He's No. 19, his last name is Yount ... yep, got to be

Home
Sports

He's No. 19, his last name is Yount ... yep, got to be

Article by: BRIAN STENSAAS , Star Tribune
Updated: July 2, 2008 - 11:31 PM

Among the opposing players to visit Midway Stadium this season is Dustin Yount, the son of Hall of Famer Robin Yount.

hide

(left to right) Lincoln Saltdogs first baseman Dustin Yount batted in first inning action at Midway stadium. Yount is the son of Hall-of-Famer, Robin Yount.

Photo: Bruce Bisping, Star Tribune

Cart Buy Photos

Camera Star Tribune photo galleries

Camera view larger

1
comments
resize text
print
buy reprints

Tweet
share

email
Email share

your name

your email

recipients email

+ add a comment add a comment

Barefoot and snacking on a frozen lemonade in the seats behind home plate at Midway Stadium, he blended in among the 5,000 fans taking in the St. Paul Saints' afternoon game with the Lincoln Saltdogs last Wednesday.¶ Except behind those mirrored sunglasses was Robin Yount, and he was paying close attention to Lincoln's first baseman wearing his familiar No. 19: his son Dustin.¶ "He's doing OK, holding his own," Yount said after the game. "He's always been fairly good, Little League all the way through.¶ He's played since as far back as I can remember, as most kids do regardless of whether they grew up in a baseball family."¶ A baseball family? Yes, you could say that.

The elder Yount played 20 seasons for the Milwaukee Brewers, finishing his career with 3,142 hits and becoming a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Dustin, 25, was born a week after the Brewers lost to St. Louis in the 1982 World Series. He's been around baseball ever since.

A ninth-round draft pick of the Baltimore Orioles in 2001, Dustin Yount and the Saltdogs return to St. Paul on Friday for a three-game holiday weekend series.

Yount, hitting .297 with a .406 on-base percentage, seven home runs and 40 RBI going into Wednesday's game, leads Lincoln in RBI -- just what you'd wish for in a No. 3 hitter. But Saltdogs manager Tim Johnson had a phone call to make before cementing Yount in the third spot.

"I called his dad and asked, 'Does he have the [guts] to be a third hitter?" Johnson recalled. "He said yes, he'd play anywhere. But I needed a guy in there who could produce runs. And he's done a tremendous job with that. He's got the great makeup like his dad did."

Johnson would know. He was the Brewers' everyday shortstop in 1973 before an 18-year-old Robin Yount took his spot the following season. Yount was the AL MVP and a Gold Glove winner the year Dustin was born.

"He was one of the greatest players to play the game," Johnson said. "At least I can say I had a Hall of Famer take my job."

The two played five years together in Milwaukee and have remained friends. So when Johnson saw Dustin Yount was available when the St. Joe Blacksnakes disbanded after last season, bringing him to Lincoln was a no-brainer.

"I knew what he would bring to this ballclub," Johnson said. "He's got that inner drive his dad had, no question. He loves the game like his dad did."

Dustin Yount said he never felt pressured to play baseball but admits he doesn't remember much else about growing up.

"It's the only life I've ever known," he said. "I'm very, very proud of everything [Robin] did, and I'm definitely very fortunate to have been around all that."

That includes attending the 1999 Hall of Fame ceremony and playing around in the Brewers' clubhouse with a young slugger named Greg Vaughn.

"He was probably the closest to me in age," Dustin Yount said of Vaughn, who retired in 2003 with 355 career home runs. "He was always pretty good to me; he was like a kid."

While reminiscing about his childhood last week, Yount was asked if he had plans to take his family to Cooperstown, N.Y., to show off his dad's Hall of Fame plaque.

Admittedly, Yount hadn't thought that far ahead. For the immediate future, he said, getting back with an affiliated baseball league is the task at hand.

"If I didn't want that, I wouldn't be doing this," he said.

Johnson, who managed the Toronto Blue Jays for one season, said he believes Yount has what it takes to get back with a big-league organization -- and not just because of his surname.

"Everyone knows he's Robin Yount's son, but he's just Dustin Yount," Johnson said. "He's one of these kids that wants to get better every day. He's in the middle of all our big innings and has the drive and tenacity to do what it takes to help a team win."

Brian Stensaas • 612-673-4127

read full article

saints

1
comments
resize text
print
buy reprints

Tweet
share

email
Email share

your name

your email

recipients email

+ add a comment add a comment

explore star tribune sports

Full Scoreboard

LA Lakers	88	FINAL
Boston	87	FINAL

Golden State	109	FINAL
Denver	101	FINAL

Houston	96	FINAL
Phoenix	89	FINAL

Oklahoma City	101	FINAL
Sacramento	106	FINAL

Full Scoreboard

St. Louis	4	FINAL(SO)
New Jersey	3	FINAL(SO)

Montreal	4	FINAL
NY Islanders	2	FINAL

Tampa Bay	3	FINAL(OT)
NY Rangers	4	FINAL(OT)

Toronto	3	FINAL
Philadelphia	4	FINAL

Winnipeg	3	FINAL(SO)
Washington	2	FINAL(SO)

Dallas	4	FINAL
Columbus	2	FINAL

Nashville	3	FINAL
Ottawa	4	FINAL

Los Angeles	1	FINAL
Florida	3	FINAL

Vancouver	5	FINAL
Minnesota	2	FINAL

Calgary	1	FINAL(OT)
Phoenix	2	FINAL(OT)

Full Scoreboard

(21) Wisconsin	68	FINAL
Minnesota	61	FINAL

Ole Miss	60	FINAL
(20) Miss State	70	FINAL

Illinois	71	FINAL
(23) Indiana	84	FINAL

Tennessee St	72	FINAL
(9) Murray State	68	FINAL

(16) St Marys-CA	59	FINAL
Gonzaga	73	FINAL

Old Dominion	63	FINAL
(12) Delaware	76	FINAL

Wisconsin	54	FINAL
(18) Penn State	69	FINAL

(5) Duke	71	FINAL
Boston College	62	FINAL

(8) Maryland	91	FINAL
Clemson	61	FINAL

Detroit	70	FINAL
(9) Green Bay	58	FINAL

(10) Ohio State	65	FINAL
Illinois	66	FINAL

(24) South Carolina	47	FINAL
Arkansas	68	FINAL

Michigan	63	FINAL
(13) Nebraska	52	FINAL

U-S-C	52	FINAL
(4) Stanford	69	FINAL

(19) Gonzaga	40	FINAL
B-Y-U	70	FINAL

(11) Tennessee	79	FINAL
Vanderbilt	93	FINAL

question of the day

Poll: I think Williams Arena...

View results

Log In

Change Password

sports