So today just so happens to be the 44th birthday of former New York Mets pitcher Anthony Young. For those -- like me -- who might be too young to remember his tenure, Young only appeared with the Mets for a brief two and a half year period between '91 and '93. However, Young will always hold a place in Mets lore thanks to a somewhat ignominious feat he achieved while pitching for the orange & blue. As many of you probably recall, the record he set was dropping a mind-boggling 27 consecutive decisions from May 6, 1992 to July 24, 1993.
When you think about it, it really is an astounding accomplishment considering the sheer probability stacked against such a streak. And in Young's defense, it obviously required a lot of help from his teammates -- if you want to call it that -- to break the 82-year-old record. In fact, Young didn't even pitch all that poorly during the stretch, posting a 4.36 ERA in that span. In an '09 Daily News interview, Young recalled, 'Everything that could happen, happened. It was just destiny, I guess.' At one point during the streak, Young converted 12 straight saves and threw 23.2 straight scoreless innings subbing for closer John Franco; yet the streak lived. Brutal.
To his credit, Young never got down about the ridiculously bad luck or the anomaly that it produced. Instead he embraces the memories and keepsakes from the streak, saying that it's 'what he's known for'. Young ended up pitching a few more years with the Cubs and Houston before calling it a career. He finished with a 15-48 record with a 3.89 career ERA. He now coaches Houston-area youth baseball and in his leisure time hangs out under ladders with his collection of black cats.