Delmon Young of the Tigers Arrested After Altercation

Delmon Young of the Tigers Arrested After Altercation

Young, who arrived with the Tigers on Thursday night for a three-game series against the Yankees starting Friday, was charged with second-degree aggravated harassment, a misdemeanor, and booked at the Midtown North precinct. He was not with the team for Friday’s game.

The police said that a “heavily intoxicated” Young was standing outside the Hilton New York on Avenue of the Americas around 2:30 a.m. Friday when a group of four men were approached by a panhandler wearing a skullcap and a Star of David around his neck who asked them for money.

One of the men gave the panhandler $25, prompting Young to respond with an anti-Semitic slur. The men said that they told Young to calm down, and that he began to grapple with some of them, the police said.

“He started pushing them around,” a law enforcement official said. As they grappled, Young scratched a 32-year-old man on the arm, the police said. The tussle continued into the lobby of the hotel, where Young was a guest. He went up to his room and the police were called.

They arrested Young, 28, on charges of second-degree aggravated harassment, under the provision that defines it as someone who “strikes, shoves, kicks, or otherwise subjects another person to physical contact, or attempts or threatens to do the same on the basis of the victim’s race or religion.”

The incident is being investigated as a possible bias crime, the police said. The man with scratches on his arm declined medical treatment. Young, the police said, was taken to Roosevelt Hospital because he was intoxicated, before being taken to the Midtown North precinct.

In 2006, Young was involved in a publicized incident in which he was suspended for 50 games. While playing for the Class AA Durham Bulls, he was ejected for arguing a strike call, and he threw his bat, hitting an umpire in the chest and arm.

As the Tigers gathered in their clubhouse for Friday night’s game, Manager Jim Leyland declined to comment on Young. But Young, although not present, eventually issued a statement in which he said, “I sincerely regret what happened last night.”

“I apologize to everyone I affected, the Ilitch family, the Detroit Tigers’ organization, my teammates, my family, and the great Tigers’ fans that have supported me since day one,” the statement added. “I take this matter very seriously and assure everyone that I will do everything I can to improve myself as a person.”

Mike Ilitch is the longtime owner of the Tigers, who issued their own statement, saying they were aware of the situation.

“As we understand it, this is an allegation and we need to allow the legal process to take its course,” the Tigers said.

Young was the No. 1 overall draft pick by Tampa Bay in 2003 but has had an up-and-down career. He played several seasons for the Twins and was acquired in a trade by Detroit last August for two minor leaguers.

He was an instant success, hitting a home run in his first at-bat, and boosted Detroit’s offense as the team won the American League Central.

The Tigers signed him to a one-year, $6.75 million deal in the off-season. He has struggled this season, hitting .242.