Salvy has company: Kansas City Royals’ Whit Merrifield picked to play in All-Star Game
There are surely worse circumstances under which to get ambushed in the shower. After all, Kansas City Royals manager Mike Matheny was the bearer of good news when he surprised Whit Merrifield shortly after Friday night’s game.
It did make for one of those uniquely-inelegant celebratory moments sports often elicits.
The Royals’ super-utilityman, leadoff hitter and offensive catalyst, Merrifield got voted by his fellow major-league players to play in his second All-Star Game. MLB announced the injury replacements on Saturday morning. Merrifield replaces Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve.
Merrifield, who also played in the 2019 All-Star Game, will join Salvador Perez in representing the Royals at the 91st edition of the Midsummer Classic on Tuesday at Coors Field in Denver.
“I was in the shower last night after the game and Mike came running in and told me,” Merrifield said. “And nobody really let me get out of the shower. Everybody came in and congratulated me and hugged me, which was a really awkward celebration, but it was — that’s how it went down.”
Merrifield laughed as he recounted the moment, and Matheny wore a sheepish grin when asked about that interaction.
Ironically, the notification took place at Progressive Field in Cleveland. That also served as the site of Merrifield’s first All-Star Game in 2019.
With the All-Star festivities launching into full swing for players on Monday with team workouts there was a measure of urgency to inform players and receive confirmation.
“Timing was of the essence, so I mean we barely got off the field and were still trying to catch our breath after getting the wind knocked out of us, and my boss calls and says this is something that the league needs to know about ASAP,” Matheny said. “All right, let me go. That’s even before (the postgame press conference).”
Merrifield, 32, is the 14th Royals position player selected to multiple All-Star Games. Entering Saturday’s games, he led the majors in stolen bases (24). He’s tied for eighth in the American League in hits (95) and tied for 11th in multi-hit games (26) and doubles (20).
Merrifield entered Saturday’s game against Cleveland Indians batting .272 with a .325 on-base percentage and a .410 slugging percentage in 88 games. He has started every game for the Royals this season. Friday night marked his 395th consecutive game, 26 games shy of tying Alcides Escobar’s franchise-record 421.
“Finding out as late as I did was a little bit of a shock,” Merrifield said. “Just the way the year has gone individually for me, there’s been some really lost moments for me at the plate, but I’ve always been told since I was little — my dad has preached that hitting is going to come and go.
“It’s an extremely difficult thing to do, but there’s always other ways you can impact that game and help your team win. I feel like I’ve really tried to hone in on that this year when my hitting hasn’t been what I expect it to be.”
Merrifield, who led the majors in hits in 2018 and 2019 as well as stolen bases in 2018, has taken on more offensive burden on his shoulders at times this season with injuries to Adalberto Mondesi, Andrew Benintendi and the steep declines in production from Hunter Dozier and Jorge Soler.
In June, Merrifield batted .351, led the team with 17 RBIs and seven stolen bases, and he became the first Royal to lead MLB in hits in any calendar month since Johnny Damon (51) in July 2000.
Merrifield described his production as more “streaky” this season than he expects or than he is comfortable with. He took great pride, however, in being voted into the All-Star Game by his peers.
“It means the most, frankly,” Merrifield said. “The fan vote is great. We appreciate all the support we get from the fans, but nobody knows what this game is like more than the players and how tough it is and — outside of numbers — what guys are doing and the type of ability that isn’t reflected solely by looking at a box score.”
Along with his offensive prowess as one of the best and most durable table-setters in baseball, Merrifield has made a mark with his versatility.
This season, Merrifield has started games at second base (77), right field (eight) and left field (two), and has served as the designated hitter once.
His previous All-Star selection came during the 2019 season when he started nearly as many games in the outfield (73) as the infield (76).
During that year’s All-Star Game in Cleveland, he went into the game at center field as a substitute for Mike Trout. This year, he’s likely to appear at second base.
“I’ve said this from day 1,” Matheny said. “You’ve got an All-Star caliber player who can play all over the field. That’s one thing. One who willingly does that, that’s a completely other thing.
“A guy that would prefer to be in one spot but has no qualms whatsoever, has never made one bit of an issue wherever we need him. That’s rare and just speaks to his character.”
As far as tagging along as Perez competes in Monday night’s Home Run Derby, Merrifield said he’s excited to play his part.
“When I found out and Salvy came up and congratulated me, I told him I was fired up to be the Gatorade/towel guy,” Merrifield said. “Watching all the Home Run Derbies growing up, there’s always a timeout and a guy gives him a towel and a Gatorade. So I told him I get to be that guy this year.”
This story was originally published July 10, 2021 at 12:56 PM with the headline "Salvy has company: Kansas City Royals’ Whit Merrifield picked to play in All-Star Game."
