MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com-Arlington, Texas – Third baseman Michael Young has been selected as the 2009 Texas Rangers Player of the Year, it was announced today.  The Rangers have also announced that it has purchased the contracts of left-handed pitchers Michael Kirkman and Zach Phillips, as both have been added to the 40-man roster.

Young will receive his award at the 2010 Dr Pepper Texas Rangers Mid-Winter Awards Banquet, which is scheduled for Friday, January 29 at the Omni Fort Worth Hotel.

Young, who was selected in voting conducted by the Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America, previously earned Rangers Player of the Year honors in 2004, 2005, and 2007. The four Player of the Year awards match Ruben Sierra (1987-88-89-91) for the second most in team history, one behind Juan Gonzalez (1992-93-96-97-98).

In his first season at third base, Young batted .322 with 22 home runs and 68 RBI in 135 games. His .322 batting average was fifth highest in the American League and marked his sixth .300 season, most ever for a Ranger. Despite playing in only 135 games due to injury, Young led the club in batting average, on-base percentage (.374), hits (174), total bases (280), and multi-hit games (51). Earning his sixth All-Star selection, he started for the A.L. at third base, where he placed third in the league with a .969 fielding percentage.
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Among the other honorees at the Mid-Winter Banquet will be 2009 Rangers Pitcher of the Year Scott Feldman, 2009 Rangers Rookie of the Year Elvis Andrus, and 2009 Jim Sundberg Community Achievement Award winner Norm Lyons. Additional award recipients will be announced in the upcoming weeks.

Tickets for the Dr Pepper Mid-Winter Awards Banquet are priced at $60.00 each with tables of ten available for $600.00 and are on sale at www.texasrangers.com.Net proceeds benefit the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation. The event will begin at 6:30 p.m.

The Omni Fort Worth Hotel is located at 1300 Houston St. in downtown Fort Worth. For more information, please contact the Rangers at 972-RANGERS.

Kirkman, 23, combined to go 9-8 with a 3.48 ERA (56 ER/144.2 IP) in 26 games/25 starts this season for High-A Bakersfield and Double-A Frisco.  He recorded 61 walks against 118 strikeouts, holding opposing batters to a .251 (136-542) average with 10 home runs.  Kirkman allowed more than 4 earned runs in just 2 of his 26 outings this season.  He began the year at Bakersfield, his first action at the High-A level, going 4-1 with a 2.06 ERA (11 ER/48.0 IP) in 8 games/7 starts.  He was promoted to Frisco in late May, going 5-7 with a 4.19 ERA in 18 games/starts for the RoughRiders.  The club’s fifth round selection in the 2005 June draft, the Lake City, Fla. native is entering his sixth professional season in 2010.

Phillips, 23, was a combined 2-3 with 4 saves and a 1.39 ERA (12 ER/77.2 IP) in 36 games/3 starts for Bakersfield and Frisco.  He recorded 75 strikeouts against 30 walks, as opponents batted just .163 (46-283) for the year.  Phillips allowed just 2 home runs all season, an average of one in almost every 39.0 innings.  He threw more than 1.0 inning in 23 of his 33 relief appearances (69.7%) and held left-handed batters to a .137 (16-116) average for the year.  Phillips was selected in the 23rd round of the 2004 June draft, a draft-and-follow player who signed the following May.  He has pitched primarily as a starter in his pro career before appearing in relief in 2009. 

With the addition of Kirkman and Phillips, the Rangers now have 37 players on the club’s 40-man roster.

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