Walkoff caps ‘unreal 24 hours’ for Mariners’ Cole Young

SEATTLE – On the eve of his major league debut, as he 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 would’ve seemed too good to be true.

Young delivered a walkoff in the 11th inning of his first big league game, chopping a one-out 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.

How’s that for an MLB debut?

“That was unreal,” Young said. “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 to hit a walkoff in my debut.

“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.

In the 10th, Young helped turn an inning-ending double play that prevented a run from scoring.

And then in the 11th, Young became the first player in Mariners history to record a walkoff in his major league debut. He also became the first MLB player to do so at age 21 or younger since Miguel Cabrera in 2003.

It was all part of a strong first impression for the highly touted 21-year-old second baseman, who was promoted earlier in the day after a scorching month in Triple-A Tacoma, where he hit 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.”

When he came to the plate in the 11th, Young said his initial approach was to drive the ball to the outfield for a potential sacrifice fly. But after fouling off three of the first four pitches he saw from Minnesota reliever Cole Sands, he entered two-strike mode and was focused on putting the ball in play.

Young did just that, getting his bat on a 1-2 splitter that he chopped to former Mariners first baseman Ty France. France made a nice barehanded play, but Mastrobuoni slid in safely to beat the throw home, sending some 35,000-plus fans at T-Mobile Park into a frenzy.

For Young, it was actually his second walkoff in less than 48 hours. He had a stunningly identical moment 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 happened.”

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).”

Young said it didn’t really sink in until he called his mother to share the news.

“She was just like screaming on the phone, and I started crying,” Young said. “And I think that’s when it hit me really – when I started crying. And she was crying too.”

Young’s mother, father, brother and a close friend all made the trip to Seattle for his debut. As Young was getting mobbed by his teammates in shallow right field after his walkoff, his personal cheering section was jumping up and down and celebrating in the stands.

“I still haven’t wrapped my head around the game,” Young said, “but it’s been an unreal 24 hours.”

More on the Seattle Mariners

• Cal Raleigh moves into tie for MLB HR lead, then fire alarm goes off
• Cole Young to make MLB debut, start at 2B for Seattle Mariners
• Three reasons behind the Seattle Mariners’ May swoon
• Seattle Mariners prospect Harry Ford continues tear with massive HR
• Seattle Mariners’ Cal Raleigh details his key improvement at the plate

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