Whit Merrifield officially announced his retirement today, through his agency Warner Sports Management. In his statement, he cited the birth of his child last year as a reason to hang up the cleats, saying “I’d much rather chase around a toddler than chase sliders.” Merrifield also addressed all the fan bases he played in front of, saying that Kansas City “became a second home to my family and I.”
The 36-year-old ends his career as a three-time All-Star with 1,249 career hits and a lifetime line of .280/.328/.413. He has a lot of blank ink on his Baseball Reference page, leading the league in:
- Games played (2019, 2020, 2021)
- Hits (2018, 2019)
- Doubles (2021)
- Triples (2019)
- Stolen bases (2017, 2018, 2021)
Originally a ninth round pick in the 2010 draft after being a College World Series star at South Carolina, Merrifield had mixed results in the minors initially.