Yermín Mercedes

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Yermín Mercedes
Yermín Mercedes batting for the Washington Nationals organization in 2012 Extended Spring Training (Cropped).jpg
Mercedes with the Nationals in 2012
Chicago White Sox
Catcher / Designated hitter
Born: (1993-02-14) February 14, 1993 (age 28)
La Romana, Dominican Republic
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
August 2, 2020, for the Chicago White Sox
MLB statistics
(through June 30, 2021)
Batting average.271
Home runs7
Runs batted in37
Teams
Career highlights and awards

MLB records

  • 1st player in modern era to begin a season with 8 straight hits

Yermín Francisco Mercedes (born February 14, 1993), nicknamed ”The Yermín-ator”[1] is a Dominican professional baseball catcher for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2020. On April 4, 2021, he set a major league record as the first baseball player in modern MLB history to begin a season with eight consecutive hits.

Career[]

Early career[]

Mercedes signed as an international free agent with the Washington Nationals on March 3, 2011.[2] He spent the 2011, 2012, and 2013 seasons with the DSL Nationals, hitting .302, .327, and .255 respectively. On August 24, 2013, Mercedes was released by the Nationals organization.[3]

Mercedes with the Washington Nationals organization in 2012

Mercedes spent the 2014 season in independent baseball. He played for the Douglas Diablos and the White Sands Pupfish of the Pecos League, and for the San Angelo Colts of the United League Baseball.[3] In 2014 between the three teams he batted .385/.424/.701 with 17 home runs.[citation needed]

On September 8, 2014, Mercedes signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles organization.[3] He spent the 2015 season with the Delmarva Shorebirds, hitting .272/.302/.456/.758 with eight home runs and 42 runs batted in (RBIs).[citation needed] He split the 2016 season between Delmarva and the Frederick Keys, hitting a combined .345/.404/.570/.974 with 20 home runs and 77 RBIs. Mercedes split the 2017 season between Frederick and the Bowie Baysox, hitting a combined .276/.340/.455/.795 with 16 home runs and 62 RBIs.[3][4]

Chicago White Sox[]

Mercedes was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the minor league portion of the 2017 Rule 5 draft.[4][5] He spent the 2018 season with the Winston-Salem Dash, hitting .289/.362/.478/.840 with 14 home runs and 64 RBIs.

He split the 2019 season between the Birmingham Barons and the Charlotte Knights, combining to hit .317/.388/.581/.968 with 23 home runs and 80 RBIs.[6] The White Sox added Mercedes their 40-man roster following the 2019 season.[7]

On August 1, 2020, Mercedes was called up to the major leagues.[8] He made his MLB debut the following day as a pinch hitter, grounding out in his only plate appearance.

Mercedes recorded the first hit of his major league career on April 2, 2021, when he hit a single against the Los Angeles Angels. In the same game, he became the first player in Chicago White Sox history to record five hits in their first major league start. The following day, Mercedes had hits in his first three at bats including his first Major League Home Run off of Alex Cobb, becoming the first player since at least 1900 to begin a season with eight straight hits.[9] On April 5, Mercedes was named the American League Player of the Week after batting 9-for-14 with a 1.643 OPS, .643 average and six RBIs.[10] On April 8, Mercedes hit his first Home Run at Guaranteed Rate Field off of Brad Keller of the Kansas City Royals. His Home Run was measured at 485 feet. On April 19, Mercedes made his first pitching appearance during a game against the Red Sox. Mercedes was named the American League Rookie of the Month for the games played in April.[11]

On May 17, in a game against the Minnesota Twins, Mercedes hit a home run on a 3–0 count with an 11-run lead while Willians Astudillo, a position player, was pitching. White Sox manager Tony La Russa criticized Mercedes for violating the unwritten rules of baseball.[12]

On July 21, Mercedes announced that he will be taking an indefinite leave from professional baseball via his Instagram account.[13] The next day, Mercedes returned to Charlotte.[14]

Personal life[]

Mercedes and his wife, Alejandra, were married in 2020.[15]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Now on the mound ... Yermín Mercedes?". MLB.com. April 19, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  2. ^ JJ Cooper (November 21, 2019). "Yermin Mercedes Is The Feel-Good Story Of The 40-Man Roster Deadline". Baseball America. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Under the Radar: Yermin Mercedes". South Side Sox. SB Nation. August 13, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b James Fegan (December 21, 2017). "Yermin Mercedes has bat flips, but does he add real catching depth to the White Sox organization?". The Athletic. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  5. ^ "Yermín Mercedes and Jonathan Stiever named August/September White Sox Minor League Players of the Month". MLB.com. September 4, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  6. ^ Vinnie Duber (November 20, 2019). "White Sox move seven prospects to 40-man roster, protecting them from Rule 5 draft". NBC Sports Chicago. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  7. ^ Daryl Van Schouwen (November 20, 2019). "Right-handers Zack Burdi, Dane Dunning among 7 added to White Sox 40-man roster". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  8. ^ "White Sox's Yermin Mercedes: Called up by White Sox". CBSSports.com. August 1, 2020. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  9. ^ "White Sox rookie Yermin Mercedes starts season 8-for-8 to set MLB mark". USAToday.com. April 4, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  10. ^ Harrigan, Thomas (April 5, 2021). "Mercedes, Hosmer named Players of Week". MLB.com. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  11. ^ Schouwen, Daryl Van (May 3, 2021). "White Sox DH Yermin Mercedes named AL Rookie of the Month". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  12. ^ https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/05/18/tony-larussa-white-sox-yermin-mercedes/
  13. ^ "ChiSox's Mercedes 'stepping aside' from baseball". ESPN.com. July 22, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  14. ^ https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox/2021/7/22/22589264/white-sox-say-apologetic-yermin-mercedes-is-uniform-for-charlotte-knights
  15. ^ "2020 Chicago White Sox Media Guide" (PDF). Chicago White Sox. Major League Baseball. 2020. p. 152. Retrieved March 9, 2021.

External links[]

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