Anthony Young dies at 51; lost record 27 straight games

ByESPN.COM NEWS SERVICES
June 27, 2017, 6:35 PM

— -- Former pitcher Anthony Young, who still holds the major league record with 27 consecutive losses, died in Houston on Tuesday, the New York Mets announced.?

He was 51 years old. His death comes on the anniversary of his 24th consecutive loss, which broke the record, on June 27, 1993 against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Former Mets pitcher Turk Wendell said in a statement that Young said earlier this year at the Mets' fantasy camp that he had been diagnosed with a brain tumor.

"Anthony was a true gentleman," Wendell said. "At this year's fantasy camp, he told us he had a brain tumor. That was Anthony. He never ran away from anything."

Former major leaguer Lenny Harris tweeted earlier Tuesday that his friend Young had fallen into a coma.

Young pitched for the Mets from 1991-'93 and lost the record 27 consecutive games from 1992-'93.?

The Mets said in the statement that Young "never let his losing records with the Mets rob him of his sense of humor or his grace."

"A.Y. took a lot of kidding about his losing records," Doug Flynn, a former Mets infielder who participated in the fantasy camps with Young, said in the statement. "But he was the victim of some bad luck during the streak. He knew inside that he was a better pitcher than his numbers."

Young also pitched for the Cubs from 1994-'95 and with the Houston Astros in 1996. He was 15-48 with a 3.89 ERA and 20 saves in six major league seasons.

ESPN Stats & Information contributed to this report.