SEATTLE – On the eve of his major league debut, as he unsuccessfully tried to get some sleep, Cole Young’s mind raced through all the various scenarios he might find himself in the next day.
But there was one situation that never crossed his mind.
Perhaps because it seemed too good to be true.
Young delivered a walkoff in the 11th inning of his first big league game, chopping a grounder to first base that brought home Miles Mastrobuoni for the winning run in the Seattle Mariners’ 5-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday evening.
“That was unreal,” Young said, still trying to grasp the dream-like whirlwind that had just ensued. “I can’t even describe it. The past 24 hours, it has been insane. I mean, I never thought I would be in that situation hit a walkoff in my debut. That was unreal.
“I didn’t sleep last night,” he added. “I was just thinking of every scenario that could happen, (but) a walkoff was not in my mind.”
Young also picked up his first career hit in the ninth inning. After falling behind 1-2 against Minnesota reliever Griffin Jax, Young dipped down and pulled a low-and-inside sweeper into right field for a single.
And in the 10th, Young helped turn an inning-ending double play that prevented a run from scoring.
It was all part of a highly impressive debut for the 21-year-old second baseman, who was promoted earlier in the day after a scorching month in Triple-A Tacoma, where he hit an astounding five home runs, three triples and 10 doubles over his final 24 games.
“He’s a big league player,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “That’s why he’s here, and he made the plays. He did an outstanding job. And that’s not easy to do when it’s your first big league game.
“He was able to go out there and just be Cole Young. It’s just an outstanding ballgame for him and it led to a big win for us.”
Young, ranked as MLB Pipeline’s No. 43 overall prospect, was drafted by the Mariners in 2022 as a first-round pick out of North Allegheny High School near Pittsburgh. He was highly productive at every level of the minors, all while being one of the youngest players at each stop.
Heading into the season, Young was widely expected to reach the majors at some point this year. And the more he obliterated Triple-A pitching over the past few weeks, the more his promotion felt inevitable.
But still, Young was caught off-guard when he was pulled in the middle of Tacoma’s game on Friday night.
“Our manager came up to me after the third inning and he was like, you’re going to Seattle tomorrow,” Young said. “And I had him repeat it. I’m like, what? Because I couldn’t believe it. And then he told me (again).
“And so last night I didn’t sleep at all. I was just thinking about what would happen today.”
What happened was almost like something out of a movie.
When Young came to the plate in the 11th inning, the winning run was on third with one out. He fell into an early hole, fouling off three of the first four pitches from Minnesota reliever Cole Sands.
Young then got his bat on a 1-2 splitter and sent a one-out chopper to former Mariners first baseman Ty France. France made a nice barehanded play and threw the ball home, but Mastrobuoni slid in safely.
It was actually Young’s second walkoff in less than 48 hours. He had a stunningly identical walkoff in Tacoma on Thursday night, when he hit a high chopper to first that plated the winning run for the Rainiers.
“It was like the same exact hit, which is crazy,” Young said. “I’m just glad I put the ball in play and good things happen.”
One key difference between those two walkoffs? The latter came in front of some 37,000 fans at T-Mobile Park, as opposed to the roughly 7,000 at Tacoma’s Cheney Stadium.
Among those in attendance Saturday were Young’s mother, father, brother and close friend. They cheered on from the stands as Young brought home the winning run and got mobbed by his new teammates in shallow right field.
“I still haven’t wrapped my head around the game,” Young said, “but it’s been an unreal 24 hours.”
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• Cole Young to make MLB debut, start at 2B for Seattle Mariners
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