by Jordan Long
(Update at 7:55 PM Mountain Time: Yermin Mercedes reported back to the Charlotte Knights ending speculation that he is retiring)
The Chicago White Sox are in the midst of one of their best seasons in recent memory. They are 58-38 and are on top of the American League Central Division by 8.5 games over the Cleveland Indians. Chicago has a 3 game interleague series with the Brewers starting tomorrow. After they face the Brewers, they head to Kansas City for a four game set starting on July 26th before they head home on July 30th. One of their top young players, Yermín Mercedes has decided to walk away from the game.
Mercedes was in his first year with the Chicago White Sox. He was used mostly as the designated hitter. Mercedes took the MLB by storm with a .415 batting average in April. He was looking like a superstar in the making. For his hitting that month, he was awarded American League Rookie of the month. After that, he had trouble seeing the baseball. Nypost.com stated Mercedes hit .221 in May and a disappointing .159 in June. At the Major League level Mercedes’ batting average was .271 with 7 home runs, 1 triple, 9 doubles, and 37 RBI’s.
The White Sox thought it was best to send Mercedes down to Triple-A to the Charlotte Knights on July 2nd. This was in hopes of Mercedes working on his mechanics at the plate. Once he was able to work on some things in Triple-A since those pitchers are future major leaguers or close to it, he would be called back up. This happens to even the best rookies or veterans who need rehab starts. It was also going to help the White Sox for the stretch run in the regular season or the postseason. Mercedes was a lock to be part of their playoff team and maybe win a World Series.
Unfortunately, Mercedes had a change of heart. According to msn.com, Mercedes said on Instagram, “To all the teams that I was with, I apologize for failing as a human being and for not tolerating their decisions. In this way, I am stepping away from baseball indefinitely. God bless, it’s over.”
Mercedes is doing what is best for him. If he is retiring because he was sent down, then that feels like he is giving up. He was having such a great beginning to his baseball career. All players go through slumps. Demoting him to Triple A could have helped him work on his batting to be back with the White Sox. There could be more going on than just baseball. It could be something emotional or family troubles. It is hard to speculate why he decided to leave the game and only Mercedes knows for sure.
The White Sox haven’t heard any official notification of him choosing to leave the game of baseball. Either way, it seems like he is done right now. He may have a change of heart and continue baseball. If he is really finished, at least he made his dream come true of playing in the big leagues even if it was for a short time because not many players have that opportunity.
Leave a Reply