Whitley David "Whit" Merrifield is a professional baseball utility player currently a free agent. He has played in MLB for the Kansas City Royals, Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves. Notably, Merrifield is a three-time All-Star and has led the American League in stolen bases on three occasions, establishing himself as a prominent and versatile player in the league.
In 1962, Luis Aparicio led the American League with 31 stolen bases, the fewest total for a league leader since.
In September 1987, Bill Merrifield, Whit Merrifield's father, was briefly on the active roster of the Pittsburgh Pirates but was sent to the Florida Instructional League without making an MLB appearance.
On January 24, 1989, Whitley David Merrifield was born. He would become an American professional baseball utility player.
In 2008, Whit Merrifield played collegiate summer baseball for the Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox of the Cape Cod Baseball League.
In 2009, Whit Merrifield returned to the Cape Cod Baseball League to play with the Chatham Anglers.
In 2010, Merrifield secures the championship for South Carolina with a game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the 11th inning at the College World Series. He also set a Gamecocks record with a 26-game hitting streak in 2010.
In 2010, the Kansas City Royals selected Merrifield in the ninth round of the Major League Baseball draft, and he signed with the team, making his professional debut with the Burlington Bees that season.
In 2011, Merrifield played for the Wilmington Blue Rocks, batting .262 with five home runs and 36 RBIs.
In 2012, Merrifield played for both the Wilmington Blue Rocks and the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, compiling a .258 batting average with nine home runs and 44 RBIs in 125 games between both teams.
In 2013, Merrifield played for Northwest Arkansas, batting .270/.319/.391 with three home runs and 43 RBIs in 94 games.
In 2014, Merrifield started the season with Northwest Arkansas and was later promoted to the Omaha Storm Chasers, slashing .319/.371/.470 with eight home runs and 49 RBIs in 120 games between the two clubs.
In 2015, Merrifield played for Omaha, posting a .265 batting average with five home runs and 38 RBIs in 135 games.
On May 18, 2016, Merrifield made his major league debut with the Kansas City Royals, batting in the top third of the lineup and taking the starting second baseman job.
In early July 2016, a song and video tribute to Merrifield titled "Cool Whit" received coverage on local Kansas City radio and TV news.
In 2016, Merrifield returned to Omaha to start the season.
Merrifield began the 2017 season with Omaha but was recalled to Kansas City in April and spent the remainder of the season with the Royals, hitting .288 with 19 home runs and 78 RBIs. He also led the American League with 34 stolen bases in 2017.
In June 2018, Merrifield began a franchise-record 553 consecutive games played for the Royals.
In 2018, Merrifield led the majors in hits (192) and stolen bases (45), hitting .304/.367/.438.
On December 28, 2019, Merrifield married his wife, Jordan Michael.
In 2019, Merrifield led the major leagues in games (162), at bats (681), singles (139), triples (10), and line drive percentage (28.2%), while stealing 20 bases and leading the majors in caught stealing (10). He batted .302/.348/.463.
In 2020, during the COVID-shortened season, Merrifield batted .282 with nine home runs and 30 RBIs in 60 games for the Kansas City Royals.
In 2021, Merrifield hit .277/.317/.395 with 10 home runs and 74 RBIs. He tied for the MLB lead with 42 doubles and led the American League with 40 steals. He also tied for the major league lead in sacrifice flies, with 12. Won a Fielding Bible Award for his defensive excellence.
In July 2022, Merrifield's franchise-record 553 consecutive games streak for the Royals came to an end.
On August 2, 2022, Merrifield was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for Max Castillo and Samad Taylor.
On August 4, 2022, Merrifield announced that he was now vaccinated and would be able to play in Toronto.
In 2022, Merrifield batted .250/.298/.375 in 550 plate appearances and was the only qualified batter in the major leagues who was not hit by a pitch all year.
Following the 2023 season, Merrifield became a free agent.
On February 19, 2024, Merrifield signed a one-year, $8 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies.
On July 12, 2024, Merrifield was released by the Philadelphia Phillies.
On July 22, 2024, Merrifield signed a major league contract with the Atlanta Braves.
On September 7, 2024, Merrifield was diagnosed with a fractured left foot, sidelining him for a short time but not resulting in placement on the injured list.
On June 24, 2025, Merrifield announced his retirement from professional baseball via social media.
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