New York Mets first baseman Jared Young was carted off the field at Citi Field on Thursday night after taking a knee to the head from his own pitcher, Nolan McLean, while both players converged on a slow ground ball hit by Philadelphia's Justin Crawford. Young, 31, fell face first to the ground and lay motionless as teammates and coaches rushed to his side, before he was immobilized on a cart and taken to a hospital for further examination.
According to 6abc Philadelphia, McLean struck Young accidentally as he ran toward first base to cover the bag, with Young reaching for the ball with his right hand while trying to keep a foot on first. Interim manager Andy Green sprinted from the Mets dugout along with the team's athletic trainer, and Philadelphia's Alec Bohm took a knee near third base as the scene unfolded. Green has run the Mets dugout since June 26, when the club fired manager Carlos Mendoza after New York fell 13 games under .500, according to MLB.com.
Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reported in a video relayed by Larry Brown Sports that Young appeared to be knocked unconscious after taking the direct knee to the head from the charging McLean, who had tried to jump over him while converging on the grounder, before Young regained consciousness and gave a thumbs-up. Per 6abc, Young reported having feeling in his extremities, and the team said he was being taken to a hospital for further examination. He flashed the thumbs-up before the cart disappeared behind the left-center field wall, while catcher Francisco Alvarez appeared to be praying on the field.
A Rough Season Turns Scarier Still
Mark Vientos replaced Young at first base following the collision, while McLean remained in the game as the starting pitcher, per the same account relayed by Yardbarker. Vientos had shared first base duties earlier in the season before Young took over as the starter there. The Phillies led the Mets 1-0 at the time of the collision and went on to win 3-0, a game played after New York had already been mathematically eliminated from postseason contention earlier in the week, according to MLB.com.
Young entered Thursday hitting .266 with nine home runs and 39 RBIs across 103 games in his first full big league season, and he had already missed six weeks of the year with a left knee meniscus tear. The rookie-turned-mainstay signed a one-year major-league contract with the Mets in December 2024 after spending time in the KBO League with the Doosan Bears, according to FanGraphs. Originally drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 15th round of the 2017 draft, Young became one of the Mets' few bright spots in an otherwise chaotic year.
How Young Ended Up at First Base
Young was playing first base when the collision occurred. That plan unraveled just months after Pete Alonso, the club's multi-time All-Star first baseman, left in December 2025 to sign a five-year, $155 million contract with the Baltimore Orioles.
Alonso, who holds the Mets' franchise record with 264 home runs across seven seasons, returned to Citi Field on Tuesday to hit his 300th career home run, just two days before Young's collision, per Sports Illustrated. The season included Mendoza's firing.
The Pitcher Involved in the Collision
McLean was drafted by the Mets in the third round of the 2023 draft out of Oklahoma State and had originally entered professional baseball as a two-way player. He had originally entered professional baseball as a two-way player. McLean previously drew attention pitching for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, a performance Hoodline covered after Italy stunned the Americans in Houston.
Crawford, whose slow grounder set the collision in motion, made his MLB debut in March after being selected 17th overall in the 2022 draft and is the son of former MLB All-Star Carl Crawford, per Baseball Reference. The rookie outfielder had recorded a .266 batting average and 16 stolen bases in his rookie campaign. Whether Young's evaluation at the hospital turns up any further findings had not been reported as of Thursday night.
