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Former Gamecock Whit Merrifield announces retirement from baseball

imageby: Jack Veltri06/24/25jacktveltri
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Whit Merrifield during the 2010 College World Series (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Former South Carolina infielder/outfielder Whit Merrifield has announced his retirement from baseball, he posted to social media on Tuesday.

“When it came down to it, it was an easy decision,” Merrifield wrote in his retirement post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Many factors played a role in my decision, but the main one was a 6 pound 6 ounce gift from God my wife and I were blessed with in March of 2024.

“I was never talented enough to just show up and play. Baseball required my full focus and energy for me to compete at the level I wanted to, and I realize I can no longer give that effort. At this point in life, I’d much rather chase around a toddler than chase sliders.”

Merrifield, who played at South Carolina from 2008-10, most famously helped the Gamecocks win the 2010 College World Series with his walk-off single in the clinching game against UCLA. For his three-year career in Columbia, he hit .329 with 27 home runs and 117 RBI in 195 games.

Later that summer, after delivering his game-winning hit in Omaha, Merrifield would be drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the ninth round of the 2010 MLB Draft. He didn’t make his big league debut until 2016, one year after the Royals won the World Series for the first time since 1985.

Despite missing out on a chance to win a championship, Merrifield had some solid years with Kansas City. In seven seasons, he hit .286 with 1,001 hits, 74 homers and 387 RBI. He was the MLB’s hit leader in 2018 and 2019 with 192 and 206 hits, respectively. He made two All-Star teams with the Royals and finished 17th in AL MVP voting in 2018.

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During the 2022 season, Merrifield was traded from the Royals to the Toronto Blue Jays, where he spent the rest of that season and through 2023. After hitting a disappointing .250 in 2022, he bounced back the next year and made his third and final All-Star team after hitting .272 with 11 homers and 67 RBI.

Merrifield signed a free-agent deal with the Philadelphia Phillies going into 2024. He only played in 53 games with the club before being released midseason. He then signed with the Atlanta Braves for the rest of the season, which would be his final year at the MLB level.

In his final season before retirement, Merrifield hit .222 with four homers and 15 RBI. Over his nine-year career, he hit .280 with 1,249 hits, 94 homers and 485 RBI in 1,147 games.

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