ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 02: Yermin Mercedes #73 of the Chicago White Sox reacts after his RBI double against the Los Angeles Angels during the ninth inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on April 02, 2021 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
Chicago White Sox catcher Yermín Mercedes had a long road to get to the big leagues, but now that he’s arrived, all he’s done to celebrate is make baseball history.
Mercedes, who had just one MLB at-bat prior to the start of the 2021 season, made his season debut on Friday against the Los Angeles Angels, going 5-for-5 with a double and four runs batted in for the White Sox in a 12-8 victory.
As if that debut weren’t spectacular enough, Mercedes followed it up by collecting three more hits, including a home run, and two more runs batted in Saturday night before finally being retired in the top of the eighth inning on a fly out to center field.
That still gave Mercedes eight hits in eight at-bats to start off the regular season, and according to the Elias Sports Bureau, it also gave the catcher a place in baseball’s record books. According to Elias, Mercedes is the first player since 1900 to begin a season with eight consecutive hits:
Mercedes, who is 28 years old, has bounced around the baseball world for nearly a decade, starting out with the Washington Nationals’ organization way back in 2011. Since then he has played in a wide variety of leagues, finally settling in with the White Sox organization in 2018.
It is highly unlikely that he will be able to continue batting at a torrid .889 clip, but he has given White Sox fans (and baseball fans in general) something to cheer about as the new season has gotten underway.
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