ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Throughout Jared Young's nine-year journey in pro ball, a winding path featuring a stop in Korea and more than 2,500 at-bats in the minor leagues, the belief that he would one day thrive in the big leagues never wavered.
To Young, it was only a matter of time. He's been waiting for an extended opportunity at this level and knew he'd be ready to take advantage whenever he got that chance.
"I always fully believed it," Young told NJ.com this week at Tropicana Field. "You just gotta keep believing in yourself and keep playing because there's a ton of good players that have opportunities and rightfully so, so when you get yours, you just gotta be ready for it."
With a runway of playing time this season in a Mets uniform, Young has capitalized in a big way. The 31-year-old is hitting .265 across 91 games with eight home runs, 16 doubles and 35 RBI. Other than Juan Soto, who is in his own category offensively, Young is tied with rookie phenom Carson Benge for the highest OPS among all active Mets (.758).
"This is where talent and character finally ran into opportunity," Mets interim manager Andy Green said recently. "Opportunity just never met him before, and it's finally there for him. We're getting to see who he is ... and he's been everything we could hope for."
#young
To Young, it was only a matter of time. He's been waiting for an extended opportunity at this level and knew he'd be ready to take advantage whenever he got that chance.
"I always fully believed it," Young told NJ.com this week at Tropicana Field. "You just gotta keep believing in yourself and keep playing because there's a ton of good players that have opportunities and rightfully so, so when you get yours, you just gotta be ready for it."
With a runway of playing time this season in a Mets uniform, Young has capitalized in a big way. The 31-year-old is hitting .265 across 91 games with eight home runs, 16 doubles and 35 RBI. Other than Juan Soto, who is in his own category offensively, Young is tied with rookie phenom Carson Benge for the highest OPS among all active Mets (.758).
"This is where talent and character finally ran into opportunity," Mets interim manager Andy Green said recently. "Opportunity just never met him before, and it's finally there for him. We're getting to see who he is ... and he's been everything we could hope for."
#young
2 months ago
