Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Doing his job: Delmon Young

Delmon Young seems happy to be playing baseball this year. And when Delmon is happy, I'm happy.

He hasn't always been happy. He looked like a fish out of water when he first came over from the Rays in 2008. He played like one too, gasping for air and flopping around left field. The expectations were mighty for the former overall number one pick, yet both he and Brendan Harris couldn't back it up. Those expectations were probably unfair, but it also didn't help that these guys didn't come up through the Twins minor league system.

Now, I'm not blaming Delmonzi for this, I'm blaming the Twins. Gardenhire and the coaches probably saw blemishes in his game, but weren't accustomed to ironing those things out at the major league level. If you think about it, Carlos Gomez, Delmon Young and Brendan Harris would never have come up to the big club with the Twins in the shape they broke in with their respective teams. Harris was an all bat-no glove shortstop, which is completely unheard of in the Twins system. Carlos Gomez, when he came up to the Mets, was just stupid energy in a spaceman suit. And Delmon was a pull-happy sloppy footed right-fielder.

The difference is that Delmon has changed, while Harris and Gomez have not. The Twins have been patient with the left-fielder, even through his inconsistency. Delmon was probably exasperated after years on constant verbal and non verbal questions by Gardy, "Do you know how to do the little things right? Do you know how to play the game the right way? Nah, you don't know."

But I think Delmon has come around. He lost a bunch of weight, talks about hitting with Jim Thome, and says all the right things. Last Saturday, Dan Gladden asked him after the night game if it was frustrating to have to check to lineup card for his name every day. He said something to the effect of, "no, I know we have good players that need At-bats, and whenever they need me I'll be there to do my job."

Former overall number one pick, disappointing formerly hyped up trade piece, and now, just another player doing his job on a pennant contending team.

I'm happy that Delmon is happy with that.

9 comments:

bizmarkie507 said...

ha. Delmon Young Day. I've waited 2 and a half years for this day.

TwinsWin83 said...

Skinny Delmon is way more aerodynamic then fat Delmon. Its easier to run and hit with less air resistance.

Holmer said...

You picked the right day for this one. The Truth is here.

J. Lichty said...

Carlos Gomez, when he came up to the Mets, was just stupid energy in a spaceman suit. And Delmon was a pull-happy sloppy footed right-fielder.

Those are the best one sentence descriptions of those players I have ever seen. Bravo!

Anonymous said...

Didn't see a contact info anywhere.

Funny short:

"Wiffleball '79"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWNVT1D3q9Q

Anonymous said...

Exasperated is what Delomn probably was. That's different from exacerbated. Like the Twins, we gotta play this writing game the right way.

Otherwise, an excellent post.

Obstructed View

haasertime said...

stupid firefox spellchecker not knowing what I wanted...

Anonymous:

I saw that the other day on deadspin. Looks accurate with the clothes and style, although I wasn't around back then. Fine work. I'll include it in a random notes post soon.

J. Lichty: Thanks!

soup said...

You bring up a very good point, Haas. The Twins have star players now and then, but they all spend at least some time in our minors to learn the Twins' way.

As we all know, Delmon was a #1 overall pick and the best prospect in baseball for a few years. His star may have dimmed in the couple of years prior to the Twins, but he was still considered a possible star. And when he first came there was certainly friction between him and the Twins.

But it's all good now. We here at AH! love Delmon. I believe Haas has a post about deciding that Delmon was his favorite player.

And now that D Yeezy cured his early-onset-run-like-vlad-guerrero-disease, the sky's the limit.

tfrezac2002 said...

While I have known about "The Truths" shortfalls since he got here, I have always had Delmons back. I am glad he is kicking ass and taking names.