April 14, 2000
by Jessica Raber
With the rumblings of Jimi Hendrix reverberating through Sunken Diamond,Jason Young takes the final steps in preparing for a day on the mound. He isa man of completeness, taking no shortcuts. Preparation for his next gamebegins as soon as the last one ends.
"I've talked to a lot of people [about this]. You can have yoursuperstitions, but it's the preparation throughout the whole week that'simportant."
In readying for each outing, Young brings calmness to the Cardinalsquad. He is a quiet leader, but one who always manages to make his point.He learned from the many players who have come before him and takes pride inthe legacy.
"I'm doing the same thing guys have done before me, leading by example.I'm not too vocal. I'll get on guys every once in a while, but mainly I justwork my tail off. If guys have problems, I love when they come to me. I canhelp them and watch them get better. The tradition is incredible. In myfreshman year, we had Jeff Austin and Chad Hutchinson. They were people tolook up to and shoot for [being like]."
Young proved how his leadership style is invaluable to the Cardinal whena nagging shoulder injury interrupted his success earlier this season. Herecounts his best moment this year as simply "being back on the field afterthe injury. Being able to go out and give everything I have out on thefield, that's a great feeling."
Young took more from his injury than just the return: he appreciated thejourney as well. "Injuries are hard to deal with mentally, but they can be ablessing. The rehab, it's extensive work to get back, and hopefully you comeback stronger. You keep working, keep getting better."
Assistant coach Mark O'Brien says that Young's ability to focus on themental part of his game helped him even when his physical game becamelimited by the injury.
Recognizing the value of his mental game also helps Young keep baseballin perspective. His 1999 campaign put Young into the national spotlight. Hecollected honors across the board as he was selected a consensusAll-American and first team all-Pac-10, in addition to garnering Stanford'sMost Valuable Player honor. He had complete games in 10 of his 21 starts andcompiled a 12-3 record with an ERA of 3.43. "We have phenomenal talent onthe team and last season I kind of established myself. Last year in itselfwas not a surprise. I couldn't ask for anything more?it was a Cinderellayear. I went into that season with the expectation of being a starter, andthen I was able to be the number one starter."
Young's most memorable game from last year was an impressive outing. OnJune 4, against USC in the first game of the NCAA Super Regional, he threw acomplete game eight-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts to win 1-0. He not onlyprides himself on his effort that day, but also his teammates' defense thathelped keep USC scoreless.
The 2000 season did not start quite so smoothly for Young. His record is4-0 with a 4.34 ERA, but he missed two starts after leaving a game atFlorida State in the first inning with a sore shoulder. He has pitched muchbetter recently and struck out a season-high 15 batters in 8.0 innings atWashington State last Saturday. He has also won 10 consecutive decisionsdating back to last year and is within seven straight wins of breaking thePac-10 record of 16 straight victories tied by teammate Justin Wayne earlierthis season.
Remaining focused on the future, he takes one game at a time. He is notconcentrating on Omaha or the road to the College World Series but hisSaturday afternoon start against Washington. "People talk about building onlast year, but last year was unthinkable. This is an interesting game. Overthe years, I've learned that the baseball bounces in funny ways. I enjoygoing to bed every night after my starts having the feeling that I feltmyself get better. I am happy with the effort I put into working to getbetter every day."