Monday, July 6, 2015

#446 Luis Mercedes

About the Front: Luis Mercedes is here to welcome yours truly back from vacation! He also seems to think that his curly black hair is just too gorgeous to hide underneath a cap. I'm sure Jim Palmer could commiserate.

About the Back: The idea of an affiliated minor league having a "Rookie of the Year" seems a bit odd to me, but as Luis was nearly three years younger than the average International League player in 1991, he was a worthy recipient of that award.

Triple Play:

1. Mercedes also led the AA Eastern League in batting with the Hagerstown Suns in 1990, with his .334 mark.

2. Late in the 1991 season, Luis was suspended at AAA Rochester for throwing his batting helmet in the face of an opposing player during an argument. Undeterred, the Orioles called him up in September for his big league debut.

3. He last played in Mexico during the 1995 and 1996 seasons, having finished his MLB career with a total of just 70 games played and a batting line of .190/.286/.242.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: In the early 1990s, I remember hearing Mercedes' name when my father was listening to O's games in the car. His name had a certain ring to it.

Bill James Said: "His skills probably are not a lot different from those of Willie McGee, who has the job that he wants." The Orioles had traded Luis to the Giants for pitcher Kevin McGehee on April 29, 1993, and the speedy, singles-hitting outfielder couldn't crack a San Francisco outfield that included McGee, Darren Lewis, and Barry Bonds.

On This Date in 1993: July 6. Manny Machado celebrates his first birthday. In the present day, he's a Gold Glove third baseman for the Orioles and is in the midst of his fourth big league season. Where does the time go?

No comments:

Post a Comment