Delmon Young broke into the major leagues with the Tampa Bay Rays as a highly touted prospect with a huge bat but suspect fielding skills. His career has pretty much played out according to the predicted script: An often formidable force with a bat in his hands but with a glove on his hand and standing in the outfield? Buckle up.
To put it in its proper statistical perspective, Young ranked 185th out of 186 outfielders in “Player Standard Fielding” rankings, according to Baseball Reference. Not good.
And perhaps no single play could encompass Young’s questionable defensive skills than how he reacted to fielding this ball on a hop during a recent game.