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The former Reds, Tigers and Nationals first baseman has lost enough weight to make up nearly half of Tony Campana, and is attempting a comeback with the Phillies.
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Jan 30, 2012 – Dmitri Young is a very large human being. When he last played in the major leagues in 2008, according to his baseball-reference page, he weighed 295 pounds. And was 6-2. That’s a lot of poundage on a frame that size, as you can see in the photo above (which dates from 2007).
Or perhaps we should say he used to weigh 295 pounds, because according to this tweet from XM Radio’s Jim Bowden, he’s slimmed down:
Dmitri Young worked out for the Phillies who said he showed Quick hands great foot work and his normal special bat speed…he’s lost 75 lbs
75 pounds, wow. That’s a lot of weight. Just how much is that?
It’s half of Jose Vizcaino, listed at that weight on baseball-reference. It’s also half of Salomon Torres. It’s one-third of Dontrelle Willis, Matt Wieters and Justin Verlander.
Or, put another way, it’s eight pounds more than Oprah Winfrey lost and wheeled out into the studio of her show back in 1988:
Ew. Gross. Let’s hope Dmitri Young has no plans to do that, or that he didn’t do that while he was working out for the Phillies, as per Bowden’s report.
Dmitri Young is 38; he played briefly for a couple of teams in the Nationals minor league system in 2009 and has been out of baseball for more than two years. But the man could hit when he was younger: He consistently posted OPS+ numbers in the 110-115 range while batting over .300 for several years in a row for the Reds and in 2003 with the Tigers, he hit .297/.372/.537 and made the All-Star team.
With Ryan Howard likely out for up to half this season, the Phillies don’t need a long-term solution at first base. If Bowden’s report is true and Young impressed the Phillies with his footwork at first base and his bat speed, they might be able to slot him in there until Howard returns.
Young has taken this weight-loss thing seriously, according to ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick:
“I’m not eating like a Viking now,” Young said. “I’ve learned to hold off, and when I do get my treat, I don’t abuse it. I’ll eat one slice of pecan pie and call it a day, instead of eating half the pie or the whole pie.”
Good for him. This would be a real nice story, that a man realized he not only ruined his baseball career, but perhaps his health, and was able to resurrect both. Here’s hoping he makes it back.
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