It’s been a long time since Jared Young sported that major league home-run smile.
Tuesday evening in New York, Young couldn’t help but grin as he rounded the bases after he launched one over the right field wall in the first inning to put the New York Mets ahead 4-2 and they finished off the Chicago White Sox with a 6-4 victory in front of a crowd of 34,944 at Citi Field.
It was Young’s first hit with the Mets since being called up from their triple-A affiliate in Syracuse on Saturday. The 29-year-old Prince George native also doubled in the third inning and was named the player of the game.
That home-run shot was his first since Sept. 22, 2023, when he was with the Chicago Cubs — a gap of 613 days.
“It felt that long,” Young said. “This is the best league in the world, so you've got to play your best to be here and have success here. But I'm glad to be back — and that one felt good.”
Young’s blast came with two outs, after Pete Alonso tied the game with a two-run blast. The Mets feasted on White Sox starter Jonathan Cannon, who allowed seven consecutive hits and hit Francisco Alvarez with a pitch in the first inning.
Young’s two-hit outing raised his batting average to .250. He now has three home runs and 15 hits in 70 career at-bats since his major league debut in 2022.
Young almost took one over the fence in Sunday’s 5-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers with a hit to centre field that left his bat with a 107-mph exit velocity and travelled 401 feet, seven feet shy of the wall, before it was caught by an overhead grab on the run.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza has showed his faith in the lefthanded hitter, inserting him into the lineup as the DH. Despite Young going 0-for-5 in his first three games he got ahead in the count in most of his trips to the plate, which did not go unnoticed by the Mets’ skipper.
“I said it before the game, we liked the at-bats, he’s a professional at-bat and controls the strike zone,’’ said Mendoza, in the postgame interview Tuesday. “He seems like he’s always in a hitter’s count, whether it’s 2-0 or 3-1, and when he’s doing that he’s forcing those guys to come in the zone.
“Today, he had two really good swings. He's back in the big leagues after a lot of grinding. Whether it's the minor leagues, (going) up and down, or going overseas. He's getting an opportunity back here in the States, and here we are, giving him a chance, and he's taken advantage of it. It’s good to see him get results.”
Young signed with the Mets in December, after splitting the 2024 season between the Memphis Redbirds (St. Louis Cardinals’ triple-A farm team) and Doosan Bears in the Korean Baseball Organization.
After playing 654 minor league games over eight seasons since being drafted by Chicago in 2017, Young has every intention of becoming a major league fixture in New York.
“I want to have good at-bats and be a tough at-bat,’’ Young said. "If you believe in yourself and believe in the player that you are, I feel it takes care of a lot of things. There’s going to be a lot of ups and downs in any career. I feel like the more you believe in yourself, you can get to where you want to go.”
The Mets (34-21, second in National League East) have won all four games with Young in the lineup. He scored a run after being hit by a pitch in his first game in New York Saturday, a 2-1 win over the Dodgers, which ended the Mets’ two-game slide.
“When you're called up, you always want to make your presence felt and really join the team and contribute to a win,” Young said. “So that was kind of a big thing.
“You take a look at this team from the top down, it's pretty good ballplayers and winning a lot of games. To get thrown into it — I feel like I belong. I feel like it's a good spot and a good fit, and I hope we can just keep winning some ballgames.”
The Mets wrap up their series with the White Sox on Wednesday, then host Colorado in a three-game set that starts on Friday.
