Eric Young Sr. has always considered himself an underdog.
A 43rd-round pick in the 1989 MLB Draft: That’s the 1,120th player picked that year. With his underdog status in tow, all Young did was serve up a 15-year MLB career that included five years with the Colorado Rockies.
The speedy, smart baserunner with a 2.83 career batting average, 465 stolen bases and an 18/8 rWAR then started a coaching career that spanned over 13 years, but he never got the chance to manage an MLB team, despite a good amount
of success and his best efforts.
So after the 2025 season, Young retired from baseball. Or so he thought.
It turns out, he belonged with the other underdogs and earned his first managing positionwith the Los Angeles Queens of the Women’s Professional Baseball League. His identity as the little guy, literally, as EY stands at 5-foot-9, and metaphorically, is now part of his managing identity as he guides the Queens in the inaugural season of the new league.
“I’ve always been an underdog,” Young said on Wednesday night in Springfield, Ill., after an 8-6 victory over the Boston Hunters. “[I told them] you guys are the underdog. I always came up fighting, and that’s what I expect y’all to do when you play this game. Don’t take this for granted.”
So far, anchored by his other coaching philosophies which masterfully blend transparency, honesty, humor and inspiration, it’s working. The Queens are 6-6 and gearing up for the playoffs, which will begin on Sept. 9 after the 15-game regular season concludes.
Beaming with a smile surrounded by his gray beard that has replaced the mustache old school Rockies fans might remember, Young knows he made the right decision to come out of retirement.
“I consider myself a leader. I always wanted to be a manager. I’m full of joy. I am so happy to give a chance to manage them in a way that I can be myself, ’cause that’s what they want,” said Young, who met with the players to get on the same page before the season started. “[I told them,] ‘I’ll give you all I got. It’s my job to make sure you can be the best player you can be. If you are doing well and everybody here is getting better, come September, we are going to have a good season.”
Getting back in the game
Just when Young was getting used to the idea of retirement, he got a call from the MLB Players Alumni Association asking if he wanted to be a part of the new WPBL. Young didn’t know much about it. When he asked why he was contacted, he was told that he was recommended by three-time World Series Champion and one-time All-Star Dave Stewart, who serves as a special advisor to the WPBL. Instantly, Young was overcome with gratitude and all in on joining the league.
“Dave is one of the most phenomenal players who ever played, as a pitcher and a person. And for him to recommend me, I knew it was no brainer for me,” Young said.
When WPBL players went to Fort Myers, Florida, in March for a very short spring training as one step to prepare before the start of the season on Aug. 1, Young wanted to go check it out.
“I wasn’t sure how they played. I wanted to make sure they were committed and had the passion I had,” Young said. “That’s where I saw they had 25 of the best players, and they were out there balling.”
During his scouting trip, Young met with WPBL CEO Keith Stein. Young thought he was having a conversation, but it was actually an interview. When Stein formally offered him the job, the choice was easy.
“Absolutely,” Young told Stein. “I want to be a part of this.”
Managing challenges
When Young joined the Rockies for their inaugural season in 1993, he said a huge part of the process was getting to know all of his teammates quickly. He’s using that experience now, but to the next level as the manager. He was very intentional in trying to sit back, be quiet and observe.
“One lesson that you have to learn personalities,” Young said.
He learned a lot this way, and slowly began the process of trying to establish relationships and trust. He took specific care to see how players would best receive and use feedback. He created an open-door policy based on transparency and honesty. He emphasized that everyone will get playing time and be part of the once-in-a-lifetime and there won’t be a set lineup, but he was happy to explain why as long as everyone understood one thing.
“One thing we are going do is be a selfless team. We are going to root for each other,” Young said. “You want to make sure everybody enjoys the experience.”
A little over a week into the season, a major obstacle presented itself. Young had a great coaching staff with former pro Jemile Weeks and minor league umpire and youth baseball coach Emma Charlesworth-Seiler. When Boston Hunters manager Keith Foulke had a scheduling/contract dispute with the league, the Hunters were left without a manager. So Weeks stepped in, effectively being traded from Los Angeles to Boston to be their manager. While EY didn’t want Weeks to leave, he also didn’t want to block him from the promotion. It was EY’s dedication to selflessness and putting the league first in action.
“I told him you have to go be the manager and make them the best team they can be,” Young said.
Young and Charlesworth-Seiler tried to make it on their own, but Young admitted they needed more help. So they brought in Pete Romero, who throws batting practice and coaches first base among his many duties.
King of Queens
Not only has managing in the WPBL been the perfect fit for EY, but so has being with the L.A. Queens. He takes the name very seriously. He asked his players to reflect on what being a Queen means and proceeded to tell them what it means to him.
“We have the best name. Everybody knows it. Okay, you’re a Queen. I said, ‘You know what that makes me? A king.’ We laughed about that,” Young said with a laugh. “But seriously, a Queen walks, carries themselves with so much confidence. It radiates positive energy. That’s a Queen because they know they’re good, they know they look good, they know they can play.
“I know it when they walk. I said, when we walk out as Queens, that’s what we stand for. It’s not just a name across your chest,” Young continued. “And I feel like I have to make sure I take care of my Queens. That’s my mentality.”
For a glimpse of the style of manager EY is and the joy he is finding in this chapter of his career, check out this clip from the post-game press conference on Wednesday.
Partly due to a small roster and partly due to the astonishing athleticism of the players, Young’s job to fill out a lineup before each game is no easy task. He can rotate players and several of them volunteer to play positions, even if they haven’t before, just to help the team.
One example is Queens captain Ashton Lansdell. Usually a third baseman, Landsell played in right field against the Hunters on Wednesday night. Not only did she field the position well, but she also nearly pulled off a Larry Walker-like throw by nearly turning an Alli Schroder hard-hit single into an out by gunning it into first. The play impressed Young, especially since it was Lansdell’s first game in right field.
“She would try that — the only one daring enough to try that,” Young said. “She’s always thinking.”
When asked if he would like to continue to be a part of the Queens and WPBL beyond this season, Young didn’t hesitate.
“Absolutely. I hope they keep me around and help this thing really grow. I enjoy seeing growth. I enjoy people believing in me. Like Colorado, the region out there, they always believed in me — even when they sat me,” Young said. “When you have that support, when people that genuinely want to see you play, that’s what I felt when I went out there every day playing. That’s why I wanted to give them a show every time I get out there. That’s where I feel with the ownership here and the young ladies make me feel that way, especially my team.”
Young paused on that last sentence, looking around the WPBL press room and seeing the banners for the four inaugural teams: the L.A. Queens, the Boston Hunters, the San Francisco Firebells and the New York Heights.
“I would love to manage and see this grow to great heights.”
Laughing, Young was quick to clarify that the Heights aren’t the greatest. He’s all in on the Queens.
On the Farm
Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes 11, Round Rock Express 3
The Isotopes rallied to score five runs in the eighth and added another five in the ninth to overcome a 3-1 deficit and beat Round Rock. The win was the lone victory for the Rockies farm teams on Thursday. In the eighth, Vimael Machín hit a two-run triple to tie the game and then he helped Albuquerque gain the lead it never lost when he came home to score on a wild pitch. Conner Capel added a two-run single. The offense continued in the ninth when Nic Kent drove in two runs with a double, Capel earned another RBI by drawing a walk with the bases loaded and Adael Amador plated two more runs with a single. Amador tried to stretch the hit into a double and was thrown out at second.
Patrick Weigel threw 1.1 scoreless innings in relief to earn the win and Blake Adams earned the save by closing out with two scoreless innings. Jake Brooks pitched well enough in his start to keep the Isotopes in the game when he gave up three runs on eight hits with three strikeouts and no walks. Machín went 3-for-4 in the game with two runs scored and two RBI, while Sterling Thompson recorded two hits, scored a run and drove in another.
Double-A: New Hampshire Fisher Cats 7, Hartford Yard Goats 3
The Yard Goats scored the last three runs of the game, but it wasn’t enough for a comeback on Thursday night. The first run came in the sixth when Dyan Jorge hit an RBI single, Skyler Messinger added a sac fly in the eighth and Jimmy Obertop hit a run-scoring single in the ninth. Braylen Wimmer posted two hits and scored two runs for Hartford. Bryson Hammer took the loss for the Yard Goats, only making two outs into the third inning before he was pulled after surrendering six earned runs (seven total) on five hits, including a homer, with four walks and one strikeout.
High-A: Vancouver Canadians 8, Spokane Indians 1
Spokane’s lone run came on one of two fielding errors by the Canadians on a night when Vancouver held the Indians to five runs. Spokane was also hurt by two errors of their own. Tommy Hopfe led the Indians with two hits. In the third, Clayton Gray walked, Roldy Brito singled and Kelvin Hidalgo reached on a throwing error to score Gray. At that point, the Indians were up 1-0. Vancouver tied the game up in the bottom of the third before breaking it open in the seventh with a six-run frame.
Low-A: Inland Empire 66ers 8, Fresno Grizzlies 2
The Grizzlies were outhit 12-6 and only went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position in a tough loss on Thursday. Izeah Muniz started the game and was pulled after one inning with Fresno down 1-0. The ripple effect meant six different Grizzlies pitched in the game, and Inland Empire was able to score in the first, second, sixth and seventh innings. Juan Martinez and Kyle Fossum each recorded two hits and scored a run for Fresno, while Fossum also drove one in.
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