Prince George's Jared Young can now say he's a major league pitcher

Randy Young got the kind of Father’s Day gift few Canadian dads have ever received.

From his Prince George living room he got to watch his son Jared pitch in the major leagues for the first time.

It happened with two outs in the top of the ninth inning Sunday while the Mets were losing 9-0 to the Tampa Bay Rays in New York.

Young wasn’t in the lineup that day and with the Rays already in command and Mets pitcher Ryne Stanek struggling, manager Carlos Mendoza told Young to get ready to come out of the dugout to try to finish off the inning.

Young gave up a two-pitch single to the first batter he faced, Jake Mangan, then walked Jose Caballero, which brought Kameron Misner to the plate. Young had worked a 2-2 count when he got Misner to fly out to Mets centre fielder Tyrone Taylor for the third out.

Having 42,804 sets of eyes on him watching him stride to the mound at Citi Field was not the usual drill for Young, who has been used mostly as a designated hitter since he was called up the Mets from triple-A.

“It was a little bit of an adrenaline rush, but it was fun,” said Young. “It was one of those things where you’re losing and you’re pretty upset and you just have to go out there and finish the game.

“I think I got 10 (warm-up pitches) — it’s normally eight but with the TV timeout you get a little extra. It was nice that I’d done it before, obviously, it was a really good experience. It was a cool thing to do, but it’s always in a blowout.”

Young was a pitcher growing up on the field with the Prince George Knights and pitched a few innings of relief in two games at the triple-A level with the Iowa Cubs in 2023. Known for his versatility as a position player, he’s played every position in pro baseball except centre field and catcher.

Young got the ball back that recorded his first official out as a pitcher and that’ll be one he’ll save for the mantelpiece.

“I think (Pete) Alonso gave me the ball and got it authenticated and (he said) you might not do this again so you might as well keep it, so I’ve got it in my locker,” he said.

The Mets (45-27) lost all three weekend games to the Rays and are now just two games ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies (43-29) for first place in the National League East.

Since Young was recalled from Syracuse the Mets have surged to a 15-6 record.

“We’ve got a really good team, we’re first in our division and we’re really looking to climb,” Young said. “I think with the players we’ve got it could be something special.

“You get to spend time with great players and it’s exactly where you want to be, it’s a pretty special team to be around. It feels great, it’s a good team to be around. When you’re on a good team and you’re in first place everything’s rolling and we’re looking to get a bit of bounceback in Atlanta after the Rays series.”

The Mets have the highest-paid player in Major League Baseball. Right fielder Juan Soto’s annual salary is a staggering $61.875 million, while shortstop Francisco Lindor and first baseman Alonso are each making $30 million this season.

The team travels to road games in a private jet and they stay in the ritziest hotels, a far cry from Young's years of riding the bus between games in the minors.

He got a taste of major league lifestyle in 2022 and 2023 when he was with the Chicago Cubs and he had similar experiences being under the spotlight last year when he played for the Doosan Bears while living in Seoul, South Korea, a city of 9.6 million.

He's now living in Flushing, Queens, about a mile from the Citi Field.

“(New York’s) big city, a lot of people, and surprisingly a lot like Korea,” said Young. “It’s surprising like Seoul, living in the big city, and I’m enjoying it, I love it.”

“I normally take an Uber to the field and take the train home because of all the traffic after the game. I’ve been pretty incognito so far. It’s only one stop, so I’m not on (the train) for very long.”

The left-handed bat is hoping to find his groove and regain some of the magic at the plate that earned him player-of-the-game honours May 27. In that game against the Chicago White Sox he hit a two-run home run, doubled and got on base again to score a run.

Young is currently hitting .174 with 23 at-bats through 12 games. Two of his four hits were home runs and he’s driven in three runs.

“This is the best league in the world so you’ve got to bring it every day and just be ready to play,” said Young. “If you go out there and do your thing and you have the right mindset every day that puts you in the best position and that’s all you can do.

“You do everything you can and you can’t control after you hit it, it’s out of your control. You go up there and try to have the best at-bat you try to be a success and help the team win.” It’s exactly where I expected to be, that’s why you play the game. I played to be in the big leagues and help the team win and I feel like I am so it’s been great so far.”

The Mets were in Atlanta Tuesday, June 17 to take on the Braves in a three-game series, then were headed to Philadelphia to face the Phillies starting Friday, June 20.