In the weeks after his demotion, after his scorching bat had cooled and his numbers nose dived, after his cult-hero story had returned to Class AAA Omaha, Whit Merrifield decided to take stock of his season.
In some ways, it was easy to assume that big-league pitchers had caught up to him. Maybe after a blazing start in May and June, a three-week slump in July was the result of some flaw that had finally revealed itself. Maybe Merrifield, the Royals’ 27-year-old utilityman, had a hole that was finally exposed. How else to explain a five-for-45 stretch (.