Sorry, Delmon, we have to talk about your hot streak

Posted at 8:33 AM on July 26, 2010 by Bob Ingrassia
Filed under: Sports & Recreation

Delmon Young follows through with a two-run hit in the ninth for a come-from-behind win in a baseball game July 18 at Target Field. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Four years ago, Delmon Young was a minor-leaguer in trouble. He was serving a 50-game suspension without pay for throwing a bat during a Durham Bulls game. The bat hit an umpire.

It was an ugly incident that would dog Young for years. When the Twins traded for Young in 2007, the bat toss was front and center. Coaches, reporters and fans wondered if Young would develop his potential or flame out as a hot head.

Young's first few seasons with the Twins didn't exactly endear him to the club. He showed flashes of talent, but would sometimes go into funks -- and then not take well to suggestions from coaches.

For the past month, however, Young has come into his own. With key pieces of the Twins in various states of injury or slump, Young has lifted the club in Kirby-like fashion. He's hitting .410 this month, with 5 home runs and 23 RBIs.

True to his now-tolerable form, Young remains quiet around the clubhouse. When reporters asked him about his hot streak, he put them off. As the Star Tribune reports:

"I don't want to think about anything like that right now. I just want to show up every day and go out and play. I don't even like you talking about it right now."

Young has been so good that the bat-throwing incident is a fading memory. Here's how the author of Twins blog OMG MN Twins put it:

Someone showed me this video again today and I actually forgot that he did that, now THAT is how good he has been lately.