Ernesto Antonio Mejía Alvarado eh-HEE-ah(born December 2, 1985) is a

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

who is currently a free agent. Listed at 6' 5", 245 lb., he bats and throws right handed. He previously played in

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB) for the

Saitama Seibu Lions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Seibu Railway ...

Career

Atlanta Braves

Mejía was signed by the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

as a non-drafted free agent on July 8, 2002, and started his minor league career with the

GCL Braves The Florida Complex League Braves are the Rookie-level affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Braves. The team plays at CoolTo ...

rookie team in 2005. In 2006, Mejía played for the rookie ball

Danville Braves The Danville Braves were a Minor League Baseball team in Danville, Virginia. They were an Advanced Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League and were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves. The Braves have played home games at American Legion Post 3 ...

, slashing .296/.372/.473 with 4 home runs and 25 RBI. He split the 2007 season between Danville and the Single-A

Rome Braves The Rome Braves are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They are located in Rome, Georgia, and play their home games at AdventHealth Stadium. From 2003 to 2020, the team serve ...

, hitting .321/.357/.533 with 9 home runs and 48 RBI between the two teams. He spent the 2008 season in High-A with the

Myrtle Beach Pelicans The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are a Minor League Baseball team in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and the Single-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The Pelicans compete in the Carolina League. Home games are played at TicketReturn.com Field, which open ...

, batting .274/.324/.505 with career-highs in home runs (21) and RBI (93). He split the 2009 season between the Double-A

Mississippi Braves The Mississippi Braves, or M-Braves as they are referred to locally, are a Minor League Baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson. The team is the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and plays in the Southern League. ...

, the rookie ball

, and Myrtle Beach, accumulating a .256/.331/.421 batting line to go along with 4 home runs and 17 RBI. On November 9, 2009, Mejía elected free agency.

Kansas City Royals

On December 11, 2009, Mejía signed a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals organization that included an invitation to Spring Training. He did not make the club out of spring and was assigned to the Double-A

Northwest Arkansas Naturals The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springdale, Arkansas. The team is a member of the Texas League, and serves as the Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The Naturals play at Arvest Ballpark, whic ...

. Mejía split the year between the Naturals and the High-A

Wilmington Blue Rocks The Wilmington Blue Rocks are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Wilmington, Delaware, and play their home games at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. ...

, posting a .276/.337/.469 batting line with 16 home runs and 69 RBI. On November 6, 2010, he elected free agency.

Atlanta Braves (second stint)

On December 13, 2010, Mejía signed a minor league deal to return to the

organization. He spent the 2011 season with Double-A Mississippi, slashing .297/.375/.531 with career-highs in home runs (26) and RBI (99). In 2012, Mejía reached Triple-A for the first time with the

Gwinnett Braves The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia (with a Lawrencevil ...

, and led the circuit in RBI (92), hits (150) and

total bases In baseball statistics, total bases is the number of bases a player gains with hits. It is a weighted sum with values of 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple and 4 for a home run. For example, three singles is three total bases, whil ...

(256), was second both in SLG (.517) and at-bats (489), and tied for second in

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s (24), ending third in extra-bases (57), fourth in OPS (.858), fifth in runs (72) and eight in

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(.298), while tying for sixth in both doubles (32) and games played (126). Mejía earned the International League Rookie of the Year distinction as well as the Postseason All-Star team. The All-Star nod is his sixth All-Star selection. He also became the third consecutive Gwinnett Braves player to claim the award for the league's top rookie, joining

Freddie Freeman Frederick Charles Freeman (born September 12, 1989) is an American-Canadian professional baseball first baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Previously, Freeman played for the Atlanta Braves for 12 seasons. He mad ...

(2010) and

Julio Teherán Julio Alberto Teherán Pinto (born January 27, 1991) is a Colombian professional baseball pitcher in the San Diego Padres organization. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels, and Detroit Tigers. ...

(2011). On November 2, 2012, Mejía was selected to the Braves' 40-man roster. He spent the entire 2013 season in Gwinnett, posting a batting line of .249/.323/.497 to go along with 28 home runs and 83 RBI. He was named an International League All-Star for the 2013 season. Mejía began the 2014 season with Gwinnett, but was released on April 26, 2014, after reaching an agreement to play with a team in

Saitama Seibu Lions

After his release from the Braves, Mejía signed with the

. Mejía led NPB's

Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently cons ...

with 34 home runs in 2014, finishing in a tie for the top spot with

Takeya Nakamura (born August 15, 1983, in Daitō, Osaka) is Japanese baseball infielder for the Saitama Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Nicknamed "" (roughly translating to second helpings) for his large overweight frame, Nakamura is one of ...

. In his first three seasons with the Lions through 2016, Mejia batted .257 overall with 96 home runs and 265 RBIs. In 2017, Mejía slashed .241/.320/.458 with 19 home runs and 53 RBI in 113 games. He played in 82 games in 2018, batting .212/.282/.373 with 9 home runs and 21 RBI. In 2019, he hit .207/.273/.409 with 6 home runs and 31 RBI. On November 18, 2019, Mejía signed a 1-year contract extension to remain with the Lions. In 2020, he batted .207/.273/.409 with 11 home runs and 33 RBI in 74 games. Mejía played in 16 games for the team in 2021, collecting 8 hits in 36 at-bats (.143) with 1 home run and 3 RBI. On July 26, 2021, Mejía requested his release from the team so he could spend more time with his family.

References

External links

, o
Pura Pelota (VPBL stats)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mejia, Ernesto 1985 births Living people Águilas del Zulia players Baseball first basemen Danville Braves players Gulf Coast Braves players Gwinnett Braves players Mississippi Braves players Myrtle Beach Pelicans players Navegantes del Magallanes players Nippon Professional Baseball first basemen Northwest Arkansas Naturals players People from Guanare Rome Braves players Saitama Seibu Lions players Wilmington Blue Rocks players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Japan Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States