Chris Young: A Diamondback Reborn
What a difference a year can make for an athlete.
On August 9, 2009, Diamondbacks center-fielder Chris Young was sent down to the minor leagues. Itย seemed like a final blow to a playerย whoย hadย been steadily decreasingย afterย being regarded as one of the best young hitters in the game afterย he finished the 2007 season withย 32 home runs and 27 stolen bases.
But this year has been a different story for the talented Young. He has been one of the few bright spots in an otherwise dismal season for Arizona. He enters play today with aย career-high .268 batting average, 17 home runs, 63ย RBI, and 19 stolen bases, and even made appearances in the home-run derby and All-Star game.
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The 17 home-run/19 stolen-base comboย putsย himย as the closest playerย toย reaching 20/20 this year.
A mechanical change made to his swing over the off-season has done wonders for Young,ย as his strikeouts are down this season.
That's one major reason he is having a career year in batting average; he's putting more balls in play. Young's combination ofย powerย and speed has always made him an electric player with the ability to change a game any time he came to the plate. But his struggles to get on base limited his potential.ย So if he is able toย keep improving his plateย discipline and contact rate, there's no limit to what he can accomplish in his career. Especially considering how he is alsoย an excellentย defensive center-fielder.
Young hasย put himself in theย race for winningย the National League Comeback Player of the Year Award. It really has been a nice story for the Diamondback's franchise that has pretty muchย been in a tailspinย since their World Series title in 2001.
Here are a few other NL candidates:
- Corey Hart, RF, MIL- Has almost doubled last year's production already and was thought to maybe not have a job at the beginning of the season.
- Livan Hernandez, SP, WAS- If the season ended today his ERA would be underย four for the first time since 2005.
- Tim Hudson, SP, ATL- Bouncing back from Tommy John surgery last season, he has posted a solid 10-5 record with a 2.47 ERA.
- Kelly Johnson, 2B, ARI- Johnson lost his starting job to Martinย Pradoย in Atlanta last seasonย but came over to the Diamondbacks and has been one of the best second basemen this season.
