MLB: It's de ja vu all over again in Colorado: Eric Young Jr. makes his debut

August 25, 7:47 PMMLB ExaminerTony DeMarco

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DENVER -- It was, all things considered, a tough act to follow.

Eric Young Jr. made his major-league debut here last night, wearing the same uniform -- but not the same number --as his father.

With dad watching from the Coors FIeld press box, the younger Young -- batting first and playing center field for the Rockies -- flied out to right field in his first at-bat against the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw.

And there went the chance for a memorable repeat of history. Any Rockies fan worth his salt (or who has been around long enough) knows that Young Sr. was the Rockies' first-ever batter at Mile High Stadium back in 1993, and belted a home run off Kent Bottenfield. In fact, it remains one of the top couple of moments in franchise history.

What if Junior had homered in his first home at-bat?

"Now that would have been something,'' Young Sr. said. "I would have been down there on the field if he had done that.''

As it is, the two EY's will have to settle for being the first father-son tandem in Rockies history. And that's fine with Senior.

"Very cool,'' Young said of the moment. "This is something we knew was coming; we just didn't know when.''

Young Jr.'s recall came about unexpectedly due to injuries to Dexter Fowler, who landed on the disabled list with a deep bruise on the inside of his right knee, and Carlos Gonzalez, who cut his hand and is out of the starting lineup for a few days.

Manager Jim Tracy didn't waste any time plugging Young Jr. into the leadoff spot.

"This is a baptism by fire,'' Tracy said. "But you don't bring Eric Young Jr. to the major leagues and have him sit and watch,'' Tracy said. "You put him in (the leadoff spot) where he's very comfortable.''

Although this was Young Jr.'s big-league debut, he is no stranger to the spacious Coors Field outfield.

"When he used to come here to visit me, he would run around out there and catch balls hit off the bat in batting practice,'' Young Sr. said.

Young Jr., 23, is very much his father's son. Listed at 5-10, he's a few inches taller than his dad, but plays the same game based on speed, and also has moved between second base and the outfield.

He appeared in this July's Futures Game in St. Louis, and was batting .299 with seven homers, 43 RBI and 58 stolen bases for Triple-A Colorado Springs at the time of his recall.

Young Sr., 42, played 4 1/2 of his 15 big-league seasons for the Rockies (1993-97) and was an All-Star in 1996, when he led the league with 53 steals.

For more info:  Eric Young Sr.'s career numbers and bio