‘Unreal': Seattle's Cole Young walks off Twins in MLB debut, Raleigh ties home run lead
Cole Young still can't describe the unforgettable moment: Seattle's No. 3 prospect walked off the Minnesota Twins in his MLB debut.
The 21-year-old infielder chopped a ground ball down the first-base line that was enough to score Miles Mastrobuoni from third for a walk-off fielder's choice, sealing Seattle's 5-4 win in the 11th inning at T-Mobile Park. Mere hours after soaking in the atmosphere and discovering his major league locker for the first time, Young was Seattle's hero — becoming the first player in Mariners history to record a walk-off plate appearance in his major league debut.
'That was unreal,' Young said.
Rumors swirled of a potential Young call-up on Friday night, when the left-handed hitting infielder was removed from Triple-A Tacoma's 7-2 win over Salt Lake in the fourth inning. Seattle made his activation official on Saturday morning after Young hit .366 (37-for-101) with 21 RBI in the month of May for the Rainiers.
'(Tacoma manager John Russell) came up to me after the third inning,' Young said, recalling Friday night's game. 'He was like, 'You're going to Seattle tomorrow.'
'And I had him repeat it. Like, 'What?' I couldn't believe it.
'Last night, I didn't sleep at all, just thinking about what would happen today. … That was a crazy game.'
Young's infusion was the difference after Minnesota rallied to tie Saturday's middle game in the ninth inning but failed to score in the 10th or 11th. He drove his first-career MLB hit into right field in the home ninth and finished 1-for-4 with a walk, RBI, and the game-winner.
MLB's No. 43 overall prospect is the youngest position player to appear in Triple-A's Pacific Coast League this spring, a first-round draft selection (21st overall) by the Mariners in 2022. He was named PCL Player of the Week from May 5-11, amassing a 1.357 OPS after reaching safely in all six games.
'He's been on fire down in Tacoma,' Mariners manager Dan Wilson said before Young's debut. 'Obviously, getting some time down in Triple-A to see how things worked out for him, and he took that opportunity and ran with it. It's exciting to have him here and part of the club today.'
Young's flyout to right field ended the second inning in his first career at-bat, and doubt crept in — but the 21-year-old thought back to what he learned throughout an April slump, when Young slashed .200/.327/.274 across 25 games in Tacoma.
'It made me take a step back and realize what I need to do different,' Young said. 'Since I learned my lesson that whole month, it helped me adjust my mindset after that first at-bat, and just realize what got me through that struggle.
'Whenever I'm feeling those types of emotions, I can handle it.'
The Mariners rallied from an early 3-0 deficit, propelled with two-run home runs by catcher Cal Raleigh (third inning) and shortstop J.P. Crawford (seventh) before Young snapped Seattle's three-game losing streak.
Raleigh's 22nd home run of the season tied the Platinum Glove-winning backstop with Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani for the MLB lead. He's the first Seattle player with consecutive 10-homer months since Alex Rodriguez in July and Aug. 1999.
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