Slimmed-down acquisition can still slug

By: BRIAN HIRO - Staff Writer | Tuesday, February 28, 2006 11:42 PM PST ∞

PEORIA, Ariz. ---- He was still capable of prodigious feats of strength, of course.

After all, when Walter Young carried his 322 pounds into the Camden Yards batter's box for his first major-league at-bat last September, he became the largest player by listed weight to appear in a major-league game. During batting practice that month, Young joined a select list of sluggers to hit a ball off the warehouse looming beyond right field of Baltimore's retro ballpark.

Once the norm, such jaw-dropping displays had grown increasingly rare for Young, the 6-foot-5 mountain of a first baseman whom the Padres claimed off waivers in January. He was losing power as if he were Sampson after a haircut.

"Toward the end of last season," Young said, "I could feel myself getting weaker."

So Young did something in the offseason that should strike fear into Cactus League ---- and, beyond that, Triple-A ---- pitchers: He hit the weights like a hanging curveball.

"Because I was born strong, it goes through your head that you don't need to lift weights," he said. "I didn't lift for 2 1/2 years. After a while that kind of caught up with me. This offseason, I worked out hard, and it helped out a lot."

Having increased his muscle mass and shaved about 15 pounds of unwanted flab, the 26-year-old Young is now showing the Padres the fruits of his labor. Looking like a supersized Mo Vaughn, the left-handed hitter last weekend launched two balls in batting practice that soared over the weight room that sits about 30 feet past the right-field fence of the main diamond.

"He hits the ball hard," Padres general manager Kevin Towers said. "There's a different sound when the ball comes off his bat."

Young didn't produce that sound enough for his liking last season. Though his average was a solid .288, he hit only 13 home runs in 466 at-bats for Baltimore's Triple-A affiliate, down from 33 homers the year before at Double-A. The Orioles called him up when rosters expanded on Sept. 1, and he batted .303 with his first big-league homer in 33 at-bats.

Young ultimately fell prey to a numbers squeeze at his position. Baltimore's signings of first basemen Jeff Conine and Kevin Millar left no room on the 40-man roster for Young, who was designated for assignment. Heeding the advice of Padres scout Ted Simmons, Towers snatched Young off the waiver wire for $20,000.

"He has pretty much hit at every level he's been," Towers said. "If anything, he'd be a pretty good guy coming off the bench if he shows that he's a good contact hitter ---- to have that kind of power.

"He's big, but he carries himself well for a big man. The way he moves around and acts, he doesn't look like a lumbering guy."

Young may have the dimensions of an offensive tackle ---- Towers has dubbed him "Big Continent" ---- but his athleticism is that of a defensive lineman.

In fact, Young was an All-America lineman at Purvis (Miss.) High, dominant enough to receive a football scholarship to Louisiana State. The Tigers wanted him to play both sports in college, but instead he signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates, who drafted the raw slugger in the 31st round in 1999.

Had he gone to LSU, Young would have been a freshman when the Tigers won the College World Series and a fifth-year senior when Nick Saban's football team won a national title in 2003. But he has no regrets.

"Football is in my blood. I miss it," Young said. "But would I go back and play? Probably not. This is the decision I made and this is one that I'm willing to stick with, and hopefully make a good career out of it."

Young is now working on a different kind of defense, and his sleeker physique has improved his range in the field. But he knows his meal ticket is power.

During a recent conversation about bat lengths and weights, Padres manager Bruce Bochy was asked what type of stick Young swings.

Bochy smiled and replied, "He swings a tree."

Contact staff writer Brian Hiro at b_hiro@hotmail.com.