Like father, like son for Young baseball family

HOUSTON -- Rockies outfielder Eric Young Jr. isn't from Houston, but his two days playing in the city have been nothing short of a homecoming. His father, Eric Young, is an analyst for Astros games on Comcast Sports Net.

Prior to Tuesday's game, father interviewed son on camera for nearly 20 minutes, and Young Jr. even recorded a Father's Day message on camera.

The elder Young, who amassed 1,731 hits in 15 Major League seasons and officially retired with the Colorado Rockies in 2008, said the interview was an emotional experience.

"This is very rare, for a dad to interview his son, who also plays in the Majors," Young said. "To be able to do it is just unbelievable. Him following my footsteps into pro ball, we would talk about it when he was a little kid. The dream is here."

Young's former double-play partner, Walt Weiss, is now his son's manager. Dante Bichette was also Young's teammate and now mentors Young Jr. as the Rockies' hitting coach.

Young Jr. said he grew up idolizing his father's style of play, which was predicated on speed and a quick bat.

"Good thing I got his genes," he quipped. "I'm happy to have those attributes."

Young Jr. also got to see the rest of his family, and his younger brother, all of 6 years old, hit a walk-off home run in his Little League game on Monday.

"I told my brother, 'You hit one and I've hit one this year,'" he said. "I told him, 'You hit another one, I'll hit another one.' It's stuff like that, just getting to see your family, that makes it good to be here."