Young is All-Star elder statesman

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Ernie Young doesn't see an elder statesman when he looks in the mirror. He still sees a baseball player, a pretty productive one at that.

Nevertheless, it won't come as a surprise to anyone this week if some of the younger players try to offer Young a cane or perhaps try to help him into the batter's box. After all, the festivities surrounding the Triple-A All-Star Game make for a wonderful atmosphere, and some good-natured ribbing is to be expected when you're one of the oldest of the 50 players expected to participate.

At 36, Young, who continues to slug homers for Buffalo, is the same age as Tacoma pitcher Masao Kida and 24 days older than Memphis pitcher Kevin Jarvis. And as he walked off the field after taking batting practice prior to Monday's Home Run Derby at Raley Field, Young knew exactly where the questions were going.

"I'm not used to it yet," laughed Young, who was eliminated in the semifinals of the home run competition. "I just keep doing the thing I've been doing."

Last year, Trenidad Hubbard was on the Pacific Coast League team for the game that was held in Pawtucket, R.I., and he had the distinction of being the "grand old man." This year, Young shares the honor with Kida but remains the oldest player on the International League squad.

"I'm just ahead of Jarvis," he said. "It's like I'm a sideshow now. I'm only kidding about that. But I tell you, I'm going to keep playing as long as I can.

"Mentally, I have to be stronger and prepared to play with these guys. I use the offseason to stay in shape so I can keep up with the B.J. Uptons and the younger guys that are coming up in baseball."

Keeping up with the younger players isn't always easy. But the likes of Young, Kida and Co. have certainly given the All-Star Game a distinct veteran feel. The average age of the 24 players on the International League roster is 26.6; the average age of the 26 players on the Pacific Coast League roster is 27.5.

Other IL members of the 30-and-over club are Indianapolis' Mark Corey (30), Toledo's Vic Darensbourg (34), Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's Chris Coste (32) and Buffalo's Jeff Liefer (30). Other PCL members of the 30-and-over club include Round Rock's Mike Coolbaugh (33), New Orleans' Rick Short (32), Omaha's Adrian Brown (31) and Memphis' Raul Gonzalez (31).

There are some youngsters on both squads, though. Pawtucket's Abe Alvarez (22), Rochester's Travis Bowyer (23), Buffalo's Ryan Garko (24), Richmond's Brayan Pena (23), Louisville's Edwin Encarnacion (22), Indianapolis' Nate McLouth (23) and Durham's Upton -- the game's youngest player at 20 -- fuel the IL youth movement.

Tucson's Conor Jackson, Oklahoma's Ian Kinsler and Nashville's Corey Hart, each 23, are the only players under 25 on the PCL squad.

It is Young, however, who will remain a curiosity this week as the Triple-A leagues display their wares in northern California. He's spent parts of eight seasons in the Major Leagues, connecting for 27 homers and 90 RBIs in 288 games. He's topped the 20-homer mark seven times in the Minor Leagues and has 19 this season, yet has never been able to duplicate those numbers consistently in stops in Oakland, Kansas City, Arizona, Detroit and Cleveland.

Young's best Major League season came in 1996, when he hit 19 homers and drove in 64 runs while hitting .242 in 141 games for the Athletics. He's only played 110 Major League games since but has become a feared slugger in the minors. Through the All-Star break, he has 292 career homers and 1,014 RBIs.

"I'm eight homers shy of 300 and went over 1,000 RBIs in my Minor League career," Young said. "That's the part of baseball people want to see, home runs and RBIs. No one wants to see a no-hitter. And like I keep saying, I love baseball."

Whether Young will get the chance to come off the bench for a big league team in the pennant race this summer remains to be seen. If recent history is any indication, it's not likely. But he continues to face it all with a smile. After all, time has done more for Young than put a few years on him.

"Sure, it's been frustrating. And I don't like the path I've been on the last six years. But everyone in baseball has his own story about why he's not in the Major Leagues," he said. "I try not to think about that stuff. I just want to play as long as I can and keep going."