Yermín Francisco Mercedes (born February 14, 1993), nicknamed "the Yermín-ator", is a Dominican professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

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 ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

, and

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. Unlike other players in a team's lineup, they generally only play as an offensive player and usually do not play defense as ...

for the Centauros de La Guaira of the

Venezuelan Major League The Venezuelan Major League, officially the Major League of Professional Baseball ( or LMBP) is a professional baseball league in Venezuela. Unlike the top-level Venezuelan Professional Baseball League, which plays a winter league schedule, the ...

. He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

and

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

. He signed as an international

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

with the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

in 2011 and made his MLB debut in 2020 with the White Sox. On April 3, 2021, he set a major league record as the first player in modern MLB history to begin a season with eight consecutive

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

. He was named the MLB Rookie of the Month in April 2021.

Career

Washington Nationals

At 18 years of age, Mercedes signed as an international

with the

on March 3, 2011. He spent the 2011, 2012, and 2013 seasons with the DSL Nationals, hitting .302/.352/.396, .327/.412/.398, and .255/359/.349 respectively. On August 24, 2013, Mercedes was released by the Nationals organization.

Independent Leagues

Mercedes spent the 2014 season in

independent baseball Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

. He played for the

Douglas Diablos The Douglas Diablos were a professional baseball team based in Douglas, Arizona. The team was a member of the Pecos League, an independent baseball league which is not affiliated with Major or Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiL ...

and the

White Sands Pupfish , former_names = {{plainlist, * Coastal Kingfish (2009–10) , nicknames = , uniform = , retired_numbers = , colors = Vegas gold, black, white , former_ballparks = , league_champs = , division_champs = , ow ...

of the

Pecos League The Pecos League of Professional Baseball Clubs is an independent professional baseball league headquartered in Houston, which operates in cities in desert mountain regions throughout California, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, ...

, and for the

San Angelo Colts The San Angelo Colts were a professional baseball team based in San Angelo, Texas, in the United States. The Colts were most recently a member of United League Baseball, an independent professional league which was not affiliated with Major Leagu ...

of the

United League Baseball United League Baseball was an Independent league baseball, independent baseball league that operated in Texas. The league operated from 2006 to 2009. The league then temporarily merged with the Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010), Northern L ...

. In 2014 between the three teams he batted .385/.424/.701 with 17 home runs and 75 RBI in 234 at bats.

Baltimore Orioles

On September 8, 2014, Mercedes signed a minor league contract with the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

organization. He spent the 2015 season with the Single–A

Delmarva Shorebirds The Delmarva Shorebirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Salisbury, Maryland. They are members of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Their home games are played at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. The Shor ...

, hitting .272/.302/.456 with eight home runs and 42 RBI in 239 at bats. He split the 2016 season between Delmarva (with whom he was an SAL mid-season All Star and post-season All Star, and Baseball America Low Single–A All Star) and the High–A

Frederick Keys The Frederick Keys are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. The Keys are based in Frederick, Maryland. The franchise is named for the "Star-Spangled Banner" writer Francis Scott Key, a native of Frederick County. A new team ...

, hitting a combined .345/.404/.570 with 20 home runs, 78 runs, and 77 RBI in 447 at bats. Mercedes split the 2017 season between Frederick and the Double–A

Bowie Baysox The Chesapeake Baysox are a Minor League Baseball team located in Bowie, Maryland. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and play in the Eastern League. Their home ballpark is Prince George's Stadium. From 1993 to 2024, th ...

, hitting a combined .276/.340/.455 with 16 home runs and 62 RBI in 380 at bats.

Chicago White Sox

2017–20; MLB debut

The

selected Mercedes in the minor league portion of the December 2017

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. He spent the 2018 season with the High–A

Winston-Salem Dash The Winston-Salem Dash are a Minor League Baseball team in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They are a High-A team in the South Atlantic League and have been a farm team of the Chicago White Sox since 1997. The Dash began playing their home games ...

, hitting .289/.362/.478 with 14 home runs (7th in the

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

) and 64 RBI (7th) in 360 at bats, playing 79 games at catcher and 14 games at first base. He caught 41% of attempted basestealers. Mercedes split the 2019 season between the Double–A

Birmingham Barons The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The Baron ...

and the Triple–A

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field ...

, combining to hit .317/.388/.581 with 23 home runs and 80 RBI in 334 at bats, playing 58 games at catcher, four games at first base, and two games at third base. He caught 44% of attempted basestealers. On November 20, 2019, the White Sox added Mercedes to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

to protect him from the

. Playing for Licey in the Dominican Winter League he hit .341/.375/.477 in 44 at bats, playing catcher, first base, and left field. On August 1, 2020, Mercedes was called up to the major leagues for the first time. He made his MLB debut the following day as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, A ...

, grounding out in his only plate appearance for the season.

2021; AL Rookie of the Month

Mercedes recorded the first hit of his major league career on April 2, 2021, when he hit a single against the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

. In the same game, he became the first player in Chicago White Sox history to record five hits in their first major league start. The following day, Mercedes had hits in his first three at bats, including his first Major League home run off of

Alex Cobb Alexander Miller Cobb (born October 7, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Tampa Bay Rays, Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Angels, San Fr ...

, becoming the first player since at least 1900 to begin a season with eight straight hits. On April 5, Mercedes was named the American League Player of the Week after batting 9-for-14 with a .643 batting average, 1.643 OPS, and six RBI. On April 8, Mercedes hit his first home run at

Guaranteed Rate Field Rate Field (formerly named Comiskey Park, U.S. Cellular Field and Guaranteed Rate Field) is a baseball stadium located on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Chicago White Sox, one of the city ...

off of Brad Keller of the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

. His home run was measured at 485 feet; it was the third-longest home run in major league baseball in 2021, and the longest regular-season home run for the White Sox in the Statcast era (since 2015). On April 19, Mercedes made his first pitching appearance during a game against the Red Sox. Mercedes was named the

American League Rookie of the Month Major League Baseball (MLB) honors its best rookies with a Rookie of the Month Award for one player in the American League (AL) and one in the National League (baseball), National League (NL) during each month of the regular season. These awards h ...

for the games played in April, in which he batted .415/.455/.659 with five home runs and 16 RBI in 88 plate appearances. On May 17, in a game against the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

, Mercedes hit a home run to center field on a 3–0 count with an 11-run lead while Willians Astudillo, a position player who had retired the first two batters in the inning, was pitching; in 4 innings Astudillo pitched that season, it was the only hit that he gave up. White Sox manager, 76-year-old

Tony La Russa Anthony La Russa Jr. (; born October 4, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager (baseball), manager. His MLB career has spanned from 1963 to 2022, in several roles. He is the former manager of the St. Louis C ...

who had just come out of a 10-year retirement, publicly criticized rookie Mercedes in a 15-minute discussion with the press for violating the

unwritten rules of baseball There is a set of unwritten rules of baseball that some players and managers follow. The rules often concern gamesmanship and not disrespecting players on the opposing team. Incidents have occurred when one or more players interpret the actions o ...

, calling him "clueless," and didn't have a problem when the Twins later threw behind Mercedes in apparent retaliation. In contrast, teammates of Mercedes, as well as opponents including pitcher Alex Wood, supported him. After that game, Mercedes' batting average dropped from a league-leading .364 to .271 by the end of June. He was demoted back to the Triple-A Charlotte Knights on July 2. On July 21, Mercedes announced via his Instagram account that he would be taking an indefinite leave from professional baseball, but the following day Mercedes returned to Charlotte. In 2021 with the White Sox, Mercedes batted .271/.328/.404 with seven home runs and 37 RBI in 240 at bats, playing 61 games at DH, two at catcher, and one each at first base and pitcher. The maximum exit velocity of balls he hit was in the top 2% in the major leagues, at 116.8 mph. With Charlotte he batted .275/.318/.464 with 11 home runs, 32 runs, and 29 RBI in 222 at bats, splitting time in the field between first base and catcher with an inning at third base.

2022

During

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

in 2022, Mercedes was diagnosed with a fracture in the

hamate bone The hamate bone (from Latin hamatus, "hooked"), or unciform bone (from Latin '' uncus'', "hook"), Latin os hamatum and occasionally abbreviated as just hamatum, is a bone in the human wrist readily distinguishable by its wedge shape and a hook- ...

in his left hand, requiring surgery in late March. He returned to Charlotte in May, where he hit .230/.376/.425 with 4 home runs, 14 runs, and 13 RBI in 87 at bats over 25 games, playing 16 games at DH and 9 games at first base. Mercedes was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

on June 12, 2022.

San Francisco Giants

The

claimed Mercedes off of waivers on June 18, 2022. They promoted him to the major leagues on June 26. In 31 games for the Giants, Mercedes batted .233/.325/.342 with one home run and 8 RBI. On September 9, Mercedes was removed from the 40-man roster and sent outright to the Triple-A

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland ...

following the promotion of Austin Dean. On October 14, Mercedes was released by the Giants.

Acereros de Monclova

On April 12, 2023, Mercedes signed with the

Acereros de Monclova The Acereros de Monclova (English: Monclova Steelers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports l ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. In 20 games, he batted .236/.345/.389 with 2 home runs and 8 RBIs. Mercedes was released by the team on May 15.

Saraperos de Saltillo

On April 2, 2024, Mercedes signed with the

Kansas City Monarchs The Kansas City Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in the history of baseball's Negro leagues. Operating in Kansas City, Missouri, and owned by J. L. Wilkinson, they were charter members of the Negro National League from 1920 to 193 ...

of the

American Association of Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor ...

. Prior to the start of the season on April 26, Mercedes signed with the

Saraperos de Saltillo The Saraperos de Saltillo (English: Saltillo Serapes) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League. Their home ballpark is the Estadio de Béisbol Francisco I. Madero in Saltillo, Coahuila. They have won three championships (1980, 2009 ...

of the

. In 75 games for Saltillo, he hit .300/.372/.470 with 11 home runs, 41 RBI, and eight stolen bases. On December 3, Mercedes was released by the Saraperos.

Centauros de La Guaira

In 2025, Mercedes signed with the Centauros de La Guaira of the

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mercedes, Yermín 1993 births Living people Acereros de Monclova players Baseball players from La Romana, Dominican Republic Birmingham Barons players Bowie Baysox players Charlotte Knights players Chicago White Sox players Delmarva Shorebirds players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Summer League Nationals players Frederick Keys players Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic 21st-century Dominican Republic sportsmen Sacramento River Cats players San Francisco Giants players Saraperos de Saltillo players Sultanes de Monterrey players Tigres del Licey players Winston-Salem Dash players

Career

Washington Nationals

Independent Leagues

Baltimore Orioles

Chicago White Sox

2017–20; MLB debut

2021; AL Rookie of the Month

2022

San Francisco Giants

Acereros de Monclova

Saraperos de Saltillo

Centauros de La Guaira

See also

References

External links