NewsYoung re-injured hamstring in return
Rangers star admits he came back to lineup too soon
By T.R. Sullivan / MLB.com
09/20/09 11:44 AM ET
ARLINGTON -- Rangers third baseman Michael Young admitted Sunday morning that he actually aggravated his strained left hamstring when he played on Tuesday against the Oakland Athletics. Young was not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Angels and is not expected back anytime soon. "What it comes down to is I came back too early and re-aggravated it," Young said. "It's frustrating. I knew it was risky but I rolled the dice. We had just been shut out twice and I wanted to play. I'm not back to Square 1, but it's not as good as it was when I tried to go back in." Young originally injured the hamstring in the second game of a doubleheader against the Blue Jays on Sept. 2. He was supposed to be out 2-4 weeks. He came back in two weeks as the Rangers' designated hitter on Tuesday against the Athletics. In his first at-bat, he aggravated the injury on the second pitch. Athletics pitcher Edgar Gonzalez threw him a slow breaking ball, Young tried to check his swing and his hamstring grabbed him. "I had been swinging hard for five days," Young said. "But that was off a machine and my mechanics were perfect. The first time I go up to bat, I got caught off-balance and it grabbed me." Young left that game after one at-bat and hasn't played since. His return is not known. "The tough thing about a hamstring is it's not pain," Young said. "If it was just pain, I could have played the next day. They just don't let you go. You start to run and it's says, 'No, I'm not going to let you go.' "I took a shot when I did and it didn't work out. Now I'm going to make sure I get it right. We have a great training staff here, it's time I listened to them." Young is leading the Rangers with a .322 batting average, seventh-best in the American League.T.R. Sullivan is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
