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| Mark Merchant | |
|---|---|
| Outfielder | |
| Born: (1969-01-23)January 23, 1969 (age 56) Dunkirk, New York, U.S. | |
Bats: Switch Throws: Right | |
Mark Alan Merchant (born January 23, 1969) is an American formerprofessional baseball player whose career spanned ten seasons inminor league baseball, parts of one season in theNorthern League, and one season in theAtlantic League of Professional Baseball. A highly ratedprospect out ofOviedo High School, Merchant was drafted by thePittsburgh Pirates with the second overall selection afterKen Griffey Jr. in the1987 Major League Baseball draft. During the 1989 season, the Pirates traded Merchant to theSeattle Mariners as a part of a five-player deal.
Merchant was born on January 23, 1969, inDunkirk, New York. He attendedOviedo High School inOviedo, Florida, where he played baseball.[1] He was named to the all-state team his junior year.[2] In his senior season, Merchant had abatting average of .419 with sevendoubles, twotriples, fivehome runs, and 23runs batted in (RBI). He successfullystole 48 bases out of 49 attempts,[3] and was again named to the all-state team.[2] Coaches from District 7 of the Florida Athletic Coaches Association named Merchant the Florida Player of the Year.[4] According to theOrlando Sentinel, it wasn't "uncommon" to see dozens ofscouts at Oviedo's games.[5]
For scouts, he ran the60 yard dash in 6.6 seconds, whichThe Atlanta Journal-Constitution considered a good time.[6] The newspaper also said that, outside ofpitchers, he had the best throwing arm in the1987 Major League Baseball draft.[6] Writing forSports Illustrated,Peter Gammons considered Merchant to be the second bestprospect available, behindKen Griffey Jr.[7] In the draft, thePittsburgh Pirates selected Merchant second, after theSeattle Mariners had chosen Griffey Jr.first overall.[3] Within three hours, he signed a contract with the Pirates.[2]
Merchant began his professional career with theRookie League'sGulf Coast League Pirates. For the Pirates, he batted .265 over 50 games.[1] While with the Pirates, Merchant improved his base stealing ability by working with coachJoe Tanner. Merchant was surprised with his own success at making the transition between high school and professional baseball.[8] In 1988, the team promoted him to theAugusta Pirates of theClass-ASouth Atlantic League, where he played with future MLB playersMoisés Alou andOrlando Merced.[9] Merchant's season ended when heseparated his left shoulder diving for a ball.[10] In 60 games, he had a .242 average and two home runs.[9]
Going into the 1989 season, Augusta managerStan Cliburn said Merchant would be the team'scleanup hitter after a strong performance inspring training.[10] Merchant andpitcherMike Walker were considered to be the top two prospects in the Pirates organization.[11] After 15 games in Augusta, the Pirates traded Merchant, Walker, andMike Dunne to the Seattle Mariners for pitcherBill Wilkinson andshortstopRey Quiñones.[11] The Pirates made the trade to find a replacement for shortstopRafael Belliard, who was struggling offensively, and to compensate for injuries.[12] Merchant finished the season with theClass A-AdvancedSan Bernardino Spirit, where his batting average dropped to .210; his 66walks and 114strikeouts, however, both led the Spirit.[13]
In 1990, Merchant played for both the Spirit and theWilliamsport Bills ofDouble-A.Bone spurs in his right arm caused him to miss most of the 1990 season.[14] When playing, his batting average of .314 was the fifth-best on the Spirit, but his average of .137 was the third-worst on the Bills.[15][16] Remaining with Seattle, Merchant played for the Advanced-APeninsula Pilots and the Double-AJacksonville Suns in 1991. In 1992, he played solely for the Suns and led the team in strikeouts.[17] His stolen base total had decreased from a combined 14 with the Pilots and Suns last season to just 3 in 1992.[1] After the season, the Mariners released Merchant; after he was released, Merchant considered changing careers.[14]
Electing to remain with baseball, Merchant signed a contract with theCincinnati Reds in April 1993.[14] He spent the majority of the season, 109 games, with the Double-AChattanooga Lookouts, but also played in three games for theTriple-AIndianapolis Indians. Combined, Merchant batted .298 with career highs in RBI (61) and home runs (17).[1] Merchant attributes his success to regaining his hitting form: Jacksonville coaches tried to alter it, but in Chattanooga, "nobody wanted to change anything".[14] Prior to the 1994 season, Reds managerDavey Johnson said Merchant could have competed for a position on the MLB team if he had had experience as afirst baseman or as acatcher.[14]
