Former Mets starter Anthony Young, who lost an MLB record 27 straight games from 1992-93, died Tuesday in Houston at the age of 51, the Mets announced.
Young had been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor.
"Anthony was a true gentleman," said ex-Mets reliever Turk Wendell, who worked at the team's fantasy camp with Young. "At this year's fantasy camp, he told us he had a brain tumor. That was Anthony. He never ran away from anything."
Young pitched for the Mets from 1991-93, and went 5-35 with a 3.82 ERA in his time in Flushing. During his last two seasons, he set a record by dropping 27 consecutive decisions, although he did record 15 saves during the 1992 campaign.
After defeating the Expos on April 19, 1992, Young went 79 appearances without a win before earning the win as a reliever against Miami on July 28, 1993. He appeared on "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno during the nearly 15-month losing streak.
"A.Y. took a lot of kidding about his losing records," said ex-Mets infielder Doug Flynn, who also worked with Young at the fantasy camp. "But he was the victim of some bad luck during the streak. He knew inside that he was a better pitcher than his numbers."
Young also spent two years with the Cubs from 1994-95 before finishing his career with the Astros in 1996, and went 15-48 with a 3.89 ERA in 181 career appearances (51 starts). The Mets selected him in the 38th round of the 1987 MLB draft.
The Mets described the righty pitcher in their release as someone "who never let his losing records with the Mets rob him of his sense of humor or his grace."
.jpg?w=600)
