Royals’ Whit Merrifield hit a double off Clayton Kershaw while talking on the phone
Royals right fielder Whit Merrifield was mic’d-up in an non-traditional way for Friday’s spring-training game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, which aired on ESPN.
Merrifield’s cell phone was used to get the audio to ESPN and he was wearing AirPods. So technically he was talking on the phone with announcers Dave Flemming and Jessica Mendoza while in the field in the top of the first inning.
When the Royals batted in the bottom of the frame, Merrifield led things off. He had been asked to stay on the call during his plate appearance, which came against three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw.
One couldn’t blame Merrifield if he had politely declined to stay on the call while facing Kershaw. But Merrifield acquiesced, and soon found himself down 0-2 in the count. He didn’t swing at a tough slider down-and-in, and then ripped a double off the wall in left field.
“It’s spring training. I’d rather have lined out and saved those for the year,” Merrifield quipped.
This was a great moment:
This story was originally published March 8, 2021 at 9:13 AM.
