What Mariners' Young learned from idol McCutchen
From gaining valuable lessons from his idol Andrew McCutchen to hitting a walk-off in his Mariners debut, there's plenty Cole Young had the chance to reflect on with Jason Benetti ahead of Sunday Night Baseball.
Video Transcript
Jason Benetti joined by Cole Young here in Houston.
And, the first thing that stands out about you is your control of the strike zone.
At what age did you start working at that?
I would say it started once I got into pro ball.
Just, just started studying the pitchers and how they attacked me, and just realizing that, you know, some of the guys are, are gonna try to get you to chase.
So just being aware of that and, also just looking at when I do damage, and that's usually in hitter's count.
So just, just realizing the importance of that and just working on it every single day.
So is that a, a switch you flip, like a leverage count?
Mentally, how do you see a leverage count?
Yeah, I mean, I think it's changed over the years.
But, I try to just have the same plan, like control the s- control the strike zone and, you know, not try to do too much when I do get in like the 2-0 counts.
So, for me, it's just staying simple in those counts and, not trying to do too much.
Pittsburgh or so, right?
Mm-hmm.
Is where you grew up.
Who were your idols?
Yeah, so, mainly I had two, Andrew McCutchen and, and Neil Walker.
Luckily, the past few off-seasons I was able to get to hit with Andrew McCutchen, so, I learned a ton from him in the past off-seasons, and he's such a great guy.
And same with Neil Walker, like, he's around Pittsburgh and, I live there in the off-season.
So it's, it's just great to work with those guys and learn a bunch from them.
What does McCutchen teach you, and were you shaking when you first met him?
I think he's just taught me just like, just stay simple.
Have a simple approach, like don't try to do too much once you get in the box.
And, just try to stay consistent throughout the year and, you know, not let the ups and downs get to you.
So no Steelers as idols?
No, not as much.
Mainly like more Pirates.
You were always a baseball kid, is that right?
Yeah, baseball and basketball growing up, but just mainly baseball.
All right.
What did you look like on the basketball court?
I'd say I, I'm not that tall, so it was always like a, always a point guard.
I could shoot, play some pretty good defense, but the shooting and passing was my, were my main things.
Is there any overlap from basketball to baseball?
Yeah, especially in the infield.
I feel like just the lateral quickness and being able to get to ground balls and stuff, I think that helped me out a lot and prepared me to play infield.
But I'm, I'm really thankful that I played basketball up until, up until ninth grade.
I feel like it just taught me a lot about just my body and how to be quick.
What is it like to have a walk-off on your debut?
It was a crazy feeling.
I mean, going into that day, I just, just wanted to get my first hit, get the win.
But I just, I blacked out the whole day and I just, it was just such a surreal feeling and, um- You blacked out the whole day?
I've heard like- I blacked out on a walk-off.
No, I- But you lost the entire day.
Yeah, I, I kinda blacked out the whole day.
It was just, I was just so excited to be there, and super nervous.
And, I never would've thought it would've ended in, in me hitting a walk-off.
When you think back at all the moments that build to a Major League career, you're still very young, but like, what are the moments when you were younger that really mattered to you, to get here?
Yeah.
I mean, I never like, you know, told myself, "Oh, I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be in the big leagues."
I just always kinda just, you know, just worked, worked every single day and, you know, wherever it took me, it took me.
So, just, you know, all the travel balls, all the travel ball stuff I did growing up and, you know, all the tournaments my, my parents took me to, and just all the stuff I did in the backyard with my dad and stuff.
It just, just kinda just put my head down and just grinded.
What were those days like in the backyard?
Like, what did you guys work on?
It was mainly just fielding.
Like, my dad would hit me ground balls in the backyard on, on the grass, so it would take bad hops and stuff.
So I feel like that helped me out a lot.
But we would always just, every single day we'd go outside and Dan Wilson told us earlier that Brian Wu is a pretty intense character on the mound.
We've seen him pitch before, but what is it like for you playing behind him?
Just makes it a lot easier to play the field, 'cause he, he's gonna come out and dominate every single time.
And, he's got an electric fastball, so it's just fun to watch him.
It's fun to watch him just go out and, and dominate and, you know, throw, throw all of his pitches.
So it's just, it's fun to watch him.
What does a playoff race like the one that you guys have been in the last couple years do to a person?
Yeah, I, I think it just makes you more aware of like how much fun the, the playoffs are.
And, you know, you can easily get lost in the day-to-day grind and, you know, forget about that stuff.
But it's just like, just makes you more aware, like how worth it it actually is.
And, even when you're in, in like April or, or May, like you just realize, like all these days matter and like, just take care of the day and try to win each day.
What is it about the Astros?
And I would ask them the same thing.
Where does this rivalry like sit in your heart and this clubhouse's heart?
Yeah, I think it's just, it's really fun, really competitive.
And, you know, it's, it's always fun playing them and, you know, you can just feel the competitiveness every single, every single game.
Cole, thank you.
Yep.
