five. Not until 1900, a decade into his career, did Young pitch two consecutive incomplete games.[12]

By habit, Young restricted his practice throws in spring training. "I figured the old arm had just so many throws in it," said Young, "and there wasn't any use wasting them." Young once described his approach before a game:

"I never warmed up ten, fifteen minutes before a game like most pitchers do. I'd loosen up, three, four minutes. Five at the outside. And I never went to the bullpen. Oh, I'd relieve all right, plenty of times, but I went right from the bench to the box, and I'd take a few warm-up pitches and be ready. Then I had good control. I aimed to make the batter hit the ball, and I threw as few pitches as possible. That's why I was able to work every other day."[8]

Young also credited his offseason farming chores, including wood chopping, with keeping his pitching strength in good shape until he was 44.[22] Even at the time of his retirement, his arm was healthy, but Young had gained weight and was unable to field his position anymore.[23] In three of his last four years, he was the oldest player in the league.

The first Cy Young Award was voted on in 1956, and was given to Brooklyn's Don Newcombe. Originally, it was a single award covering the whole of baseball. The honor was divided into two Cy Young Awards in 1967, one for each league.

Cy Young is tied with Roger Clemens for the most career wins by a Boston Red Sox pitcher. They each won 192 games while with the franchise.[24]

Young was saluted in the poem "Lineup for Yesterday" by Ogden Nash:
Y is for Young,
The magnificent Cy;
People batted against him,
But I never knew why.

See also

Notes

  • a.Template:Note label[a2][a3] Although the phrase "perfect game" appeared in record books as early as 1922,[25] Major League Baseball did not officially define a "perfect game" until 1991, after Young's death. Nonetheless, Young's 1955 obituary also used the phrase.
"An official perfect game occurs when a pitcher (or pitchers) retires each batter on the opposing team during the entire course of a game, which consists of at least nine innings. In a perfect game, no batter reaches any base during the course of the game." [26]
  • b.Template:Note labelAlthough not an actual award, many baseball fans and experts call a pitcher who leads his league in wins, strikeouts, and ERA the Triple Crown winner.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Cy Young's Perfect Game". columbia.edu.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Cy Young Biography". cmgworldwide.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-14.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "BA Dugout". baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-23.
  4. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/deaths/cy_young_obituary.shtml
  5. The Ballplayers - Cy Young. baseballlibrary.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-19.
  6. "1890 Chronology". baseballlibrary.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-21.
  7. 7.0 7.1 The New Bill James Historical Abstract, Simon & Schuster, 2001, pgs. 410-411
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Cy Young: Quotes". cmgworldwide.com.
  9. Neyer, Rob; Bill James (2004). The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers. Fireside, 496.
  10. "Of double seasons". findarticles.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-27.
  11. "1896 Chronology". baseballlibrary.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-23.
  12. 12.0 12.1 "1897 Chronology". baseballlibrary.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-23.
  13. The Perfectos. wcnet.org. Retrieved on 2007-06-23.
  14. http://www.answers.com/topic/cy-young-award
  15. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/dugout0e.shtml
  16. "HofF profile". baseballhalloffame.org. Retrieved on 2007-06-23.
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 Cy Young from the Chronology from BaseballLibrary.com
  18. Cy Young Perfect Game Box Score, baseball-almanac.com
  19. http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/Y/Young_Cy.stm
  20. "Waddell vs Young". philadelphiaathletics.org. Retrieved on 2007-06-23.
  21. Cy Young Day. brainyhistory.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-11.
  22. http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=cy_young_1867
  23. http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=cy_young_1867
  24. "Boston Red Sox All-Time Leaders". mlb.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-25.
  25. Lanigan, Ernest J. (1922). Baseball Cyclopedia. Baseball Magazine Co., 83-84.
  26. The Official Site of Major League Baseball. Official Info: Rules, regulations and statistics.

External links

Template:Wikiquote


Template:S-busTemplate:S-end
Preceded by:
Chick Stahl
Boston Red Sox manager
1907
Succeeded by:
George Huff
Achievements
Preceded by:
John Ewing
National League ERA Champion
1892
Succeeded by:
Ted Breitenstein
Preceded by:
Amos Rusie
National League Strikeout Champion
1896
Succeeded by:
Doc McJames
Preceded by:
First Triple Crown Winner
American League Pitching Triple Crown
1901
Succeeded by:
Rube Waddell
Preceded by:
First Champion
American League ERA Champion
1901
Succeeded by:
Ed Siever
Preceded by:
First Champion
American League Strikeout Champion
1901
Succeeded by:
Rube Waddell
Records
Preceded by:
John Montgomery Ward
Perfect game pitcher
May 5, 1904
Succeeded by:
Addie Joss
Major League Baseball | MLB All-Century Team

Nolan Ryan | Sandy Koufax | Cy Young | Roger Clemens | Bob Gibson | Walter Johnson | Warren Spahn | Christy Mathewson | Lefty Grove
Johnny Bench | Yogi Berra | Lou Gehrig | Mark McGwire | Jackie Robinson | Rogers Hornsby | Mike Schmidt | Brooks Robinson | Cal Ripken, Jr. | Ernie Banks | Honus Wagner
Babe Ruth | Hank Aaron | Ted Williams | Willie Mays | Joe DiMaggio | Mickey Mantle | Ty Cobb | Ken Griffey, Jr. | Pete Rose | Stan Musial Template:300 win club Template:Boston Red Sox managers Template:Atlanta Braves