New York Mets rookie Nolan McLean was "traumatized" after his collision with Jared Young.
New York Mets starter Nolan McLean has had an excellent rookie year, but that’s been the last thing on his mind this week. McLean accidentally took out teammate Jared Young on a play at first at Citi Field recently where the pitcher and the first baseman got confused about who was covering the bag, and the result was an ugly collision.
This wasn’t just one those plays were the victim was woozy or staggered, either. Young went out cold and stayed down, and he had no idea what had happened when he finally came around.
McLean described the experience as traumatizing, which is understandable, and it was only when Young was able to text him back texted saying he had been released from the hospital and was heading home that McLean was able to relax.
He described that text as “huge” based on the comfort of knowing Young was okay, and he described his teammate as a brother. Young was able able to avoid brain bleeding and other complications that could have lengthened his recovery, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, so there was more at stake than just a play in a baseball game.
Not surprisingly, McLean doesn’t remember much of what happened. He stayed in the game, but the right-hander confessed that he just wanted it to be over, based on the knowledge that his teammate heading to the hospital. He added that it was “terrifying,” with most of his thoughts focused on Young.
McLean and Young have grown close during the past two years, per DiComo, and their wives are friends as well. Young was able to return to the stadium to pick up his car, so McLean had a chance to briefly say hello. The rookie added that he never thought he’d feel like that on a baseball field.
It was definitely a unique feeling, but there was a happy ending of sorts. McLean pitched well this week against the Texas Rangers, and he was able to improve his record to 12-10 with a 3.16 ERA.
McLean didn’t have his usual velocity near the end of a long season, but he did go seven innings on 82 pitches, and during the game it looked like McLean might even make it into the eighth inning, which would have been a first for a Mets starter this year. Everyone knows how good he is now, and he intends to spend some time thinking about how to improve going forward.
