John Warren Merson (January 17, 1922 – April 28, 2000) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who ...

. The second baseman and

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

appeared in 125 games in the Major Leagues for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

—124 of them for the Pirates. Merson was originally signed by the Washington Senators in 1940, but was released in 1941 without playing a single game for them. In 1947, the Pirates signed Merson as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

, and he made his debut with Pittsburgh in 1951. He played 111 of 154 games in 1952,

batting Batting may refer to: * Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs * Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ...

.246 with five

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 and thirty-eight

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

. He became the first Pirates player to have a four-hit game early in his first few games when he went 4-for-5 in his second major league game on September 15, . No other Pirates player would accomplish this feat until

Brock Holt Brock Wyatt Holt (born June 11, 1988), nicknamed "The Brock Star", is an American former professional baseball player. Well known for his role as a utility player, Holt played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Re ...

on September 4, . Merson was the first player in Major League history to have ten RBIs in their first five games, a feat equalled only by

Danny Espinosa Daniel Richard Espinosa (born April 25, 1987) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Angels, Seattle Mariners, and Tampa Bay Rays. Amateur ca ...

in 2010 and Yasiel Puig in 2013. During the 1952 off-season, the Red Sox took Merson in the Rule 5 draft. Merson appeared in one game for Boston in 1953 before being sent to the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

of the Pacific Coast League. He played four seasons with the Padres before retiring from baseball in 1956.

Notes

External links

Jack Merson
– Baseball-Reference.com 1922 births 2000 deaths Baseball players from Maryland Boston Red Sox players Indianapolis Indians players Major League Baseball second basemen New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players Newport Canners players People from Elkridge, Maryland Pittsburgh Pirates players San Diego Padres (minor league) players Uniontown Coal Barons players York White Roses players {{US-baseball-second-baseman-stub