Eric Young made the Rutgers Football Hall of Fame in 2001 as a receiver from 1985-88. The local New Brunswick native made nine catches in a 38-24 Homecoming victory against Boston College on October 17, 1987. But it was his spring sport that made him the Rutgers player with the longest Major League Baseball career ever. Young was in the majors for 15 seasons with seven teams starting in 1992 and retired after 2006 in 43rd place on the all-time stolen base list with 465. He led the National League with 53 steals in 1996. After working for ESPN-TV, he became the first base coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2011 and the Colorado Rockies in 2014 through 2016 before joining the Atlanta Braves from 2018 through 2023. In 2021, he was awarded a World Series ring when the Braves defeated the Astros four games to two. As an original Rockies player, he homered in the franchise’s first home at bat on April 9, 1993. In 2024, he joined the staff of the Los Angeles Angels.
This Day in Rutgers and Rockies History - April 9, 1993
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Spent a lot of afternoons in the "Rock Pile" which was the left field section of Mile High Stadium where his homerun landed. Tickets were a dollar. We would get off work at 3 and go straight to the games. Even if you missed a few innings, you still saw plenty of baseball and runs scored. I recall one game I was at both pitchers hit opposite field home runs. But, that might have been in Coors Field.
