Cy Young

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My hero is Cy Young, one of the best pitchers to ever live. He became the namesake of the Cy Young pitching award for best pitcher after he won the most games in MLB history with 511 wins first all time. He lived in 1800's in Washington Township, Tuscarawas County, Ohio. He tried to help all players to show that hard work can help you reach the top. He did well in baseball because they made the Cy Young award. The award is given to the best pitcher of the year.

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My hero is Cy Young. He fits my definition of a hero because he was at the top of his class in baseball and made an impact on young baseball players everywhere. Young was born in Gilmore, a tiny farming community located in Washington Township, Tuscarawas County, Ohio. Cy Young starred in pro baseball in 1889. His first year was not heroic because he won 15 games but lost 15, which is the average for a pitcher at that time. The next year, 1890, he won 21 games and lost 14. That was his first good year and he got a $1,000 bonus. The next year he won 36 games. He had the most wins that year and he was the top pitcher.

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In 1895 he was heroic and changed history by making a new pitch that made the ball go slower. It was a change up, the older name was the slow-ball. Even today the change-up is the best off-speed pitch for kids and 4th best for pros. On September 18, 1897, Young pitched the first no-hitter in the modern era 1880-present. His was heroic because only about 30 people all-time pitched a no-hitter and he pitched two no-hitters. In 1899 his team lost 134 games and won 20 that was the worst season in MLB history but he won 17 of the 20 games. That is heroic because without him they would maybe win two or three games so he was a great pitcher to help his team that much.

The quote he said that made him the pitcher he is was "I never warmed up ten, fifteen minutes before a game like most pitchers do. I'd loosen up, three, four minutes. Five at the outside. And I never went to the bullpen. Oh, I'd relieve all right, plenty of times, but I went right from the bench to the box, and I'd take a few warm-up pitches and be ready. Then I had good control. I aimed to make the batter hit the ball, and I threw as few pitches as possible. That's why I was able to work every other day." that means that most pitchers take a long time to warm-up and get loose but he only took three or four minutes. That means that he was not pitching so much and saved a lot of energy for the game. That’s why he pitched on two days rest each time he would pitch. Today, pitchers take five or even six days off each start. That says to you that Cy Young was a hard worker and pitched every time he was needed.

He was one of the top pitchers of all-time and a role model to all baseball players out there.