Young, Cy

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:''For the [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]] [[animator]], see [[Cy Young (animator)]]''.
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{{epname|Young, Cy}}  
:''For the [[Major League Baseball]] award named the 'Cy Young Award', see [[Cy Young Award]].''
 
{{Mlbretired|
 
bgcolor1=#ba313c|
 
bgcolor2=#0d2b56|
 
textcolor1=white|
 
textcolor2=white|
 
name=Cy Young|
 
image=Cy_young.jpg|
 
position=[[Pitcher]]|
 
number=n/a|
 
bats=Right|
 
throws=Right|
 
debutdate=August 6|
 
debutyear=[[1890 in baseball|1890]]|
 
debutteam=[[Cleveland Spiders]]|
 
finaldate=October 11|
 
finalyear=[[1911 in baseball|1911]]|
 
finalteam=[[Atlanta Braves|Boston Rustlers]]|
 
statyear=Career|
 
stat1label=[[Wins]]|
 
stat1value=511|
 
stat2label=[[Earned run average|E.R.A.]]|
 
stat2value=2.63|
 
stat3label=[[Strike Out]]s|
 
stat3value=2803|
 
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/>
 
[[Boston Red Sox|Boston American/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]])
 
|highlights=<nowiki></nowiki>
 
* 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 [[Innings pitched|IP]] (7354 2/3)
 
* 1st All-Time Games Started (815)
 
* 1st All-Time [[Complete game|Complete Games]] (749)
 
}}
 
  
 
{{Infobox baseball player | name=Cy Young| image name=Cy_young.jpg
 
{{Infobox baseball player | name=Cy Young| image name=Cy_young.jpg
 +
| image caption=Cy Young
 
| birthdate= March 29, 1867
 
| birthdate= March 29, 1867
| birthplace= Gilmore, [[Ohio|OH]]
+
| birthplace= Gilmore, [[Ohio]]
 
| dead=dead
 
| dead=dead
 
| deathdate= November 4, 1955
 
| deathdate= November 4, 1955
| deathplace= [[Newcomerstown]], [[Ohio|OH]]
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| deathplace= Newcomerstown, Ohio
 
| debutdate= August 6, 1890
 
| debutdate= August 6, 1890
 
| debutteam= Cleveland Spiders
 
| debutteam= Cleveland Spiders
 
| debutopponent= Chicago White Stockings
 
| debutopponent= Chicago White Stockings
 +
| debutstadium=
 
| teams= Cleveland Spiders (1890-1898)<BR>St. Louis Pefectos and Cardinals (1899-1900)<BR>Boston Americans, Somersets, Pilgrims and Red Sox (1901-1908)<BR> Cleveland Naps and Indians (1909-1911)<BR>Boston Braves (1911)
 
| teams= Cleveland Spiders (1890-1898)<BR>St. Louis Pefectos and Cardinals (1899-1900)<BR>Boston Americans, Somersets, Pilgrims and Red Sox (1901-1908)<BR> Cleveland Naps and Indians (1909-1911)<BR>Boston Braves (1911)
 
| HOFer=HOFer
 
| HOFer=HOFer
 
| inductiondate=1936
 
| inductiondate=1936
 
| careerhighlights=<nowiki></nowiki>
 
| careerhighlights=<nowiki></nowiki>
* Won the [[1901 in baseball|1901]] [[Triple crown (baseball)#American League winners 2|AL Triple Crown]] for Pitchers.
+
* Won the 1901 AL Triple Crown for Pitchers.
* 1st All-Time [[Win (baseball)|wins]] (511)
+
* Most consecutive hitless innings pitched (23 in 1904)
* 1st All-Time [[Loss (baseball)|Loss]] (315)
+
* 1st all-time wins (511)<ref name= mlb>Major League Baseball, [http://www.mlb.com Official Website.] Retrieved March 30, 2007.</ref>
* 1st All-Time [[Innings pitched|IP]] (7354 2/3)
+
* 1st all-time losses (316)<ref name= mlb/>
* 1st All-Time Games Started (815)
+
* 1st all-time innings pitched (7356)<ref name= mlb/>
* 1st All-Time [[Complete game|Complete Games]] (749)
+
* 1st all-time games started (815)<ref name= mlb/>
 +
* 1st all-time complete games (749)<ref name= mlb/>
 
}}
 
}}
 +
'''Denton True "Cy" Young''' (March 29, 1867 – November 4, 1955) was an [[United States|American]] [[baseball]] pitcher during the 1890s and 1900s. Known by the nickname "Cy," short for Cyclone, Young was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937.
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Widely regarded as one of the greatest pitchers of all time, the [[Cy Young Award]] was created in 1956, one year after his death. Each year this award is given to the most outstanding pitcher in each league.
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{{toc}}
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Young set Major League records for most wins all-time, most losses all-time, most innings pitched all-time, most games started all-time, and most complete games all-time. His accomplishments and records can be attributed to his longevity, durability, and consistency. Many of his records stood for more than a century.
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==Life Outside Baseball==
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Not much is known about Cy Young and his personal life other than he was born on a farm in Gilmore, [[Ohio]]. Young left behind little in terms of personal written documents, such as diaries or correspondence. Young was a quiet, unassuming, and well-mannered young man, a typical product of rural Ohio during the post-[[American Civil War|Civil War]] era.
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Denton True Young, the son of a Civil War veteran, grew up in the rural farming town of Newcomerstown. He dropped out of school after the sixth grade and began working on the family farm full time. As a teenager, Young's talent was known in town baseball circles and he eventually played a year for his first organized team, the Canton club of the Tri-State League in 1889.
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The only relationship Young had was with a childhood sweetheart named Robba Miller. Young wanted to wait until he had a thousand dollars in his bank account before asking her to marry him. They married on November 8, 1892. They remained married for the entirety of their lives but had no children. After his retirement at the age of 44, Young moved back to Peoli (Newcomerstown), Ohio, where he had a small farm. Young worked odd jobs to make money and sometimes took part in old timers’ games. Robba died in 1933. Young died in the same city he grew up in at the age of 88 in 1955.
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==Professional Career==
 +
During his time with the Canton team, Young received the nickname "The Cyclone" and later it was shortened to "Cy." There are several different versions of how Young earned the nickname, however they all acknowledge that it is short for "Cyclone" and had to do with the speed of his pitches. One version says that while in the minor leagues with Canton, [[Ohio]], the 6-foot-2, 210-pound right-hander warmed up by throwing pitches against a wooden fence and someone commented that the fence looked like a cyclone hit it after Young had completed his warmups. Another version states that it was a wild pitch that tore a couple of wooden planks loose from the grandstand and caused an observer to say that it looked like a cyclone had hit. The most common version of the myth is that Young received the nickname merely because his fastball was so overwhelmingly fast.
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 +
During Young’s career, a tremendous amount of change occurred to the pitching rules. When Young first began pitching, pitchers were only allowed to throw underhand. That didn’t change until the mid-1880s. Most pitchers didn’t wear gloves and Young himself didn’t start using one until 1896. When he began as a pitcher, the pitching rubber was a pitching box that was 50 feet from the plate at its closest point and home plate was a diamond shape, which sometimes made it difficult for pitchers and umpires to differentiate a strike from a ball. The rules stated that a foul ball was not a strike. Many pitchers were affected by these rule changes, but Young and a few others adapted to the changes quickly.
 +
 +
With the Canton team, Young compiled a 15–15 record before being offered a chance to play for a professional team. In 1890, the Cleveland Spiders offered Young the chance to play in the majors for the sum of $500. He debuted on August 6, 1890, against the Chicago White Stockings (now the Chicago Cubs), allowing only three hits and receiving the win.
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Young spent the ten years from 1890 to 1900 in the National League. For the first nine years he pitched for the Cleveland Spiders. Young was a reliable and durable pitcher who pitched games every other day. In October 1890, Young even pitched both games of a double header, winning both with 5–1 and 7–3 results. In 1892, he set his career high for wins in a single season with a 36-12 record. He also helped the Spiders to the National League Championship, then known as the Temple Cup, in 1895. In 1899, Young and the rest of the Cleveland team were transferred to the St. Louis Perfectos, who would become the St. Louis Cardinals the following year.
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 +
In 1901, Young moved from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Boston Americans of the newly formed American League. Young again showed his consistency and durability by leading the American League in wins for three straight seasons between 1901 and 1903, with 33, 32, and 28 wins. In 1901, he won the Triple Crown for pitchers, which includes leading the league in wins, strikeouts, and earned run average (ERA).
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[[Image:Young_Cy_1_MLB_HOF.jpg‎|thumb|300px|left|Cy Young]]
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In 1903, Young led the Boston Americans to the American League pennant. That same year the Americans would play against the National League pennant-winning Pittsburgh Pirates in the first [[World Series]]. Young threw the first pitch in the first game of that World Series, but would get the loss in a 7–3 Pittsburgh win. Young would come back and win two games in the best-of-nine series (the World Series wasn’t reduced to the modern best-of-seven series format until 1922) to help his team win the series, 5–3.
  
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Young spent seven years playing for the Boston organization, which became known as the Boston Red Sox in his last year, 1908. During the 1907 season, Young even took up the role of manager while playing for the team. On August 13, 1908, the American League honored Young by celebrating Cy Young Day. On this day the league suspended all league games and brought an All-Star team to Boston stadium (then the Huntington Avenue Grounds) to play against Young and his team. Young pitched the first few innings and the game was interrupted several times to make presentations to him. His popularity brought nearly 20,000 fans to the park, while another 10,000 had to be turned away.
  
'''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 and 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.
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In 1909, Young was traded back to the Cleveland organization, now known as the Naps, and compiled a 19–15 record. In the following two years, Young, now in his 40s, earned only 14 wins. Midway through his last season in 1911 he was waived by the Cleveland Naps and then signed with the Boston Braves. Young did not return for the 1912 season.
.[[Image:Young_Cy_1_MLB_HOF.jpg‎|thumb|300px|left|''Cy Young'']]
 
  
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|date=January 2007}}  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.
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By the time he retired he had reached or topped the 20-victory mark 16 times and exceeded the 30-win plateau five times.
  
==Baseball career==
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==Legacy and Career Achievements==
{{wrapper}}
 
|{{MLB HoF}}
 
{{end}}
 
  
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.
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* On September 18, 1897, Young pitched the first no-hitter of his career. On that day, Young and the Boston Americans defeated the Cincinnati Red Stockings 6–0. On June 30, 1908, Young threw another no-hitter against the New York Highlanders in an 8–0 Boston win.  
  
In [[1899 in baseball|1899]], the Spiders and the [[St. Louis Cardinals|St. Louis Perfectos]] essentially swapped teams by trading rosters.{{Fact|date=January 2007}}  He played for St. Louis in 1899 and [[1900 in baseball|1900]], although by 1900, they had become the Cardinals.
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* In October, 1890, Young pitched both games of a double header, winning 5–1 and 7–3. This achievement is even more striking when contrasted with modern pitchers who usually pitch one game every five days.
  
In 1901, he left St. Louis and jumped to the newly formed [[American League]].{{Fact|date=January 2007}}  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.
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* In 1901, Cy Young won the Triple Crown by leading the league in wins (33), strikeouts (158), and ERA (1.62).
  
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.
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* On May 5, 1904, Cy Young pitched the third perfect game in [[Major League Baseball]] history, the first in American League history, and the first of the twentieth century. A perfect game is defined as a game in which no batter reaches first base safely, thus no hits, walks, or errors can occur. Young struck out eight as Boston defeated the Philadelphia Athletics 3–0.
  
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|date=January 2007}} 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.
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* Young’s perfect game came in the middle of a then-record 45 consecutive scoreless innings streak and the still standing 23 consecutive hitless innings streak.
[[Image:cy_young_t205.jpg|thumb|right|''Cy Young, 1911 baseball card'']]
 
  
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>
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===Major League Records===
  
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.
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Cy Young’s records all attest to his amazing consistency and durability. Comparing his records to the career numbers of other baseball greats helps to understand the nature of some of his records. Young’s career records include:
  
==Later life==
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* Career Wins: 511.
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.
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The next highest number of wins in a career belongs to [[Walter Johnson]], whose 417 wins fall 94 wins short of Young's totals. The modern player with the closest number of wins is [[Roger Clemens]] with 348 wins. A player would need to average a little more then 25 wins a year for 20 years to catch up with Young. However, the last player to win more the 25 games was Bob Welch, who won 27 seven games in 1990. It is unlikely that this record will ever be challenged.
 
   
 
   
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.
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* Career Losses: 316.
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There are actually many players close to Cy Young in the number of losses, [[Pud Galvin]]’s 310 losses place him second and [[Nolan Ryan]]'s 292 losses is third. The fact that Young is so far ahead in wins but not in losses displays his outstanding talent. Young’s career record for losses is attributed to the shear number of games he pitched.
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* Career Innings Pitched: 7,356.
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Pud Galvin's 6,003.1 innings is second. The difference of 1,353 innings would be more than 150 complete nine-inning games.
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* Career Games Started: 815.
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Next on the list is Nolan Ryan (773 games). With the modern five-day rotation now the standard, this is unlikely to be equaled.
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* Career Complete Games: 749
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Next on the list is Pud Galvin with 646 games. The use of the "set-up man" and the "closer" to finish out games in the modern era makes this record practically untouchable. Roger Clemens' has the most complete games among modern players with 118. In 2005 and 2006, the league leaders in complete games had seven and six, respectively.
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===Accolades===
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* In 1937, Cy Young was elected into the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame]]. This was the second year of the Hall of Fame and Young’s second year of eligibility.
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* In 1956, one year after the death of Cy Young, then Commissioner of Baseball [[Ford Frick]] created the [[Cy Young Award]]. This award is given to the best pitcher in [[Major League Baseball]] as decided by a vote of the Baseball Writer’s Association of America. From 1956 to 1966, the award was given to only one pitcher. In 1967, it was changed to one pitcher from each league.
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* In 1993 Northeastern University unveiled a statue of Young outside the Cabot Center, one of its athletic complexes. The statue stands near the location of the pitcher's mound in the old Huntington Avenue Grounds, the home field of the Red Sox in Young's time.
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* 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 nineteenth century.
  
 
== Career statistics==
 
== Career statistics==
Line 120: Line 127:
 
  <td>76</td>
 
  <td>76</td>
 
  <td>17</td>
 
  <td>17</td>
  <td>7354 <small>2/3</small></td>
+
  <td>7356</td>
 
  <td>7,092</td>
 
  <td>7,092</td>
 
  <td>2,147</td>
 
  <td>2,147</td>
Line 126: Line 133:
 
  <td>1,217</td>
 
  <td>1,217</td>
 
  <td>2,803</td>
 
  <td>2,803</td>
</tr>  
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</tr>
</table>
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</table><ref name= mlb/>
  
 
=== Hitting statistics ===
 
=== Hitting statistics ===
Line 157: Line 164:
 
| 623
 
| 623
 
| 87
 
| 87
| 36
+
| 35
 
| 18
 
| 18
 
| 290
 
| 290
Line 163: Line 170:
 
| ---
 
| ---
 
| 81
 
| 81
| ---
+
| 151
 
| .210
 
| .210
 
| ---
 
| ---
| .281
+
| .282
 
| 834
 
| 834
 
| ---
 
| ---
Line 172: Line 179:
 
|}
 
|}
  
''Young predates statistics such as on-base percentage, strike-outs, sac hits and caught stealing''
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For at least a portion of Young's career, statistics such as on-base percentage, sacrifice hits, and caught stealing were not yet officially counted, thus making his career numbers in those categories unknown.
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== See also ==
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==Notes==
* [[Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame]]
+
<references/>
* [[Top 100 winning pitchers of all time]]
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There are some discrepancies between the official website of Major League Baseball and the National Baseball Hall of Fame website on the statistics of certain players. Thus, the official website of Major League Baseball was used for the statistics in this article.
*[[List of MLB individual streaks]]
 
  
 
== References ==
 
== References ==
<references/>
+
* Answers.com, [http://www.answers.com/topic/cy-young-award Denton True (Cy) Young.] Retrieved May 12, 2020.
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* Browning, Reed. ''Cy Young: A Baseball Life.'' Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2003. ISBN 1558493980
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* Diskin, Bob. [http://espn.go.com/sportscentury/features/00016661.html A Pitcher Worthy of a Trophy.] ESPN.com. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
 +
* Major League Baseball, [http://mlb.mlb.com/index.jsp Official Website.] Retrieved May 12, 2020.
 +
* McKim, Donald. [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/dugout0e.shtml Cy Young: A Life in Baseball (Review).] ''Baseball Almanac.'' Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  
 
== External links ==
 
== External links ==
*[http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers_and_honorees/hofer_bios/young_cy.htm Baseball Hall of Fame]
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All links retrieved January 12, 2024.
*{{baseball-reference|id=y/youngcy01}}
 
  
{{start box}}
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*[http://baseballhall.org/hof/young-cy National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum]  
{{succession box | before = [[Monte Ward]] | title = [[Perfect game|Perfect game pitcher]] | years = May 5, 1904 | after = [[Addie Joss]]}}
 
{{succession box|title=[[Boston Red Sox|Boston Red Sox manager]]|before=[[Chick Stahl]]|years=1907| after=[[George Huff (baseball)|George Huff]]}}
 
{{end box}}
 
{{MLBACT}}
 
  
[[Category:History and biography]]
 
[[Category:Biography]]
 
[[Category: Art, music, literature, sports and leisure]]
 
  
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[[Category:Baseball]]
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[[Category:Athletes and sports professionals]]
 
{{Credit|111315660}}
 
{{Credit|111315660}}

Latest revision as of 06:49, 12 January 2024

Cy Young
Cy Young
Cy Young
Personal Info
Birth March 29, 1867, Gilmore, Ohio
Death: November 4, 1955, Newcomerstown, Ohio
Professional Career
Debut August 6, 1890, Cleveland Spiders
Team(s) Cleveland Spiders (1890-1898)
St. Louis Pefectos and Cardinals (1899-1900)
Boston Americans, Somersets, Pilgrims and Red Sox (1901-1908)
Cleveland Naps and Indians (1909-1911)
Boston Braves (1911)
HOF induction: 1936
Career Highlights
  • Won the 1901 AL Triple Crown for Pitchers.
  • Most consecutive hitless innings pitched (23 in 1904)
  • 1st all-time wins (511)[1]
  • 1st all-time losses (316)[1]
  • 1st all-time innings pitched (7356)[1]
  • 1st all-time games started (815)[1]
  • 1st all-time complete games (749)[1]


Denton True "Cy" Young (March 29, 1867 – November 4, 1955) was an American baseball pitcher during the 1890s and 1900s. Known by the nickname "Cy," short for Cyclone, Young was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest pitchers of all time, the Cy Young Award was created in 1956, one year after his death. Each year this award is given to the most outstanding pitcher in each league.

Young set Major League records for most wins all-time, most losses all-time, most innings pitched all-time, most games started all-time, and most complete games all-time. His accomplishments and records can be attributed to his longevity, durability, and consistency. Many of his records stood for more than a century.

Life Outside Baseball

Not much is known about Cy Young and his personal life other than he was born on a farm in Gilmore, Ohio. Young left behind little in terms of personal written documents, such as diaries or correspondence. Young was a quiet, unassuming, and well-mannered young man, a typical product of rural Ohio during the post-Civil War era.

Denton True Young, the son of a Civil War veteran, grew up in the rural farming town of Newcomerstown. He dropped out of school after the sixth grade and began working on the family farm full time. As a teenager, Young's talent was known in town baseball circles and he eventually played a year for his first organized team, the Canton club of the Tri-State League in 1889.

The only relationship Young had was with a childhood sweetheart named Robba Miller. Young wanted to wait until he had a thousand dollars in his bank account before asking her to marry him. They married on November 8, 1892. They remained married for the entirety of their lives but had no children. After his retirement at the age of 44, Young moved back to Peoli (Newcomerstown), Ohio, where he had a small farm. Young worked odd jobs to make money and sometimes took part in old timers’ games. Robba died in 1933. Young died in the same city he grew up in at the age of 88 in 1955.

Professional Career

During his time with the Canton team, Young received the nickname "The Cyclone" and later it was shortened to "Cy." There are several different versions of how Young earned the nickname, however they all acknowledge that it is short for "Cyclone" and had to do with the speed of his pitches. One version says that while in the minor leagues with Canton, Ohio, the 6-foot-2, 210-pound right-hander warmed up by throwing pitches against a wooden fence and someone commented that the fence looked like a cyclone hit it after Young had completed his warmups. Another version states that it was a wild pitch that tore a couple of wooden planks loose from the grandstand and caused an observer to say that it looked like a cyclone had hit. The most common version of the myth is that Young received the nickname merely because his fastball was so overwhelmingly fast.

During Young’s career, a tremendous amount of change occurred to the pitching rules. When Young first began pitching, pitchers were only allowed to throw underhand. That didn’t change until the mid-1880s. Most pitchers didn’t wear gloves and Young himself didn’t start using one until 1896. When he began as a pitcher, the pitching rubber was a pitching box that was 50 feet from the plate at its closest point and home plate was a diamond shape, which sometimes made it difficult for pitchers and umpires to differentiate a strike from a ball. The rules stated that a foul ball was not a strike. Many pitchers were affected by these rule changes, but Young and a few others adapted to the changes quickly.

With the Canton team, Young compiled a 15–15 record before being offered a chance to play for a professional team. In 1890, the Cleveland Spiders offered Young the chance to play in the majors for the sum of $500. He debuted on August 6, 1890, against the Chicago White Stockings (now the Chicago Cubs), allowing only three hits and receiving the win.

Young spent the ten years from 1890 to 1900 in the National League. For the first nine years he pitched for the Cleveland Spiders. Young was a reliable and durable pitcher who pitched games every other day. In October 1890, Young even pitched both games of a double header, winning both with 5–1 and 7–3 results. In 1892, he set his career high for wins in a single season with a 36-12 record. He also helped the Spiders to the National League Championship, then known as the Temple Cup, in 1895. In 1899, Young and the rest of the Cleveland team were transferred to the St. Louis Perfectos, who would become the St. Louis Cardinals the following year.

In 1901, Young moved from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Boston Americans of the newly formed American League. Young again showed his consistency and durability by leading the American League in wins for three straight seasons between 1901 and 1903, with 33, 32, and 28 wins. In 1901, he won the Triple Crown for pitchers, which includes leading the league in wins, strikeouts, and earned run average (ERA).

Cy Young

In 1903, Young led the Boston Americans to the American League pennant. That same year the Americans would play against the National League pennant-winning Pittsburgh Pirates in the first World Series. Young threw the first pitch in the first game of that World Series, but would get the loss in a 7–3 Pittsburgh win. Young would come back and win two games in the best-of-nine series (the World Series wasn’t reduced to the modern best-of-seven series format until 1922) to help his team win the series, 5–3.

Young spent seven years playing for the Boston organization, which became known as the Boston Red Sox in his last year, 1908. During the 1907 season, Young even took up the role of manager while playing for the team. On August 13, 1908, the American League honored Young by celebrating Cy Young Day. On this day the league suspended all league games and brought an All-Star team to Boston stadium (then the Huntington Avenue Grounds) to play against Young and his team. Young pitched the first few innings and the game was interrupted several times to make presentations to him. His popularity brought nearly 20,000 fans to the park, while another 10,000 had to be turned away.

In 1909, Young was traded back to the Cleveland organization, now known as the Naps, and compiled a 19–15 record. In the following two years, Young, now in his 40s, earned only 14 wins. Midway through his last season in 1911 he was waived by the Cleveland Naps and then signed with the Boston Braves. Young did not return for the 1912 season.

By the time he retired he had reached or topped the 20-victory mark 16 times and exceeded the 30-win plateau five times.

Legacy and Career Achievements

  • On September 18, 1897, Young pitched the first no-hitter of his career. On that day, Young and the Boston Americans defeated the Cincinnati Red Stockings 6–0. On June 30, 1908, Young threw another no-hitter against the New York Highlanders in an 8–0 Boston win.
  • In October, 1890, Young pitched both games of a double header, winning 5–1 and 7–3. This achievement is even more striking when contrasted with modern pitchers who usually pitch one game every five days.
  • In 1901, Cy Young won the Triple Crown by leading the league in wins (33), strikeouts (158), and ERA (1.62).
  • On May 5, 1904, Cy Young pitched the third perfect game in Major League Baseball history, the first in American League history, and the first of the twentieth century. A perfect game is defined as a game in which no batter reaches first base safely, thus no hits, walks, or errors can occur. Young struck out eight as Boston defeated the Philadelphia Athletics 3–0.
  • Young’s perfect game came in the middle of a then-record 45 consecutive scoreless innings streak and the still standing 23 consecutive hitless innings streak.

Major League Records

Cy Young’s records all attest to his amazing consistency and durability. Comparing his records to the career numbers of other baseball greats helps to understand the nature of some of his records. Young’s career records include:

  • Career Wins: 511.

The next highest number of wins in a career belongs to Walter Johnson, whose 417 wins fall 94 wins short of Young's totals. The modern player with the closest number of wins is Roger Clemens with 348 wins. A player would need to average a little more then 25 wins a year for 20 years to catch up with Young. However, the last player to win more the 25 games was Bob Welch, who won 27 seven games in 1990. It is unlikely that this record will ever be challenged.

  • Career Losses: 316.

There are actually many players close to Cy Young in the number of losses, Pud Galvin’s 310 losses place him second and Nolan Ryan's 292 losses is third. The fact that Young is so far ahead in wins but not in losses displays his outstanding talent. Young’s career record for losses is attributed to the shear number of games he pitched.

  • Career Innings Pitched: 7,356.

Pud Galvin's 6,003.1 innings is second. The difference of 1,353 innings would be more than 150 complete nine-inning games.

  • Career Games Started: 815.

Next on the list is Nolan Ryan (773 games). With the modern five-day rotation now the standard, this is unlikely to be equaled.

  • Career Complete Games: 749

Next on the list is Pud Galvin with 646 games. The use of the "set-up man" and the "closer" to finish out games in the modern era makes this record practically untouchable. Roger Clemens' has the most complete games among modern players with 118. In 2005 and 2006, the league leaders in complete games had seven and six, respectively.

Accolades

  • In 1937, Cy Young was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. This was the second year of the Hall of Fame and Young’s second year of eligibility.
  • In 1956, one year after the death of Cy Young, then Commissioner of Baseball Ford Frick created the Cy Young Award. This award is given to the best pitcher in Major League Baseball as decided by a vote of the Baseball Writer’s Association of America. From 1956 to 1966, the award was given to only one pitcher. In 1967, it was changed to one pitcher from each league.
  • In 1993 Northeastern University unveiled a statue of Young outside the Cabot Center, one of its athletic complexes. The statue stands near the location of the pitcher's mound in the old 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 nineteenth century.

Career statistics

Pitching statistics

W L ERA G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO
511 316 2.63 906 815 749 76 17 7356 7,092 2,147 138 1,217 2,803

[1]

Hitting statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG TB SH HBP
918 2960 325 623 87 35 18 290 29 --- 81 151 .210 --- .282 834 --- 10

For at least a portion of Young's career, statistics such as on-base percentage, sacrifice hits, and caught stealing were not yet officially counted, thus making his career numbers in those categories unknown.


Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Major League Baseball, Official Website. Retrieved March 30, 2007.

There are some discrepancies between the official website of Major League Baseball and the National Baseball Hall of Fame website on the statistics of certain players. Thus, the official website of Major League Baseball was used for the statistics in this article.

References
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External links

All links retrieved January 12, 2024.

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