Derrick Young's manager at single-A Columbia Bill Stein described his outfielder to The Columbia State in July 1989.
Young got the job done, Stein described to The State.
"Derrick is not a flashy ballplayer," Stein told The State. "He comes to the ballpark every day and works hard. He just does his job. He plays a real consistent game of baseball. You take that any day. Plus he's got some big hits for us this season."
Young played that consistent game in his third season as a pro. He went on to see two more. He topped out at high-A.
Young's career began in 1987, taken by the Mets in the 12th round of the draft out of Edmonds Community College in Washington.
Young started with the Mets at rookie Kingsport. He got into 45 games and hit .172. He then returned to Kingsport for 1988. He hit .280 in 72 games that year.
The Kingsport team started 1988 slowly as hitters, but came around, just as Young had told The Kingsport Times-News they would.
"The pitching we're seeing now is mostly batting practice from the instructors," Young told The Times-News early, before the club came around. "We haven't seen much 'live' pitching, real hard stuff, and we need time to adjust."
Young then moved to Columbia for 1989. He got into 131 games and hit .265. He also had 59 RBI and 24 stolen bases.
He hit a two-out, ninth-inning, game-winning single in a late-May contest. He did that after going 0-3 earlier in the game, The State wrote.
"One thing I have learned is that whatever you did in the last at-bat is past," Young told The State afterward. "All I did in that situation was look for a pitch I could handle, and I got one."
Young played 1990 at high-A St. Lucie. He hit .257 in 79 games. He then moved to the Mariners and high-A San Bernardino for 1991. He hit .264 there over 109 games to end his career.
- Kingsport Times-News, June 30, 1988: Mets' performance at plate continues to improve
- Columbia State, May 29, 1989: Young's two-out hit in ninth rallies Mets by Gastonia 7-6
- Columbia State, July 30, 1989: Quiet efficiency
Made the Majors:1,278-33.8%
Never Made Majors:2,509-66.2%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors:526
10+ Seasons in the Minors:314
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