Floyd Youmans
Encyclopedia
Floyd Everett Youmans is a former Major League Baseball
pitcher
. He is likely best remembered as one of the players dealt by the New York Mets
to the Montreal Expos
for Hall of Fame
catcher
Gary Carter
.
, and was a childhood friend and Hillsborough High School teammate of former Mets pitcher Dwight Gooden
before moving with his family to Fontana, California
. He was drafted by the Mets in the second round of the 1982 Major League Baseball Draft
, one round after the club selected Gooden. He and Gooden were teammates on the Kingsport Mets
in .
With the South Atlantic League
's Columbia Mets
in , Youmans went 12-3 with a 3.42 earned run average
. After splitting the season between the Lynchburg and Jackson Mets
, Youmans was traded on December 10, to the Montreal Expos along with Hubie Brooks
, Mike Fitzgerald and Herm Winningham
for future Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter.
. For the season, Youmans went 4-3 with a team best 2.45 ERA. One of those wins came on the second to last day of the season against Ron Darling
and the New York Mets in front of 45,404 at Shea Stadium
.
On June 18, , Youmans bested Gooden the first time the two faced off against each other, holding the Mets to only one earned run
in 5.1 innings, and drawing a walk in his first at bat against Gooden. However, they would face off again on August 1, and this time Gooden would emerge victorious. In the hard-throwing right-hander's first full season as a member of the rotation full-time, Youmans threw five double-digit strikeout games and finishing third in the National League
with 202 strikeouts. He also led the league with 118 bases on balls, however, limiting his effectiveness and contributing to a 13-12 win-loss record.
Youmans' season was plagued with injuries, as he visited the disabled list three times. However, he still managed to make 23 starts for the Expos, and went 4-1 with a 1.13 ERA and three shutout
s in the month of July to earn National League
Pitcher of the Month honors.
. Youmans was 3-6 with a 3.21 ERA when his season was cut short on June 25 by an indefinite suspension for "failing to comply with his drug-testing program." On August 10, the suspension was reduced to sixty days, and the following day, Youmans admitted during a news conference to having used cocaine
.
with Jeff Parrett
for Kevin Gross
. His season was marked by injuries, as he was on the disabled list for most of May and pitched his last game on June 24, ending the season with a 1-5 record and 5.70 ERA. He had arthroscopic shoulder surgery on August 22, and never pitched at the major league level again.
of the Northeast League in , and became a coach for the Catskill Cougars the following season. He became interim manager of the club during the season when Edgar Perez was fired as manager on August 4.
He attempted a comeback in at age 39 with the Canadian Baseball League
's Saskatoon Legends
, but only pitched five games before the league folded. In and , Youmans was the pitching coach for the Joliet Jackhammers
of the Northern League.
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
. He is likely best remembered as one of the players dealt by the New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
to the Montreal Expos
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...
for Hall of Fame
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of...
catcher
Catcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
Gary Carter
Gary Carter
Gary Edmund Carter , nicknamed "Kid" and "Kid Carter", is an American former Major League Baseball catcher. During a 19-year baseball career, mostly with the Montreal Expos and the New York Mets, Carter established himself as one of the premier catchers in the National League, winning three Gold...
.
New York Mets
Youmans was born in Tampa, FloridaTampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
, and was a childhood friend and Hillsborough High School teammate of former Mets pitcher Dwight Gooden
Dwight Gooden
Dwight Eugene Gooden , nicknamed "Doc Gooden" or "Dr. K", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He was one of the most dominant and feared pitchers in the National League in the middle and late 1980s.-Career:...
before moving with his family to Fontana, California
Fontana, California
Fontana is a city of 196,069 residents in San Bernardino County, California. Founded in 1913, it remained essentially rural until World War II, when entrepreneur Henry J. Kaiser built a large steel mill in the area...
. He was drafted by the Mets in the second round of the 1982 Major League Baseball Draft
1982 Major League Baseball Draft
-First round selections:The following are the first round picks in the 1982 Major League Baseball draft.- Other notable players :*Barry Bonds was drafted by the Giants in the 2nd round of the 1982 amateur draft, but did not sign...
, one round after the club selected Gooden. He and Gooden were teammates on the Kingsport Mets
Kingsport Mets
The Kingsport Mets are a minor league baseball team based in Kingsport, Tennessee, United States. The team, which plays in the Appalachian League, is a Rookie League affiliate of Major League Baseball's New York Mets....
in .
With the South Atlantic League
South Atlantic League
The South Atlantic League is a minor league baseball league based chiefly in the Southeastern United States, with the exception of three teams in the Mid-Atlantic States...
's Columbia Mets
Columbia Mets
Located in Columbia, South Carolina, the Columbia Mets were affiliated with the New York Mets from 1983 to 1992. A member of the South Atlantic League, they became the Capital City Bombers in 1993. They played in Capital City Stadium.-Year by Year Record:...
in , Youmans went 12-3 with a 3.42 earned run average
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
. After splitting the season between the Lynchburg and Jackson Mets
Jackson Mets
The Jackson Mets were a professional baseball team based in Jackson, Mississippi, from 1975 through 1990. As of 2010, they are the longest-tenured club to be based in the Jackson metropolitan area...
, Youmans was traded on December 10, to the Montreal Expos along with Hubie Brooks
Hubie Brooks
Hubert Brooks, Jr. is a former Major League Baseball player. During his career, he played as a third baseman, shortstop and right fielder for the New York Mets , Montreal Expos , Los Angeles Dodgers , California Angels and Kansas City Royals .Brooks played varsity baseball...
, Mike Fitzgerald and Herm Winningham
Herm Winningham
Herman Son Winningham is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball.Drafted by the New York Mets in the 1st round of the 1981 amateur draft, Winningham made his major league debut with the Mets on September 1, , and appeared in his final game on October 3, .Winningham was a member of the...
for future Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter.
Montreal Expos
Youmans made his major league debut in the middle of the following season, starting on July 1, , against the St. Louis CardinalsSt. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
. For the season, Youmans went 4-3 with a team best 2.45 ERA. One of those wins came on the second to last day of the season against Ron Darling
Ron Darling
Ronald Maurice Darling, Jr. is an American former right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Mets, Oakland Athletics and Montreal Expos...
and the New York Mets in front of 45,404 at Shea Stadium
Shea Stadium
William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008...
.
On June 18, , Youmans bested Gooden the first time the two faced off against each other, holding the Mets to only one earned run
Earned run
In baseball, an earned run is any run for which the pitcher is held accountable . Any runner who tags his base and reaches home plate is scored against the pitcher as an earned run...
in 5.1 innings, and drawing a walk in his first at bat against Gooden. However, they would face off again on August 1, and this time Gooden would emerge victorious. In the hard-throwing right-hander's first full season as a member of the rotation full-time, Youmans threw five double-digit strikeout games and finishing third in the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
with 202 strikeouts. He also led the league with 118 bases on balls, however, limiting his effectiveness and contributing to a 13-12 win-loss record.
Youmans' season was plagued with injuries, as he visited the disabled list three times. However, he still managed to make 23 starts for the Expos, and went 4-1 with a 1.13 ERA and three shutout
Shutout
In team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball....
s in the month of July to earn National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
Pitcher of the Month honors.
Drug rehab
After the 1987 season, Youmans checked into an alcohol rehabilitation center under speculation that he had been forced to do so by Commissioner Peter UeberrothPeter Ueberroth
Peter Victor Ueberroth is an American executive. He served as the sixth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1984 to 1989. He was recently the chairman of the United States Olympic Committee; he was replaced by Larry Probst in October 2008....
. Youmans was 3-6 with a 3.21 ERA when his season was cut short on June 25 by an indefinite suspension for "failing to comply with his drug-testing program." On August 10, the suspension was reduced to sixty days, and the following day, Youmans admitted during a news conference to having used cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
.
Philadelphia Phillies
On December 6, 1988, Youmans was traded to the Philadelphia PhilliesPhiladelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
with Jeff Parrett
Jeff Parrett
Jeffrey Dale Parrett was a pitcher for the Montreal Expos , Philadelphia Phillies , Atlanta Braves , Oakland Athletics , Colorado Rockies and St...
for Kevin Gross
Kevin Gross
Kevin Frank Gross , is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1983 through 1997.Gross played for five different teams during his career: the Philadelphia Phillies , Montreal Expos , Los Angeles Dodgers , Texas Rangers , and Anaheim Angels...
. His season was marked by injuries, as he was on the disabled list for most of May and pitched his last game on June 24, ending the season with a 1-5 record and 5.70 ERA. He had arthroscopic shoulder surgery on August 22, and never pitched at the major league level again.
Comeback attempts
Youmans pitched for the independent Sullivan Mountain Lions and Newburgh Night HawksElmira Pioneers
The Elmira Pioneers are an amateur baseball team based in Elmira, New York. They currently compete in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, a wood bat collegiate summer baseball league. Prior to the 2006 baseball season, the team was a professional ballclub with a rich history of league...
of the Northeast League in , and became a coach for the Catskill Cougars the following season. He became interim manager of the club during the season when Edgar Perez was fired as manager on August 4.
He attempted a comeback in at age 39 with the Canadian Baseball League
Canadian Baseball League
The Canadian Baseball League, was an independent minor league that operated in 2003. The league's only Commissioner was Major League Baseball Hall of Famer and Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame member Ferguson Jenkins...
's Saskatoon Legends
Saskatoon Legends
The Saskatoon Legends were a minor league baseball team during the 2003 season. They played in the Canadian Baseball League, which was not a part of Minor League Baseball and therefore not affiliated with Major League Baseball or its member clubs. The Legends played out of Cairns Field. The team...
, but only pitched five games before the league folded. In and , Youmans was the pitching coach for the Joliet Jackhammers
Joliet JackHammers
The Joliet JackHammers were a professional baseball team based in Joliet, Illinois, in the United States. The JackHammers were a member of the Northern League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. From 2002 to 2010, the JackHammers played their home games at Silver Cross...
of the Northern League.