page_title: Chris Young (pitcher)
section_title: 2006
hierarchical_section_title: Chris Young (pitcher) / Professional career / San Diego Padres / 2006
caption_attribution_description: English: Chris Young pitcher San Diego Padres
context_page_description: Christopher Ryan Young is an American former professional baseball pitcher who is currently MLB Senior Vice President overseeing the On-Field Operations and Umpiring Departments. This post also requires him to oversee disciplinary action for on-field incidents.
  He made his Major League Baseball debut on August 24, 2004, with the Texas Rangers and also has Major League experience with the San Diego Padres, New York Mets, Seattle Mariners, and Kansas City Royals. He had previously excelled in basketball and baseball at Highland Park High School in University Park, Texas, and Princeton University.
  Young helped Highland Park reach the Class 4A Region II basketball final in 1997 and the Class 4A Texas state basketball final in 1998. He tossed a no-hitter in 1997 while compiling a 6–0 record, helping Highland Park reach the Class 4A Texas state baseball final. During his senior year, he was District Most Valuable Player in basketball, and led his baseball team to the state championship, while pitching in two no-hitters. That year, he was a first-team All-State selection in basketball and baseball.
context_section_description: 2006 marked Young's breakout season. His ERA continued its downward trend, falling to 3.46 over 31 starts, good enough for sixth best in the National League, and he recorded a career-high 169 strikeouts. He finished with an 11–5 record, led all major league pitchers with a 2.41 road ERA, allowed a league-leading 6.72 hits per 9 innings pitched, and a .206 opponent batting average. He had 15 no decisions, the most among MLB starting pitchers in 2006.  During 2006 he led the majors in stolen bases allowed, with 41. During the season, Young won a National League Pitcher of the Month award, took a no-hitter into the sixth inning or beyond three times, and extended his undefeated road start streak to 24 games. This streak made Young one of only three pitchers in major league history to have gone at least 23 straight road starts without a loss; Allie Reynolds set the record at 25 straight road starts spanning the 1948 and 1949 seasons, with Russ Meyer falling one short, going undefeated in 24 straight road contests spanning the 1953 and 1954 seasons.
  In his first six starts after Memorial Day, he improved from a 3–3 with a 4.32 ERA to 7–3 with a 2.97 ERA, by allowing only four earned runs over 38⅔ innings. He was named one of five candidates from the National League for Major League Baseball's "All-Star Final Vote" to determine the final official selection for the 2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game; however, Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Nomar Garciaparra was elected. Nonetheless, his strong June performance – during which he allowed 16 hits and 13 walks over 30⅔ innings, maintained a 1.17 ERA and struck out 34 – earned him the National League Pitcher of the Month award. His five starts in June were highlighted by a career-best 12-strikeout performance on June 9 against the Florida Marlins and a June 21 win over his former team, the Texas Rangers.
  On September 22, Young had a no-hitter through 8⅓ innings of the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates before pinch hitter Joe Randa hit a two-run home run. This would have been the first no-hitter in Padres history. It was the first time a Padre had taken a no-hitter into the ninth inning since Andy Ashby on September 5, 1997 vs. the Atlanta Braves. Young had been on pace for a perfect game through 5⅔ innings. Young also took a no-hitter into the eighth inning on May 30 against the Colorado Rockies as a prelude to his June performance. In that game, which marked the first time a pitcher took a no-hitter into the eighth inning during the 2006 season, he surrendered a double to Brad Hawpe, who had been a teammate in the 1997 Connie Mack World Series, on his first pitch of the eighth inning and 99th of the game. During Young's next start on June 4 at Pittsburgh, he did not allow a hit for the first 5⅓ innings, making him one of only two pitchers (Steve Trachsel – June 20–25, 2002) to have consecutive starts with at least five hitless innings since the 2000 season.
  He ended the season by winning his first career postseason start; on October 7, he earned a 3–1 victory in Game 3 of the 2006 National League Division Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. He pitched 6⅔ shutout innings, struck out nine, walked two and allowed four hits. It remains the Padres' only victory in ten post-season games against the Cardinals. The Padres lost the series three games to one. Young's 6–0 road performance in 2006 was one of 49 undefeated road seasons with at least five victories by a pitcher since post-season play began in 1903. However, it was the first to be followed by a postseason road victory.
  In November, he traveled to Japan to take part in the Major League Baseball Japan All-Star Series. Young was the starter in an exhibition game against the Yomiuri Giants, which was memorable for the major leaguers' three-run ninth-inning rally to earn a tie. This game was the prelude to the five-game series which began with three games at the Tokyo Dome and was followed by games in Osaka and Fukuoka. Young pitched the fourth game of the series. Young also blogged on behalf of mlb.com about daily life
caption: Chris Young wearing the Padres military-style jersey
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