TWO-HIT WHIT
WHIT MERRIFIELD IS A HITTING MACHINE, LEADING THE A.L. IN HITS EACH OF THE LAST TWO SEASONS SO WHY HAVE SO FEW NOTICED?
FOR A GUY WHO IS ONE OF THE TOUGHEST OUTS IN BASEBALL, WHIT MERRIFIELD DOESN’T GET ANYWHERE NEAR THE ATTENTION OF MOST ALL STARS. Outside of Kansas City, the “average” baseball fan might respond by asking, “Whit who?”
But for those fans in the know, Merrifield is the real deal. He is a legitimate star, playing for a Kansas City Royals franchise that has had its share of superb players over the past several seasons. But when you play in Kansas City, it can take some time to get noticed by most casual baseball fans. If he were playing in media-rich cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Boston or Chicago, it would likely be a much different story.
Make no mistake, the 6-foot-1, 195-pound Merrifield carries one of the most dangerous bats in the American League. He hit .302 and had 206 hits in the 2019 season when he played in 162 games, only one of five players to accomplish that feat in both leagues.
And when the abbreviated season began in late July, Merrifield got off to a sizzling start. In Detroit for a series in the second week of the season, Merrifield feasted on Tiger pitching over three games. “I don’t know how you get him out,” Hall of Famer Jack Morris said on the Tigers telecast.
“For me, it’s always just been a continuation of trying to get all aspects of my game better,” Merrifield told thebigspur.com prior to the start of the season in July. “ at’s always the driving force for me and something I continued to work on this past winter. I felt pretty good where we were when we broke camp, but it’s hard to tell where you are until the lights come on. But I felt like I was ready and was excited to get out there in 2020.”
In one publication, Merrifield, who gets playing time at both second base and in centerfield, was recently asked what nicknames are circulating among fans that he likes. His reply was “Two-hit Whit.”
at catchy phrase may put a smile on your face, but another apt nickname might be “Late Bloomer” or “Mr. Persistent.” Why? Because those two phrases sum up Merrifield’s journey to stardom in the major leagues.
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKED
Merrifield was not the prototypical young stud who burst onto the scene as a dynamic five-tool star, similar to a Mike Trout or Juan Soto. He was the guy who had to grind it out in the minors and work like a mule to make himself better and produce each season so he could move up the ranks.
His story is inspiring, especially to those who believe in perseverance, hard work and being a tenacious competitor.
Merrifield, who played his college ball at South Carolina, lasted all the way to the ninth round of the 2010 MLB Dra . He didn’t reach the major leagues until he was 27 years old in 2016 = an age where many top prospects already are 3-4 years into their big-league careers. at’s also around the age that many minor league ball players call it quits because they realize their dreams of playing in the big leagues will remain just that - dreams.
But it did happen for Merrifield.
And he made the most of his life-changing opportunity. Merrifield made his major league debut in May 2016 and ended up playing half a season - 81 games. He finished the season by hitting .283 a er getting 311 at-bats.
In the following seasons, Merrifield hit .288 in 2017 (including a personal-best 19 home runs), .304 in 2018 and .302 in 2019 when he posted a league-high 681 plate appearances, scored 105 runs, had a major league-best 206 hits and led all of baseball with 10 triples. And how many MVP votes did he gather for that impressive 2019 season? Zero.
How does one lead the major leagues in hits and triples and not receive a single MVP vote? Proof positive that Merrifield, who’s made one All-Star team, is still flying under the radar.
e only MVP votes he’s ever gotten came in 2018, when he received four votes – 2 ninth place and 2 tenth place. He had topped the league in hits, had stolen 48 bases, collected 48 doubles and batted better than .300. Overlooked? Under appreciated? e curse of playing for the rebuilding Royals?
Maybe all of the above.
Merrifield’s all-around abilities have richly paid off. The Royals and Merrifield agreed on a $16.25 million, four-year contract in February 2019. He’ll be a free agent before the 2024 season.
These days, you’ll see headlines like this: Whit Merrifield is the Royals most indispensable player. That was in reference to an article by an MLB.com writer who wrote a story noting the player which each MLB team can most ill-afford to lose.
Another online publication posted a piece this summer with the headline: Whit Merrifield is the most underrated star in MLB.
Merrifield, to borrow a phrase made famous by the great Reggie Jackson, is transitioning from a virtual unknown to the straw that now stirs the drink in Kansas City.
I WANT TO PLAY
And after a lights-out 2019 season, Merrifield was hungry to get 2020 rolling last spring before the COVID-19 pandemic put a temporary halt to the MLB season, which officially began in late July. Merrifield had no hesitation about playing this season.
“I tell people all the time when they – especially last year, when I played 162 games – asked if I need an off day, would I like to take an off day, and my response is always ‘It took me so long to get to the big leagues, I want to play in every single game,’” Merrifield told the Winston Salem Journal. “So I obviously don’t want to miss any games.
“The worry was you only have a certain amount of time to play this game, and I don’t want to lose any of those days,” Merrifield added. “It’s just kind of a bummer to be in the big leagues and kind of establish yourself and playing well and feeling good about the team that we had going into this year.”
Now 31, Merrifield is 10 years removed from his legendary career at the University of South Carolina, which was capped by the most famous base hit in program history.
In the 2010, the Gamecocks reached the College World Series title game, facing UCLA. The game stretched into the 11th
inning tied at 1-1. at’s when Merrifield ripped a 2-0 fastball to knock in the winning run in a 2-1 walk-off victory, giving South Carolina its first NCAA baseball title.
“It was a crazy run,” Merrifield told MLB.com. “We lost our very first game of the regional, so we had to fight back from that. We had two down-to-the-wire games in [the super regionals], and we lost the first game of the [College] World Series, so we had to win six in a row to win it. It was a crazy run, and that last at-bat just capped it off for me.”
at year turned out to be a life-changing year in more ways than one for the young man from Mocksville, N.C. Not only did Merrifield play on a NCAA championship team, but he also was dra ed by the Royals a er playing three years of college ball.
Any regrets that he didn’t bypass college to play pro ball at a younger age? None, according to Merrifield.
“I would encourage any player to go the college route, honestly. I mean unless you’re going to be a top-10 pick, I would encourage them to go to college for lessons you can’t learn anywhere else,” Merrifield said on the “Cody & Gold” radio show in Kansas City. “Getting thrown into the life of a minor league baseball player at 18-19 years old, I’ve seen it be pretty detrimental to a lot of people.” Merrifield continued.
“ e fact that the dra has been cut short [to just five rounds in 2020] is devastating in my opinion, to players, and to the game,” he said. “I feel bad for those players that are good enough to get to the big leagues, like myself, I wouldn’t have been dra ed. is would have been my time. Maybe this will make more high school players go to college.”
Starting in 2010, Merrifield made his minor league debut with the Class A Burlington Bees. From there, he steadily climbed the minor league ladder (playing for teams like the Wilmington Blue Rocks, Northwest Arkansas Naturals, and Omaha Storm Chasers) before getting the call from the Royals in May 2016. His first hit came off then-Boston Red Sox le y David Price.
And since that rookie year, he’s firmly established himself as a Royal pain to American League pitchers.
As a result, more and more fans and followers are discovering just how good Merrifield really is, and how valuable he is to his team. Remember what Jack Morris said?
“I don’t know how you get him out.”