Mets' Jared Young hospitalized after scary head collision with Nolan McLean

Thursday night at Citi Field turned scary in a hurry. Mets first baseman Jared Young went down hard on a play at first base, and for a moment he was motionless on the ground as trainers rushed out to stabilize him before a stretcher carried him off the field.

The collision came on a comebacker toward first, with both Young and Mets rookie pitcher Nolan McLean converging on the ball. On the play, McLean's knee caught Young flush in the side of the head, and Young appeared out cold for a moment before medical staff got to him.

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Jared Young was carted off the field after a really scary collision with Nolan McLean appeared to leave him out cold for brief moment.

It's the kind of moment that silences a ballpark, which made what happened next such a relief. As he was wheeled off, Young lifted a thumbs up to the crowd, and Citi Field responded with an ovation.

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Mets first baseman Jared Young gave a thumbs up to the crowd while being carted off after taking a knee to the head

The Mets confirmed shortly after that Young was headed to the hospital for further evaluation, but the early word was as good as it could be under the circumstances: he has feeling in his extremities.

The injury is a brutal break for a player who's quietly been one of the best stories on a disappointing Mets roster this year. A 15th-round pick back in 2017, Young had barely more than 100 career big-league at-bats before this season, bouncing around and even spending time with the Doosan Bears in the KBO. With Jorge Polanco, Brett Baty and Mark Vientos all struggling, Young forced his way into an everyday role and has hit.270 with 9 homers in 102 games, prompting manager Andy Green to call him a "tremendous teammate" who'd earned a permanent spot in the lineup.

McLean, for his part, is in the middle of a breakout season of his own as the favorite for NL Rookie of the Year, and by all accounts the collision was pure miscommunication on a routine grounder rather than anything reckless. For now, all eyes are on updates from the hospital as the Mets await word on their first baseman's condition.