Friday Five: Favorite Delmon Young Cards

I have been writing about the Durham Bulls a lot this past week, so I figured I would break out some Delmon Young cards, scan them, and write them into a post. Delmon was a top 5 prospect for several years in the early 2000s and was the star of the Durham Bulls when I moved to North Carolina.  

His most famous moment as a top prospect for the Durham Bulls was launching his bat at an umpire after striking out in a game against Jon Lester......

Delmon would later go on to disappoint Rays and Twins fans, before developing a reputation as a clutch Postseason player for the Tigers and Orioles. He was out of MLB in his early thirties, but continued to play baseball overseas in the Australian League.  

Sorry, no Australian baseball cards in this post, but these are my Top 5 Delmon Young cards......

5. 2007 Topps 52 Chrome Delmon Young 

Yes, it's a reprint or rehashed design from 1952 Topps, but it's a really good looking card.  This is also when we started getting the "official" rookie cards. This is an official rookie card, unlike the other cards on this list, which are all unofficial.  

4. 2007 Topps Finest Autographs Delmon Young 

Baseball cards do not usually reference too much on-field drama, but here we are with Delmon's 2007 Finest autograph. Notice the "Revenge is Sweet" footnote at the bottom of the card. The back has a short write-up about the "revenge", but they go a little soft. So, here is the story this card is supposed to tell:

The Rays called up Delmon Young at the end of August 2006. His first game is against the White Sox in Chicago. Ozzie Guillen thinks Delmon is an ass and has Freddy Garcia drill him in the back on the first pitch in his first career at-bat. A few innings later, Delmon hit a home run off of Freddy Garcia.  

Here is a snippet of the box score:

Here is a white card with a silver sticker. I cannot roll my eyes hard enough.  

3. 2006 TIAA-CREF Durham Bulls Delmon Young 

Yes, I do work in education and would love to hear about your TIAA-CREF retirement plans, provided I get a baseball card for listening to your sales pitch.......

TIAA-CREF guy: "Save some money or you'll be on food stamps when you retire"  

I enjoyed the sales pitch, but after actually getting the Delmon Young card in my hands and hearing about my future on food stamps, I remembered that there is a financial advisor guy who stops by my school. I am going to teach for 30 years, get a full pension and benefits from the State of North Carolina, and now I also have a TIAA-CREF Delmon Young card. 

You do not see this card very often. 

2. 2004 Bowman Sterling Delmon Young Bat/Autograph 

Delmon could always hit.  

Delmon could never catch the ball.  

This card used to be worth a bazillion dollars and it shows Delmon likely playing a routine fly ball into a double or triple, depending on the speed of the batter. When people who are getting into prospecting ask my strategy as a Minor League for getting good cards of big prospects, I think of this card and tell them to wait a decade. I am certain this card had a three digit value when he was on the Bulls in 2005 and 2006, but it was $10 when I bought it.  

1. 2003 Bowman Chrome Delmon Young Autograph 

One of the great "what could have been" cards from the early 2000s. If only Delmon had stayed on the field a little longer and treated the regular season with the same urgency he treated the Postseason. Maybe not thrown a bat at an umpire, or yelled a bunch of antisemitic stuff at some guy in New York.