Whit Merrifield announces MLB retirement. Kansas City was his ‘first love’
Whit Merrifield called Kansas City a “second home to my family and I” in announcing his retirement on Tuesday.
Merrifield spent parts of his first seven major league seasons with the Royals, starting in 2016. He played second base most of his nine-year career, including stops with the Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves.
Merrifield, 36, said becoming a parent drove his decision.
“At this point in my life I’d rather chase around a toddler than chase sliders,” Merrifield wrote.
Twice with the Royals, Merrifield was selected to the American League All-Star team. During his Royals tenure, he was a league leader in several categories, including games (three times), at-bats (twice), hits (twice) and stolen bases (three times).
Merrifield’s best season may have come in 2018, when he led he AL in hits with 192 and stolen bases with 45. His 174 stolen bases for the Royals rank seventh in club history.
“Nothing compares to a first love,” Merrifield wrote about his time in Kansas City.
The Royals called up Merrifield a season after they won the World Series in 2015.
“I think he’s a great example of guys that persevere,” Royals general manager J.J. Picollo said. “He spent so many years in the minor leagues. There were opportunities to potentially bring him up that we felt like we had, you know, other guys that were more ready for the major leagues.
“But once he got up here, he grabbed hold of that opportunity that he got, and he ran with it. Several All-Star Games, 200 hits in a season, the stolen bases, leading the league in stolen bases.
“It’s a great testament to how difficult this game can be, not only physically but mentally, and how you’ve got to grind things out. And Whit’s a grinder. He’s a competitor, and he can look back and know that he got every ounce of his ability out of himself and had a very, very nice career.”
Royals manager Matt Quatraro said he saw plenty of Merrifield from the opposing dugout while serving on coaching staffs in Cleveland and Tampa Bay.
“He was an exceptional base stealer with a gift for a guy that wasn’t the fastest guy in the field,” Quatraro said. “He had great instincts. I picture him — he was a second baseman by trade, but when he would play the outfield he always seemed to be in the right spot, and he would always put together a quality at-bat against you.”
The Royals’ ninth-round selection from South Carolina in the 2010 draft, Merrifield was traded to the Blue Jays in August 2022 for pitcher Max Castillo and outfielder Samad Taylor.
Merrifield’s last action came with the Braves last season.