By Gus "Walk-Off" Fields
It's the kind of play that turns a baseball crowd silent in an instant.
Mets first baseman Jared Young was carted off the field in the sixth inning of Thursday night's game against the Philadelphia Phillies after pitcher Nolan McLean accidentally struck him in the head. The two had converged on a slow grounder off the bat of Justin Crawford, the kind of routine defensive play that happens dozens of times a game — until, suddenly, it isn't routine at all.
Young was taken to the hospital following the collision, according to ESPN's report on the incident. No further details on his condition were available at the time of this writing, and the Mets have not yet issued an update on his status.
Collisions between fielders converging on the same ball are among the more frightening moments in baseball precisely because they happen so fast, with players sprinting full speed and focused entirely on the baseball rather than each other. McLean, still adjusting to his role on the mound, will now carry the weight of an accident that was exactly that — an accident, in a game where players are taught to hustle to every ball.
The Mets and Phillies continued their series with Young's health hanging over the clubhouse. Teammates and opponents alike know the feeling: one moment you're playing a kids' game for a living, the next you're watching a teammate wheeled away on a cart, hoping for the best.
The American Times will follow up on Jared Young's condition as more information becomes available.
Final score's the last thing that mattered here.
— Compiled from reporting by ESPN.
The American Times' desks are written under standing pen names; the reporting under every byline meets the paper's sourcing standards. See "About Our Bylines."