"Sometimes, you have to hit rock bottom before you can climb to the top of the mountain. The ride both ways can be life-changing and full of self-awareness.

Just ask the Diamondbacks' Chris Young, who has been to hell and back in the past year.

"If you bottom out, you're either done - or the way Sparky put it to me, 'I'll send you home and you can go cry on your mommy's shoulder,' - or you figure it out," Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said, quoting one of his former managers, Sparky Anderson.

Young figured it out, but there were plenty of tears and a lot of phone calls to his mother along the way. You remember the story, don't you?

The sleek centerfielder with seemingly all the tools and potential soared to stardom in 2007, becoming the first rookie in baseball history to record a 30-home run, 25-stolen base season.

The Diamondbacks rewarded him with a six-year, $28 million contract the following April and then, after his production dropped sharply in 2008, it completely vanished last season.

"It was not an enjoyable season, let's put it that way," Young said.

Booed lustily every time he stepped to the plate at Chase Field, Young was going nowhere fast. He couldn't sleep. He doubted himself. He expected failure.

Hitting just .194 on Aug. 9, he was demoted to Triple-A Reno.

"When he walked into my office, he looked like a wounded puppy," recalled former major league centerfielder Brett Butler, the manager of the Reno Aces.

The wounded pup is now a dominant pack leader. He made his first All-Star team. With 21 home runs and 25 stolen bases, he's the first player in the majors to reach 20-20 status this season. With 71 RBIs, he's a cinch to eclipse his career-high of 85. And his defense has been so stellar that he could be in line for his first Gold Glove Award."