| Whit Merrifield | |
|---|---|
 Merrifield with the Kansas City Royals in 2016 | |
| Second baseman /Outfielder | |
| Born: (1989-01-24)January 24, 1989 (age 36) Florence, South Carolina, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| May 18, 2016, for the Kansas City Royals | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 30, 2024, for the Atlanta Braves | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .280 |
| Home runs | 94 |
| Runs batted in | 485 |
| Stolen bases | 218 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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Whitley David Merrifield (born January 24, 1989) is an American former professionalbaseballsecond baseman andoutfielder who played nine seasons inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theKansas City Royals,Toronto Blue Jays,Philadelphia Phillies, andAtlanta Braves. Merrifield was a three-timeAll-Star and led theAmerican League in stolen bases three times.
Merrifield graduated fromDavie County High School inMocksville, North Carolina. He enrolled at theUniversity of South Carolina and playedcollege baseball for theSouth Carolina Gamecocks from 2008 to 2010. In 2008, he playedcollegiate summer baseball for theYarmouth–Dennis Red Sox of theCape Cod Baseball League, and in 2009 returned to the league to play with theChatham Anglers.[1][2][3] In the second game of the championship series at the2010 College World Series, Merrifield hit a game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the 11th inning to give South Carolina the championship.[4][5] In his three years at South Carolina, he played in 195 games and hit .329/.389/.489 with 27home runs.[citation needed] In 2010, he set a Gamecocks record with a 26-gamehitting streak.[6]
TheKansas City Royals selected Merrifield in the ninth round of the2010 Major League Baseball draft.[7] He signed with the Royals and made his professional debut that season with theBurlington Bees.[8][9] In 47 games he hit .253/.317/.409 with five home runs and 26RBIs. In 2011, Merrifield played for theWilmington Blue Rocks where he batted .262 with five home runs and 36 RBIS. In 2012, with both Wilmington and theNorthwest Arkansas Naturals, he compiled a .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.[10]
Merrifield returned to Northwest Arkansas to start 2014 and was promoted to theOmaha Storm Chasers during the season.[11] 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.[10] 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 fromOmar Infante.[12] His first Major League hit came off ofDavid Price.[13] On June 13, Merrifield hit both his first major league triple and home run against theCleveland Indians. In early July 2016, a song and video tribute to Merrifield titled "Cool Whit" received coverage on local Kansas City radio and TV news.[14] 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.[15]
Merrifield began the 2017 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 and 78 RBIs. He also led the American League with 34stolen bases, the fewest total for a league leader sinceLuis Aparicio led the AL with 31 in 1962.[16] In 2018, Merrifield hit .304/.367/.438 and led the majors in hits (192) and stolen bases (45).[17]
In 2019, Merrifield batted .302/.348/.463 and led the major leagues in games (162), at bats (681), singles (139), triples (10), andline drive percentage (28.2%), while stealing 20 bases and leading the majors in caught stealing (10).[18][19]
Overall with the2020 Kansas City Royals in the Covid-shortened season, Merrifield batted .282 with nine home runs and 30 RBIs in 60 games.[20]
In 2021, Merrifield hit .277/.317/.395 with 10 home runs and 74 RBIs. He tied for the MLB lead with 42 doubles, and led the American League with 40 steals. He also tied for the major league lead in sacrifice flies, with 12.[21] On defense, he led all major league second basemen with 283 putouts, 103 double plays and a 4.77 range factor. He won aFielding Bible Award for his defensive excellence.[22] Merrifield played in a franchise-record 553 consecutive games for the Royals between June 2018 and July 2022.[23]
On August 2, 2022, Merrifield was traded to theToronto Blue Jays forMax Castillo andSamad Taylor.[24] He was among ten Royals players who were in violation ofCanada's COVID-19 vaccination requirement and unable to travel to Toronto for a four-game weekend series right before theAll-Star break two weeks earlier in July.[25] On August 4, 2022, Merrifield announced that he was now vaccinated and would be able to play in the team's first game in Toronto since being acquired.[26]
In 2022 he batted .250/.298/.375 in 550 plate appearances, and was the onlyqualified batter in the major leagues who was not hit by a pitch all year.[27] He became a free agent following the 2023 season.
On February 19, 2024, Merrifield signed a one-year, $8 million contract with thePhiladelphia Phillies.[28] In 53 games with the team, Merrifield struggled offensively, batting .199/.277/.295. He was released by the Phillies on July 12.[29]
On July 22, 2024, Merrifield signed a major league contract with theAtlanta Braves.[30] On September 7, Merrifield was diagnosed with a fractured left foot, and was sidelined for a short amount of time but not placed on the injured list.[31] In 42 appearances for Atlanta, he batted .248/.348/.336 with one home run, four RBI, and six stolen bases.
On June 24, 2025, Merrifield announced his retirement from professional baseball via social media.[32]
On September 10, 2018, he was selected by the MLB All-Stars at2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series.[33]
Merrifield married his wife, Jordan Michael, on December 28, 2019.[34]
Merrifield's father, Bill, played college baseball forWake Forest University,[35] and spent six seasons inMinor League Baseball, primarily as a third baseman.[36] In September 1987, Bill Merrifield was briefly on the active roster of thePittsburgh Pirates, but was sent to theFlorida Instructional League without making an MLB appearance,[37] rendering him aphantom ballplayer.[38][39]
Merrifield actively co-runs the 6ix Inning Podcast, which he created with sports reporter Lindsay Dunn. The show discusses MLB news with a primary focus on the Toronto Blue Jays.
| Achievements | ||
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| Preceded by | Major League Baseball annualhits leader 2018–2019 | Succeeded by |
