Former MLB pitcher Anthony Young has died due to what was an inoperable brain tumor. The Mets made the announcement on Tuesday afternoon. Earlier in the day, former teammate Lenny Harris tweeted that Young was in a coma.
Young was most known for his time with the Mets, specifically a dubious streak. He arrived on the scene in 1991, pitching to a 3.10 ERA (119 ERA+) at age 25 in 1991. During the course of the following two seasons, Young would lose an MLB-record 27 consecutive decisions. Of course, pitcher W-L isn't always the best measure of a pitcher's success, and Young took his fair share of tough-luck losses or no-decisions. He actually had a stretch of 20 consecutive scoreless relief appearances in 1992, during which he had nine saves and two holds without a blown save. He just never picked up a win.
In 1993, Young finished with a 1-16 record, but that came with a 3.77 ERA. His 107 ERA+ means he was above average in the run prevention department.
After three seasons with the Mets, Young spent two with the Cubs and one with the Astros before retiring.
In looking at his whole career, Young was 15-48 but his 3.89 ERA comes to a 100 ERA+, meaning he was exactly league average at run prevention, adjusted for ballpark. Again, he just had terrible luck when it came to the wins and losses, much of that attributed to teammates not providing run support. Some was just the wrong-place-wrong-time type stuff of being a reliever.
We bring this up because Young never really complained or threatened to walk away from the game during all the reporting of his "losing streak." He just kept taking the ball, regardless of whether he was a starter or reliever. In fact, he was known at the time for having a great sense of humor about it.
He's a remarkable case in perseverance. That's how he should be remembered from a baseball perspective.
