Kevin Young doesn’t worry about starting, just winning
BRADENTON, Pa. (AP) – First baseman Kevin Young, coming off two unproductive years, isn’t afraid of losing his starting job with the Pittsburgh Pirates – as long as the team ends its franchise-record streak of 10 losing seasons. “As much as I’d like to say I’ll have a certain number of at-bats, the bottom line is that if we’re going out there and winning, everything goes away. Everybody is happy,” Young said. “Everything has a tendency of taking care of itself.”
Young reported to spring training Wednesday and, for the first time since 1997, he isn’t guaranteed of regular playing time. The Pirates traded for left-handed hitting first baseman Randall Simon in the off-season and the plan is to give him the majority of starts this season.
Young will start against left-handed pitchers and be used as a late-inning defensive replacement.
“It won’t be a strict platoon,” Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon said. “If there are days when one guy is hot, we’ll buck the trend. They will complement each other well and make us a productive team at first base.”
As he enters the final year of a four-year, $24 million contract, Young isn’t going to allow his ego to get in the way of the team’s success.
“You want to win and turn the corner,” said Young, who has spent all but one of his nine major-league seasons with the Pirates. “I’ve been here a long time. You can’t be that self-absorbed. I just want to win.”
After finishing last in the National League in batting average, total bases, on-base percentage and slugging percentage and ranking 15th out of 16 teams in runs scored, the Pirates were determined to upgrade their offense at several positions. First base was one of them, largely because Young batted .246 with 16 home runs and 51 RBIs in 146 games.
Young’s RBI numbers have dropped off each season since 1998, when he drove in a career-high 108 runs. In November, the Pirates acquired Simon, the Detroit Tigers MVP, for three minor leaguers.
“The big picture is I’m coming off two sub-par years and we had some offensive issues that needed to be addressed,” Young said. “One of the things that we needed was left-handed pop and Simon plays my position. We added some quality players and that’s the key. When you do that, it’s a win-win situation. I look forward to the competition.”
Young also is looking forward to a healthy season. He had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in October. A bone spur that was rubbing against his anterior cruciate ligament was removed. Young said the injury may have contributed to his offensive problems.
“It affects a lot of different things,” he said. “To me, it affected my hitting the most. Defensively, I didn’t notice it as much because I learned to play with it over the years.”
NOTES: The Pirates will conduct their first full-squad workout Thursday. The only player who might not be in attendance is non-roster infielder Tomas De La Rosa, who could be a day late because of visa problems. … Second baseman Pokey Reese, who is wearing a splint over his bruised right index finger, won’t take ground balls or batting practice in the first workout. He has been limited to conditioning work since reporting early to camp last week. … Catcher Humberto Cota (left hand surgery) caught in the bullpen and took batting practice for the second consecutive day. … Pitcher Duaner Sanchez, who missed three days of camp so he could be with his ill father in the Dominican Republic, threw off a mound for the first time.