The New York Mets’ Thursday night ended with prayers for teammate Jared Young after a first-base miscommunication almost turned catastrophic for the Mets. The team was on edge after the 31-year-old first baseman fell face-down on the dirt following a scary infield injury during their 3-0 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field.
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At the top of the sixth, Phillies outfielder Justin Crawford sent Nolan McLean’s cutter down the first-base line. With two outs and the Phillies leading 1-0, McLean and Young tried to field the slow grounder at the same time. The two Mets collided, and Young took a knee to the side of his head. Mets interim manager Andy Green and the trainers rushed onto the field as Young lay face down on the dirt. He appeared to be knocked out for several minutes as the Mets’ trainers checked on him before the EMTs arrived and carted him off the field. Young also flashed a thumbs-up while being stretchered off. He was also placed in a neck brace and immobilized. Jomboy Media posted the scary turn of events on X.
“Mets first baseman Jared Young gave a thumbs up to the crowd while being carted off after taking a knee to the head,” reported Jomboy Media on X.
The incident appeared to stem from a brief moment of miscommunication between McLean and Young. Initially, the pitcher ran first to cover the play, and Young moved back toward the bag. McLean hesitated briefly, prompting Young to reach for the ball while keeping his foot on first base. But McLean resumed running again, and everything went downhill from there. The pitcher lost his balance, tripped over Young, and kneed him on the head while Crawford reached base safely. By the time McLean collected his bearings, Young was lying motionless on the ground.
The Mets surrounded their teammate, while the Phillies looked concerned in the dugout. Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez appeared to be praying, while Alec Bohm was down on one knee next to third base. McLean was understandably shaken and looked visibly disturbed. He bent down, resting his hands on his knees.
“It was scary to sit there and just know that he wasn’t with us in that moment,” Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor said, per SportsNet. “He was just somewhere else.”
Players are familiar with injuries and on-field collisions, but it is always scary to witness one. Back in 2016, the St. Louis Cardinals’ infielders Dean Anna and Aledmys Diaz experienced a similar incident. Anna and Diaz both went for the same ground ball and collided during a game against the Mets.
An unlikely collision happened in early June this season between opposing team members. Dodgers veteran Max Muncy and D-backs infielder Ildemaro Vargas went sprawling after they collided violently while running toward first base at the same time.
Muncy had hit a grounder to first, and Vargas fielded the ball. Seeing pitcher Ryne Nelson not covering the bag, Vargas took off for first, hoping to beat Muncy. Neither did he beat Muncy nor could he stop. Instead, he collided at full speed with the Dodgers’ hitter. They were sore but otherwise okay after the collision.
“It was terrible,” Ketel Marte reportedly said, describing the June incident. “In my 10 years, I’ve never seen a collision like that.”
As for the New York Mets, Mark Vientos replaced Young at first once play resumed. McLean exchanged some words with Green and threw four more pitches to record the final out of the inning. He was replaced by Tobias Myers in the next frame.
McLean had kept the Phillies scoreless until Bryce Harper drove in a single in the top of the fifth. Harper also helped the Phillies load the bases with his two-out single, but McLean retired Garrett Stubbs to end the inning.
“Probably should have made a better decision, not even letting him get the next hitter, but he was still strong enough to do it and got back out there and did it,” Green said, per SportsNet. “I think the humanity hit him pretty hard right there.”
While Aaron Nola spun 7 scoreless innings to silence the Mets, the Phillies scored two more runs off Myers to secure the series opener. Meanwhile, the Mets have released an update on Young’s condition.
How is Jared Young?
Jared Young is playing his first full big-league season this year. Before 2026, Young had limited experience in the majors. He stepped in as the Mets’ everyday first baseman, replacing Jorge Polanco and Mark Vientos. He is hitting .266 with 9 home runs and 39 RBIs in 103 games. A meniscus injury had earlier forced Young to miss six weeks, but this collision effectively ended his season. The Mets have only 9 games left to play.
According to manager Andy Green, Young asked, “What happened?” when he regained consciousness after the collision. He is suffering from concussion symptoms. The Mets sent him to the hospital for a CT scan.
“He’s had a CT scan. Results have come back negative,” Green told SportsNet. “So in that sense, it’s very positive. Still experiencing real concussion symptoms right now, but has full use of his extremities and feels at this point in time like we’ve avoided the scariest outcomes.”
The Mets will most likely place him on the IL, and we hope Young recovers speedily.