Athletes - Walter Young

Home > Listing Index > Athletes > Walter Young (baseball player)

	Athletes - Walter Young

Walter Ernest Young (born February 18, 1980 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi) is a first baseman and designated hitter who played for the Baltimore Orioles in 2005 and has since been claimed by the San Diego Padres. He is known for his large size (he is listed at 6-5 and 322 pounds) and his ability to hit towering home runs.

An accomplished high school football player, Young turned down a scholarship offer from LSU to sign with and play baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He advanced steadily through the system, but before the 2004 season, the Pirates released him. He was claimed on waivers by the Orioles and assigned to their Class AA affiliate, the Bowie Baysox. He recovered from a slow start in Bowie to set a club record with 33 home runs and appear in the Eastern League All-Star Game. In 2005, he participated in the Orioles' spring training and started the regular season with the Orioles' Class AAA affiliate, the Ottawa Lynx; he started the season by hitting 24-for-48.

Young was called up to the Orioles on September 1, 2005, after batting .286 with 13 home runs and 81 RBI at Ottawa. Since 2005 was the last year that he could be optioned to the minors without having to pass through waivers, the Orioles said upon promoting him that they would use him in September to see if he fits into their plans for 2006. He played 15 games for the Orioles in 2005, finishing with a .303 (10-for-33) batting average, one home run, and 3 RBI. In the offseason, Young played for LaGuaria in the Venezuelan Winter League.

In January 2006, Young was designated for assignment by the Orioles, after the Orioles had signed first basemen/outfielders Jeff Conine and Kevin Millar. Young was then claimed off waivers by the Padres.

Trivia

During one batting practice in the 2005 season, Young hit a homerun that reached the Camden Yards warehouse. The distance to the warehouse from homeplate is 432 ft (132 m) along the right field line, and the only other known player to hit the warehouse is Ken Griffey, Jr.
.
If Walter's listed weight of 322 pounds is correct, he is the heaviest player to ever play in MLB. The previous record, listed at was Jumbo Brown
, who weighed 295 pounds.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Walter Young (baseball player) ]

This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article Walter Young (baseball player); it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.

Searches on eBay