Dmitri Young at the End of the Line

Posted by Mike Henderson on Jul. 27, 2009 at 1:30 PM
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Dmitri YoungThe year 2006 had been a turbulent one for Dmitri Young and those around him, as he dealt with domestic violence charges in April, rehabilitation from injury, depression and alcoholism from May through July, his surprise unconditional release by Detroit in September and a life-threatening diabetic episode in late November.

If Young was worried that the baseball world would forget about him, Nationals then-GM Jim Bowden -- for whom Young had played as a Cincinnati Red from 1998 through 2001 -- allayed that fear in February 2007 when he invited Young to Spring Training.  That move may have raised eyebrows at the time, but it looked pretty cagey when Nick Johnson's extended recovery from his September 2006 collision with Austin Kearns created an urgent need for a power-hitting first baseman.

Young filled that need ably in 2007, compiling a batting line of .320 / .378 / .491 in 136 games.  That, as well as his facing up to his personal issues, earned him the support of fans, a $10 million contract extension through 2009, and the 2007 Comeback Player of the Year Award.

Unhappily, Young's career has been on the downhill slope since.  Plagued by continued injuries and ongoing issues with weight and diabetes, Young only appeared in 50 major-league games in 2008 and has yet to appear in a 2009 MLB game, though a handshake agreement with Bowden during the 2008-09 offseason ensured Young a spot on the Nats' 40-man roster.

Although, between Johnson and Adam Dunn, the club has been pretty well set at first base, Young has been working his way back from a hip and back strain suffered in Spring Training.  That phase of the journey has just come to a sad end as Young has suffered a torn quadriceps in double-A play and is done for the season.

Still, it sounds as if Young would like to don a uniform next year.  Should that come to pass, our guess -- especially with Bowden gone -- is that it probably won't be the Nationals'.

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Tags: Dmitri Young, injuries, Detroit Tigers, Jim Bowden, Cincinnati Reds, Nick Johnson, Austin Kearns, Adam Dunn,



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Mike Henderson is a medical informatics consultant based in Silver Spring, Maryland. He grew up in Wheeling, West Virginia, rooting for the great Pirates teams of the 1970s that he's really never got over. (And he still misses Pirates announcer Bob Prince.)

Upon moving to the DC area in 1984, he duly began rooting for the Orioles but found it was never quite the same. Especially after the 1994 strike and the Angelos teardown.

Mike's inner fanboy came back to life the minute the Nats hit RFK in 2005. He shares his random observations with the discerning readers of Nationals Pride and eagerly awaits the day when he'll be complaining about having to pay entirely too much for playoff tickets at Nats Park.


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