Mike Young’s greatest game

Before we move on, a story about Mike Young, who died on May 29, exactly 36 years and one day after what was likely the greatest game of his Major League career. It certainly must have been the game that Young savored whenever he reflected on his relatively brief time with the Orioles in the 1980s.

A lot of life just comes and goes — millions of minutes lived, thousands of miles traveled, hundreds of moments gone and forgotten. Though we all try, it’s hard to remember everything with the passage of the years. That includes some of the good stuff, and it’s especially true for lifelong fans of baseball.

Maybe — maybe — some Orioles fans who were there will remember what Mike Young did on May 28, 1987 at since-demolished Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. But, for most of us, it’s long gone — a lost moment from a losing season.

Fortunately, beat writers at the Sun and other newspapers recorded Young’s feat because it was unusual and because chroniclers of baseball don’t miss a thing. It’s the most curated sport in the world, with vast amounts of nerdly statistics and detailed records.

Mike Young played, up and down, eight seasons in the majors (1982-1989) and his career ended before he turned 30. He hit a bunch of home runs early in his time with the Orioles, and then his bat cooled off. I remember interviewing him in 1986 or 1987 and thinking what a friendly, handsome and earnest guy he was. He seemed to have so much promise.

Young played in the years after the Orioles’ last world championship in 1983, when the Birds went into decline. He was on the bench on the evening of May 28, 1987, when the California Angels were in town. At some point, Young, a switch-hitting outfielder, got into the game as a pinch-hitter.

I now turn this narrative over to Gary Belleville of the Society of American Baseball Research, with the score tied, 5-5, after nine innings:

California pinch-hitter Mark Ryal opened the 10th inning with a double off Ken Dixon. One out later, center fielder Gary Pettis drove Ryal home with a single to give the Angels their first lead of the game, 6-5.

Mike Young, who was 4-for-22 in the season with no extra-base hits, led off the bottom of the 10th inning against DeWayne Buice. The rookie right-handed reliever had a devastating forkball, and he was quickly becoming one of the most effective hurlers in the Angels bullpen. Batting from the left side, Young connected on a Buice fastball for a solo home run that tied the game at 6-6.

The score remained tied into the top of the 12th when the Angels put runners on first and third on singles by Darrell Miller and Dick Schofield. Gary Pettis followed with a grounder to the Orioles second baseman, Rick Burleson, who threw to first for the second out. Schofield was caught in a rundown and eventually made it safely to second by evading Eddie Murray’s tag. While the Orioles were in the process of botching the rundown, Miller scampered home to give California a 7-6 lead.

Buice tempted fate by issuing a leadoff walk to Orioles’ Lee Lacy in the bottom of the 12th. Manager Cal Ripken Sr. ordered the next batter, Young, to put down a sacrifice bunt. Young bunted the first two pitches foul before swinging away and fouling off pitch number three. The next pitch from Buice was a forkball that Young hammered over the Angels bullpen in right-center field for a two-run, walk-off home run. The Orioles won, 8-7.

Just imagine what a thrill that must have been for Young, his teammates and Orioles fans.

“I got to give him credit on that second one,” Buice admitted afterwards. “It was a good pitch, low and away. I didn’t make a mistake. He hit my best stuff.”

Young became only the fifth major leaguer to hit two extra-inning home runs in a game.

The walk-off win moved the Orioles six games over .500, although that turned out to be their high-water mark for the 1987 season. They finished 67-95.

But Mike Young had his moment in the bright light.

Rest in peace.