Eric Young (baseball player)
Eric Orlando Young (born
May 18 1967 in
New Brunswick,
New Jersey) is a
second baseman in
Major League Baseball who played for the
San Diego Padres. He has previously played for the
Los Angeles Dodgers (
1992 and
1997-
1999)
Colorado Rockies (
1993-
1997),
Chicago Cubs (
2000-
2001),
Milwaukee Brewers (
2002-
2003),
San Francisco Giants (
2003), and
Texas Rangers (
2004)
Eric Young was in his prime in the mid-1990s. One of the original Colorado Rockies, he hit a
home run in the Rockies' first ever home
at-bat. He helped Colorado to its only post season appearance in 1995, which they lost. His best seasons came with the Rockies where he was an
All-Star and a
Silver Slugger award in 1996 at second base, when he hit .324, with 8
home runs, 74
RBIs and 53
stolen bases, still a Rockies record. He is also the Rockies career leader in stolen bases and is in the top 10 in many other offensive categories. In 1997 fan favorite Young was traded back to Los Angeles for pitcher
Pedro Astacio. While in Los Angeles during 1998-1999 he continued his consistency by stealing bases and hitting for solid averages. In the 1990s Young was one of the top base stealers in the major leagues.
2000-present
Eric Young was traded by the Dodgers to the Cubs in 1999. In 2000 he had one of his best seasons, hitting .297 with 6 home runs, 98 runs, and an impressive 54 steals. In 2001 he enjoyed a similar season. In January of 2002 he signed as a free agent with the Milwaukee Brewers. In 2003 he hit 15 home runs, a career high almost doubling his previous total of 8. While with the Texas Rangers and San Diego Padres, he was mainly used as a pinch runner. Young's 463 career stolen bases rank third out of all active players. He trails only
Kenny Lofton (581) and
Barry Bonds (506). On August 1, 2006, Eric Young was released by the San Diego Padres.
