Welcome to the record book, Yermin Mercedes.
The Chicago White Sox rookie had three hits in his first three hits on Saturday against the Los Angeles Angels to improve to 8 of 8 in early 2021, the most consecutive hits at the beginning of a season by any player of the modern era ( since 1900).
Mercedes, who had a big league on the bat entering the season, going 0-to-1 in 2020, started in DH in the last two games and tortured the Angels with his two-hit streak – five of the eight strokes came with two attacks.
After homering in the second entry on Saturday for his first home run of his career, Mercedes’ eighth consecutive hit came in the sixth entry, a double that ricocheted off the warning lane in the center left.
“I’m just trying to wait for my shot and not do much,” said Mercedes after the White Sox lost 5-3 in Anaheim. “Just stay there and hit hard. It doesn’t matter if it’s two or none, I just want to see the ball. ”
The eight hits:
Friday
Saturday
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6. 421-foot home run from Alex Cobb’s 2-2 divider
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7. Bouncing ball from a 1-2 Cobb sinker
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8. Fold to the deep left center of a 1-0 Cobb sinker
In her ninth hit, Mercedes flew to the center of the field to end her streak. He finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a scheduled race on Saturday.
“All of his hits were accurate and he has put us in a position to try to win,” said coach Tony LaRussa. “He made an excellent approach, especially with two goals.”
Mercedes is a 28-year-old rookie who jumped around three organizations, originally signed by the Nationals and spending time with the Orioles before the White Sox hired him in 2018. He was not expected to be a big part of programming, but the Eloy Jimenez’s injury opened the game time, with the projected DH Andrew Vaughn starting the last two games on the left field.
LaRussa said Mercedes should have the night off on Saturday, but that he won his lineup with his 5 on 5 night.
Mercedes spent most of his time in the minor leagues in the catcher, but has a career average of 0.302 in the minor league, and in 2019, he reached 0.317 / 0.388 / 0.581 with 23 home runs in 95 games between Double-A and Triple THE.
“I never imagined that. It’s great for me,” said Mercedes of his start. “Now is a new day for me. I want to continue well and work with my approach. I want to play every day and I am excited for that.”
Before Mercedes, the only player since 1900 to get five hits in his first career was Cecil Travis, who scored 5-7 for the Washington Senators in 1933.
The overall record for consecutive hits at any point in the season is 12, shared by Johnny Kling of the Cubs (1902) and two Red Sox players, Pinky Higgins (1938) and Walt Dropo (1952).