Hasnt this election year taught us anything?  The only way to decide is to poll the people, and let the democracy work.

Michael Brian Young (born October 19, 1976 in Covina, California) is a Major League Baseball shortstop currently playing for the Texas Rangers.

Young was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 25th round of the 1994 draft but did not sign. Young attended the University of California at Santa Barbara. He did sign three years later, when the Toronto Blue Jays signed him in the fifth round of the 1997 Major League Baseball Draft. He was traded in 2000 with pitcher Darwin Cubillan to the Rangers for Esteban Loaiza.

Young is currently signed to a $80,000,000 contract that will keep him with the Texas Rangers until 2013.

In 2002, Young placed 2nd in fielding with a .988 fielding percentage.

In 2003, Young was 3rd in the league in hits with 204 and led all second baseman with a batting average of .306. Young narrowly missed his first gold glove with a fielding percentage of .987. At the end of the 2003 season, Young moved to shortstop after the Alex Rodriguez trade to make room for Alfonso Soriano.

In 2004, Young was second in the American League in hits with 216 and at-bats with 690. He was 4th in the league in runs at 114. He was 9th in the American League in batting with an average of .313. Young finshed second in RBI by a shortstop with 99.

Young won the AL batting title in 2005 with an average of .331 and was first in MLB in hits with 221. He was 2nd in AL in at-bats with 668 and his 114 runs were 5th best in the AL. His 40 doubles were the 8th best in the AL. Young also established a career high in home runs with 24. Young's 91 RBI placed him second among all shortstops in the AL.

Young was elected as a member of 2006 World Baseball Classic roster.

In the 2006 MLB All-Star Game held at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Young was rewarded with the Ted Williams All-Star Game MVP award after hitting a two-run triple.

During the 2006 season, Young was 13th in the AL in batting with an average of .314. He was second in the majors in hits, with 217, doubles, at 52, and at-bats, with 691. Young set a career high and led all shortstops in RBI with 103. Young was 1st in the AL in fielding percentage at shortstop with .981. Young also played all 162 games of the 2006 season. Young became the 29th player to accumulate 200 hits, 50 doubles, and 100 RBI in a season. Young became just the 5th player in Major League history to collect 215 hits in three consecutive seasons.

Young finished the 2007 season with a batting average of .315 which led the Rangers and was 11th highest in the AL. Young also led the Rangers with 94 RBI and was second among all shortstops in the AL. Young was second on the team and tied a career high in stolen bases with 13. Young's 201 hits were 4th in the AL and marked the 5th consecutive 200-hit season joining Ichiro Suzuki and Wade Boggs as the only players to do so since 1940 and just the second middle infielder, along with Charlie Gehringer, to have accomplished that feat.

Young was involved in the longest All-Star game in history. He drove in the game-winning RBI at the 2008 MLB All-Star Game after four hours and fifty minutes of playing time. Also, in 2008 Young won the gold glove at shortstop for the American League.

Young was born in Covina, California to Anna and Fred Young. His mother Anna is of Mexican American descent. Young met his wife Cristina Barbosa, who is also of Mexican descent, while attending Bishop Amat Memorial High School. The couple married in 2000 and have one child together. His cousin is former WBO Light Welterweight boxing champion Zack Padilla.[1][2][3][4]

Rangers Single Season Records

• 1. Hits- 221 (2005)
• 1. Doubles- 52 (2006)
• 1. At Bats- 691 (2006)

Rangers Career Records

• 2. Triples- 41
• 4. Hits- 1,488
• 4. Runs- 743
• 4. Doubles- 275
• 6. Runs Batted In- 652
• 8. Batting Average- .300

Thanks to Wikipedia for that.