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Anthony Young
From May 6, 1992, to July 24, 1993, righty pitcher Anthony Young lost 27 consecutive decisions with the New York Mets. It was an astounding run of bad luck, since Young did not pitch that poorly — although it didn’t help that “The Worst Team Money Could Buy” was behind him. In a 2009 interview with Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News, Young said, “Everything that could happen, happened. It was just destiny, I guess.”
Yet “AY” maintained his competitive spirit and cheerful disposition during and after his losing streak. With good grace he appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno shortly after getting back in the win column — Leno had used the pitcher’s travails as monologue material. Years later Young remained philosophical. In another 2009 feature, this one with Stephen Goff of the Houston Examiner, he said, “The Mets wouldn’t have kept sending me to the mound if I wasn’t performing. It all just happened and now I’m known for this forever. I set an unusual record that may never be broken.”
Young was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor in January 2017. He relayed the news while serving as an instructor at the Mets’ fantasy camp, held at their spring training site of Port St. Lucie, Florida. Doctors treated the growth as cancerous because it was located on the brain stem, making it impossible to do a biopsy to test for malignancy. He underwent chemotherapy and radiation; in a February radio interview, upbeat as ever, he reported that the tumor had shrunk. Meanwhile, he continued to give private pitching lessons through his own company, AY Enterprises. In June, however, Young fell into a coma. He died on June 27, aged just 51.
Only three pitchers from 1901 through 2017 who were involved in 50 or more decisions had winning percentages lower than .250. Yet Anthony Young didn’t mind when the kids under his tutelage joshed him about his losing streak. “That’s okay with me,” he told Stephen Goff. “I’m just happy to be able to make a difference in a young ballplayer’s life.” - SABR
Redid the facegen.
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