Eric Young Sr. has already lived a baseball life most players can only dream about, and now he’s back on the field in a very different role.
The former Rockies standout is managing the Los Angeles Queens in the Women’s Professional Baseball League, which launched its inaugural season on Aug. 1.
For Young, the move is less of a detour than a natural next chapter. He’s spent enough time in the game to know how to lead, and enough time fighting for his own place in it to recognize the same edge in his players.
Young said the first conversation with the Queens got right to the heart of how he wanted to coach them. “The first question I asked (the Queens) in the first meeting was, ‘Do you want me to coach you like I coach the Atlanta Braves, or do you want me to coach you as young ladies?'”
Young recalled, according to the Denver Post. “I told them they didn’t have to answer, because I was going to coach them the same way, because that’s all I know.
I told them, ‘I would be fake if I gave you anything other than my real coaching style.’ They said, ‘That’s exactly what we want.'”
That approach fits the man who became a fan favorite in Denver. Known as “EY,” Young was an All-Star for the Rockies in 1996 and made his mark with the kind of hustle and energy that resonated with the clubhouse and the city. He was also part of Colorado’s first team when the franchise began play in 1993.
Over a 15-season career, Young hit .283 with 79 home runs, 543 RBI, and 465 stolen bases. He played for seven franchises: the Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, and San Diego Padres. After his playing days, he also worked as a coach for the Rockies and the Atlanta Braves.
Now he’s taking that experience into a league built for a new kind of trailblazing. Young said the Queens’ fight looks familiar to him.
“I know how it feels to be the underdog,” Young explained. “And now these ladies right here are giving that same fight.
I see it in their eyes. I see it in the way they come and practice.
I see it in the way they get ready for the game.
“It’s like déjà vu. They’ve got that same energy, that same spark as I did when I was a young player, because these ladies feel like the odds are against them.
That’s what makes this so enjoyable for me. And that’s why I’m trying to give them everything I’ve got to make them better ballplayers and to convince the world that women can play baseball.”
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