1992 matt young

matt young week comes to a close here at oh my o-pee-chee!  i hope you enjoyed it.

while matt young didn't leave boston after the 1991 season, he still managed to have a checklist variation card in the 1992 o-pee-chee set.  here is his 1992 o-pee-chee card:

now the o-pee-chee back:

here's the topps front of the card he replaced in the set:

and the topps back:

not sure what o-pee-chee had against the all star teams, but whatever.  young didn't win a game for boston in 1992, but he pitched one of their most memorable games of the season.  in the first game of a doubleheader at cleveland on april 12, young faced the indians and gave up no hits in 8 innings, although he allowed two runs on seven walks and an error by shortstop luis rivera.  the red sox scored only one run, so the game ended without the indians needing to bat in the 9th.  young got the loss and the credit for a complete game, but not for a no-hitter due to a then-new rule that did not recognize no-hitters of less than 9 innings.  interestingly enough, in the second game of the double header, roger clemens pitched a two-hit shutout giving young and clemens the record for the least number of hits allowed in a doubleheader.

young signed a contract with those same indians for 1993, but as we sadly know, there were no 1993 o-pee-chee variations of topps cards.

voici à vous, 1992 matt young!

1991 matt young

matt young week continues!

matt young signed a free agent deal with the boston red sox prior to the 1991 season.  here's his 1991 o-pe-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

young's 1991 season was uneventful.  he went 3-7 in 19 games, 16 of which he started.  his best outing of the season was his second start when he pitched 9 shutout innings and allowed just 2 hits (but 6 walks) against the indians in a game that boston would eventually lose by the score 1-0 in 13 innings. 

voici à vous, 1991 matt young!

1990 matt young

free agent matt young signed a contract with the seattle mariners for the 1990 season.  here's his 1990 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

back in seattle, young was once again used as a starter.  he responded with one of his best seasons since his rookie year although it wasn't reflected in his win-loss record of 8-18.  young posted his second lowest career era (3.51) and whip (1.35) and had 7 complete games and 1 shutout.  he averaged 7 innings pitched per game and had decent average run support (3.7 per game) but in 10 of his losses, the mariners scored just 2 runs or fewer.  after the season, young would hit the free agent trail once more...

voici à vous, 1990 matt young!

1988 matt young

it's matt young week here on oh my o-pee-chee!  here's part 2.

the dodgers sent matt young to the a's in a december three-way deal with the mets.  here's his 1988 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

that trade was a big one that paid off for all three teams as they all made the postseason.  the dodgers acquired jay howell, alfredo griffin and mike davis from the a's and jesse orosco from the mets.  the mets acquired jack savage, a young kevin tapani and wally whitehurst, while the a's got young and bob welch.  sadly for young, he sat out the entire year with an injury.  to make matters worse, the a's released him after the season ended.  a couple of months later, however, the a's re-signed him, and he helped them win a world championship in 1989.  he didn't pitch in the sweep over the giants, but he did appear in one game of the alcs that year.  don't worry, though, young was on the move again for the 1990 season...

voici à vous, 1988 matt young!

1987 matt young

we're starting matt young week here at oh my o-pee-chee! enjoy the ride.

matt young was traded to the dodgers in december of 1986. here is his 1987 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

the dodgers needed some bullpen help, and young became part of the closer by committee, along with alejandro pena. after converting from a starter, young had saved 13 games for the mariners in 1986 while appearing in a career high 65 games. with the dodgers, he appeated in 47 games, all in relief, and saved 11 to go along with his 5-8 win-loss record. still, the 1987 dodgers showed no improvement over 1986, and more drastic changes were going to be made. one of those changes had young on the move again...

voici à vous, 1987 matt young!