Cy Young Retires

On March 15, 1912, Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young retires from baseball at the age of 45.

 

Cy Young warming up with the Boston Americans.

Young who played in 22 seasons for the Cleveland Spiders, St. Louis Perfectos, Boston Americans, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Naps and Boston Rustlers finished his career with 511 wins as a starting pitcher. The 511 wins are still a record in the MLB today.

Young pitched a perfect game on May, 5 1904, as a member of the Red Sox, and added three more no-hitters before his career ended. On top of the no-hitters Young pitched a record 749 complete games, something that will never be broken now because of the limited appearances a starting pitcher can obtain in a season, and the introduction of the relief pitcher.

One of Young’s most memorable moments was when he threw out the first pitch in World Series history in 1903 as a member of the 1903 Boston Red Sox. Young and the Red Sox would go on to win that years World Series.

Young was announced to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team and was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937.

Young even has an award named after him. The “Cy Young” award is now given out to the pitcher who puts up the best stats in a single season now.