Mike Young, an outfielder who played six seasons for the Orioles in the 1980s, died of a heart attack Sunday while visiting his wife’s family in Brazil, the team said. He was 63.
“We are saddened to learn of the passing of former outfielder Mike Young,” the Orioles wrote on Twitter on Monday evening. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends at this time.”
Young played for the Orioles from 1982 to 1987, appearing in 520 games and patrolling all three outfield spots. He was one of Baltimore’s best hitters in 1984 and 1985, finishing fifth in Rookie of the Year voting in the former and blasting a career-high 28 home runs in the latter.
Across his eight-year career with Baltimore, Philadelphia, Milwaukee and Cleveland, Young hit .247 with 72 homers in 635 games.
Young, an Oakland, California, native, was drafted No. 11 overall by the Orioles in the secondary phase of the 1980 January draft. He made his MLB debut at 22 years old on Sept. 14, 1982, against the New York Yankees. He entered as a pinch-runner for Rich Dauer in the eighth inning, advanced to third on a single from rookie Cal Ripken Jr. and scored the game-tying run on a single from Eddie Murray. The Orioles won the game, 5-4.
He batted just twice after his call-up in September 1982, mostly serving as a pinch-runner. He was promoted again in the summer of 1983 and appeared in 25 games that year, mostly as a defensive replacement and base runner. Young spent September on the Orioles’ expanded roster, but he wasn’t on the playoff roster that won the club’s third and most recent World Series.
Over the next four seasons as a starter in Baltimore, Young hit .255 with 70 home runs and 214 RBIs. He became the fifth player in major league history to hit two extra-inning homers in one game on May 28, 1987, in Baltimore’s 8-7 win over the California Angels at Memorial Stadium. He entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the fifth inning, hit a solo homer in the bottom of the 10th to tie the game and then blasted a two-run walk-off long ball to win it.
The Orioles traded Young to the Phillies before the 1988 season, which he split between Philadelphia and Milwaukee. He played for Cleveland in 1989 and then for Hiroshima Toyo Carp in Japan in 1990, his final year in professional baseball.
Attempts to reach Young’s family Tuesday afternoon have been unsuccessful.
This story might be updated.
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