Anthony Young, who never let his losing records with the Mets rob him of his sense of humor or his grace, passed away today in Houston after a lengthy illness. Young, 51, pitched with the Mets from 1991-1993.
"Anthony was a true gentleman," said Turk Wendell, a former Mets pitcher, who participated in Mets fantasy camp with Young during the last several years. "At this year's fantasy camp, he told us he had a brain tumor. That was Anthony. He never ran away from anything."
Young lost a major league record 27 consecutive games from 1992-1993. He did record 15 saves in 1992.
"A.Y. took a lot of kidding about his losing records," said Doug Flynn, a fellow Mets player and fantasy coach. "But he was the victim of some bad luck during the streak. He knew inside that he was a better pitcher than his numbers."
Young pitched with the Cubs from 1994-1995 and with the Astros in 1996. He was a guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in the middle of the losing streak.