Michael Young used to carry the title of "Mr. Ranger" with him as he was the most tenured, most consistent and one of the most well-liked members of the Texas Rangers.
That's why it was so crazy the way his playing career in Texas ended, with a span of two bad years off the field with several dust-ups with the Rangers' front office involving position changes and playing time.
Young accused the Rangers' front office, led by GM Jon Daniels, of misleading and manipulating him, as well as causing a "breach of trust" between the two sides after the Rangers moved him to accomodate the signings of Mike Napoli and Adrian Beltre. He demanded a trade and was nearly dealt to the Colorado Rockies before coming back to put up one of the best years of his career in 2011 despite saying he had "no relationship" with the Rangers front office.
He was finally traded following the 2012 season — a career-worst year — and when he left for Philadelphia, he stood firm by his stance that he had no relationship with Daniels or anyone else in the Rangers brass. It seemed to mark a sad ending to a great career.
But on Friday, Young returned to Arlington to announce his retirement from baseball, as he was flanked by Rangers manager Ron Washington, and, you guessed it, Daniels.
In fact, Daniels got choked up talking about Young. The two shook hands several times and both had kind words to say about each other, as it seems time has healed their previous wounds. And that's a great thing to see.
"We had a pretty unique and very good relationship before the situation that was well-documented," Daniels told reporters. "We communicated after he made the playoffs with L.A. We saw each other this offseason and had a chance to talk. But more than anything, it was time and being away from it that helped.
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"I don’t regret the [personnel] decisions. I do regret some of the circumstances surrounding it and how I handled elements of it."
Now, there's talk that Young could someday return to baseball in some capacity, and if he does, it'd most likely be with the Rangers, where he spent all but one year of his 14-year MLB career.
"I'm open to it without a doubt," Young said. "I want to get back in the game at some point. Baseball is in my blood."
And you know the Rangers would love to have him.
