Former Blue Jay Sparkplug Whit Merrifield Announces Retirement from Baseball
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Veteran utility man and former Toronto Blue Jay Whit Merrifield announced on Tuesday that he has officially retired from the game of baseball.
"Since I've now had some time away from the game, I've had a chance to reflect on my individual career for the first time in my life," Merrifield wrote in a letter shared on social media. "I'm proud of myself... Toronto, playing for an entire country was an honour I'll never forget."
Merrifield, 36, played nine seasons in MLB, including a pair in 2022 and 2023 with the Blue Jays.
In his 189 games North of the border, Merrifield hit .274/.319/.394 as a versatile and defensively reliable veteran.
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In 2023, Merrifield made the American League all-star team for the third and final time of his career.
Most known for his lengthy tenure as a Kansas City Royal, the right-handed hitter who thrived due to his defensive versatility finished his career with a total of 94 home runs, 485 runs batted in and 218 stolen bases to go with a slash line of .280/.328/.413.
Merrifield led the American League in stolen bases in 2017, 2018 and 2021, also leading all of MLB in 2018 with 45.
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Merrifield, a South Carolina native, played his high school ball at Davie County High in North Carolina before going on to play at the University of South Carolina in college.
The Royals selected him in the ninth round of the 2010 MLB draft, and he worked their way through their farm system before beginning his MLB career.
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Kyle Morton has covered various sports from amateur to professional level athletics. A graduate of Fordham University, Kyle specializes in MLB and NHL coverage while having previous bylines with SB Nation, The Hockey Writers, HighSchoolOT, and Sports World News. He spent time working the beat for the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes and is an avid fan of the NHL, MLB, NFL and college basketball. Enjoys the outdoors and hiking in his free time away from sports.