Crystal LoGiudice-USA TODAY Sports
The Blue Jays' South Carolina Championship Connection
Jackie Bradley Jr. had the best view in Omaha.
Standing in the on-deck circle, with one hand on his hip and the other leaning against his bat, Bradley Jr. was the first one to react when Whit Merrifield's metal bat produced the ping of a scorched single.
The instant Merrifield made contact, Bradley Jr. knew his teammate just ended the 2010 College World Series, walking it off in the bottom of the 11th inning. Merrifield's hit cashed the winning run from third, earned South Carolina its first title in program history, and made Merrifield and Bradley Jr. champions—a distinction they once again seek, reunited as Blue Jays.
“We know what it’s like to win," Bradley Jr. said. "Know what it's like to play at the top stage of that particular point in your life."
Merrifield has never been to Major League Baseball's playoffs in his seven seasons, but that hit alone cemented him in clutch baseball history. With a man on third and one out in the bottom of the 11th, he didn't think he would even have an opportunity to play hero. After the UCLA pitcher dropped two uncompetitive pitches below the zone, and Trevor Bauer got up to warm in the Bruins' bullpen, Merrifield was convinced he was getting walked.
The Bruins were going to put him on, walk Bradley Jr. behind him, load the bases, and then bring in Bauer, Merrifield thought. But then, after calling a timeout and stepping out of the box for a moment, Merrifield made a choice.
“I said to myself, if it’s close I’m swinging," Merrifield said. "I got a chance to win it all right here.”
The single to right field was the culmination of a magical run for South Carolina. They lost their first game in the double elimination bracket at the College World Series, pushed immediately to the edge of elimination. But then, they didn't lose for the rest of the tournament, beating Merrill Kelly's Arizona State, Dominic Leone's Clemson Tigers, and then a UCLA team featuring Bauer, Gerrit Cole, and Tyler Heineman.
"We knew we could beat anybody," Bradley Jr. said. "And it was just a matter of doing it. So we got hot and beat everybody.”
That 2010 South Carolina squad produced six future big leaguers, including Sam Dyson (he of Blue Jays lore) and Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker. But Bradley Jr. and Merrifield were the pillars of the team, hitting second and third for much of the postseason. Bradley Jr., who won the tournament's Most Outstanding Player award, had his extra-innings walk-off heroics in the quarters against Oklahoma before Merrifield sealed the title in the finals.
In the moment, Merrifield didn't understand the full gravity of his base knock, he said. It wasn't until the Gamecocks returned to Columbia, SC the next day to a packed basketball arena and 70,000-person trophy parade that the championship feeling really sunk in.
While Merrifield signed with the Royals and joined pro ball that summer, much of the Gamecocks' team, including Bradley Jr., returned the next season and repeated as champions. A few years later, Bradley Jr. further added to his championship resume with a 2018 ALCS MVP award and a World Series ring with the Red Sox. Merrifield, on the other hand, is still searching for his next ring. He dreamt of moments like that 2010 walk-off his whole life, and now he dreams for another just like it.
"I loved every bit of that moment, it was incredible," Merrifield said. "I've been fighting to get back to it, and do it on an even bigger stage. I'm excited to have that chance."
