Whit Merrifield

Whit Merrifield
Merrifield with the Kansas City Royals
Kansas City Royals – No. 15
Second baseman / Outfielder
Born: (1989-01-24) January 24, 1989
Florence, South Carolina
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
May 18, 2016, for the Kansas City Royals
MLB statistics
(through September 30, 2018)
Batting average .293
Home runs 33
Runs batted in 167
Stolen bases 87
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Whitley David Merrifield (born January 24, 1989) is an American professional baseball second baseman and left fielder for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Career

Merrifield graduated from Davie County High School in Mocksville, North Carolina and played college baseball at the University of South Carolina from 2008 to 2010. In the second game of the championship series at the 2010 College World Series, Merrifield hit a game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the 11th inning to give South Carolina the championship.[1][2] In his three years at South Carolina, he played in 195 games and hit .329/.389/.489 with 27 home runs.

Merrifield batting for the Omaha Storm Chasers, triple-A affiliates of the Royals, in 2015

Merrifield was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the ninth round of the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft.[3] He signed with the Royals and made his professional debut that season with the Burlington Bees.[4][5][6] In 47 games he hit .253/.317/.409 with five home runs and 26 RBIs. In 2011 Merrifield played for the Wilmington Blue Rocks where he batted .262 with five home runs and 36 RBIS, and 2012 with both Wilmington and the Northwest Arkansas Naturals where he compiled a combined .258 batting average with nine home runs and 44 RBIs in 125 games between both teams. He spent 2013 with Northwest Arkansas where he batted .270/.319/.391 with three home runs and 43 RBIs in 94 games. Merrifield returned to Northwest Arkansas to start 2014 and was promoted to the Omaha Storm Chasers during the season.[7][8] In 120 games between the two clubs, he slashed .319/.371/.470 with eight home runs and 49 RBIs. In 2015, Merrifield played for Omaha where he posted a .265 batting average with five home runs and 38 RBIs in 135 games. He returned to Omaha to start the 2016 season.

Merrifield made his major league debut with the Kansas City Royals on May 18, 2016, instantly batting in the top third of the lineup and soon taking the starting second baseman job from Omar Infante.[9] His first Major League hit came off of David Price. On June 13, 2016, Whit hit both his first major league triple and home run against the Cleveland Indians. In early July 2016, a song and video tribute to Merrifield entitled, "Cool Whit" [10] went viral on YouTube and Facebook, receiving coverage on local Kansas City radio and TV news.[11] "Cool Whit" T-shirts [12] were also circulating amongst Royals fans. He was optioned back to Omaha in July and recalled in September. In 69 games for Omaha he batted .266 with eight home runs and 29 RBIs, and in 81 games for Kansas City he compiled a .283 batting average with two home runs, 29 RBIs, and 22 doubles.[13]

In 2017, Merrifield began the season with Omaha, but was recalled in April after nine games and spent the remainder of the season with Kansas City. With the Royals, he hit .288 in 145 games with 19 home runs, 78 RBIs, and led the American League with 34 stolen bases, the fewest total for a league leader since Luis Aparicio led the AL with 31 in 1962. [14]

In 2018, Merrifield hit .304 and led the majors in hits (191) and stolen bases (44). [15]

International career

On September 10, 2018, he was selected MLB All-Stars at 2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series.[16]

Personal life

Merrifield's father, Bill, played college baseball for Wake Forest University,[17] and spent six seasons in Minor League Baseball, primarily as a third baseman.[18] In September 1987, Bill Merrifield was briefly on the active roster of the Pittsburgh Pirates, but was sent to the Florida Instructional League without making an MLB appearance,[19] rendering him a "phantom ballplayer".[20][21]

References

  1. ↑ "Merrifield, former CWS hero, is back in Omaha". Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Four years after delivering a CWS title to South Carolina, Merrifield's a hit with Chasers". Omaha.com. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Whit Merrifield Selected By Kansas City Royals In Ninth Round Of 2010 MLB Draft University of South Carolina Official Athletic Site". gamecocksonline.com. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  4. ↑ Brad Senkiw. "Merrifield ready to start new chapter". AIM. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Merrifield signs with Kansas City". heraldonline. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  6. ↑ "USC's Merrifield to sign with Kansas City on Monday". GoUpstate.com. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Merrifield's focus keeps him 'locked in'". Omaha.com. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Whit Merrifield is lighting up Class AAA pitching". kansascity. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Royals call up Whit Merrifield and send Christian Colon to Omaha". kansascity.com. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Cool Whit (KC Royals Whit Merrifield)". youtube.com. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Fan Creates Ode to Royals Rookie Cool Whit Merrifield". kctv.com. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Cool Whit Merrifield". teepublic.com. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Whit Merrifield Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Congrats to Whit Merrifield, your AL stolen base champ!".
  15. ↑ "2018 MLB batting leaders".
  16. ↑ "Eight Players Selected for Japan All-Star Series". The Official Site of Major League Baseball Players Association. September 10, 2018. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
  17. ↑ Spivey, Jay (July 14, 2015). "Despite not getting called up, Merrifield trusts 'perfect timing'". Winston-Salem Journal.
  18. ↑ "Bill Merrifield Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Merrifield assigned to instructional camp". Rocky Mount Telegram. Rocky Mount, North Carolina. September 12, 1987. p. 9. Retrieved June 1, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  20. ↑ Dodd, Rustin (4 June 2016). "Royals' Whit Merrifield is taking his family along on big-league journey". Kansas City Star. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  21. ↑ Perrotto, John (1 September 2017). "Rumors and Rumblings – Merrifield fulfills father's dream". Fanrag. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
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