Oakland, CA – Curt Young has agreed to return as the pitching year stint with the Boston Red Sox.
Young spent 23 years in the Oakland organization, including seven as the Athletics' pitching coach, before leaving for the Red Sox. His pitching staff was a major factor in Boston's September collapse that left the Red Sox out of a playoff spot.
Originally selected by Oakland in the fourth round of the 1981 draft, Young pitched for the Athletics from 1983-91 and again in 1993, then spent four years as a minor league coach before becoming the major league pitching coach in 2004.
During the 2010 season under Young, the Athletics' staff led the American League with a 3.56 earned run average and 17 shutouts. The club's starters also had an ERA of 3.47, the lowest in the AL since the 1990 Red Sox.
This past season, Boston pitchers ranked third in the AL with 1,213 strikeouts and tied for fourth in shutouts with 13. However, the Red Sox starters struggled in September, contributing to the team's 7-20 mark that allowed Tampa Bay to steal the wild card playoff berth.
Young pitched parts of 11 seasons in the majors with Oakland, Kansas City and the New York Yankees. The lefty was 69-53 with a 4.31 ERA over 251 games, including 162 starts, and helped the A's to three straight AL pennants from 1988-90.
The Athletics also removed the interim tag from strength and conditioning coach Mike Henriques.
