If Yermin Mercedes Isn't In The HR Derby This Year, MLB Is Trying To Sabotage Their Own Product
The White Sox are cruising in spite of all of the non-story bullshit going on around the team with the manager and the "unwritten rules". This team is fun, hungry and ready to pound Jordan Montgomery and the NYY's faces in tonight. But that's not the point of this blog - the point of this blog is to highlight the best story and biggest surprise of the 2021 season thus far - Yermin Mercedes.
Now, Mercedes was in the news for wrong reasons this week. He teed off on a 6MPH 3-0 pitch from Willians Astudillo in a 10 run game the other night. His old school manager didn't like it and said so in the media. That turned into a hurricane of shit in the media and on White Sox Twitter even though it never should have been. People are saying the locker room went to shit, the team was gonna free fall, and that TLR should be canned. Fuck all that. Professionals disagreed; it's as simple as that. The locker room is tight knit and as tight as it's ever been.
Back to Mercedes - he's become a household name faster than a lot of White Sox players ever have. They have 5 star, blue chip talent up and down the lineup and pitching staff right now, but Mercedes is the dude that's been talked about across the country the most by far. Not TA, not Abreu, not Moncada and his .400+ OBP, Yermin Mercedes, the 28 year old journeyman rookie who lit the first 1/4 of the season on FIRE.
This is an appreciate post. He's been a complete Godsend in Eloy, Robert and Abreu's (very brief) absence. Without him who knows where they'd be? Dude's been incredible at the dish all season and as I said early on, I think his approach will lead to sustained success as a hitter.
His 2 strike approach is masterful; here are his numbers as behind in a count as a hitter can get:
37ABs, 12 hits, .324BA, 10 singles, 2 doubles, and 14K's
That's ABSURDLY impressive for anyone, let alone a journeyman rookie. Is there some batted ball luck? Sure, of course. But he forces a good amount of luck on that hitter. Here's a side by side video of how he approaches attacking a baseball ahead in the count, opposed to being behind in the count:
Shortens up, uses all fields, and does whatever he can to find a barrel. If you put the ball in play, good things can happen. The baseball gods will reward you. But this is the kind of shit you'd think you'd find out of someone like Nick Madrigal, not the cleanup hitting power hitter. If you make a mistake, he can do this to you:
or this to you:
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now granted the second video was foul, but look at how badly he shit on this baseball:
And the Twins announcers said they have never seen anyone hit the ball that far. It almost left Target Field entirely.
What I'm getting at is this; Yermin Mercedes is NOTHING but fun. Dude's a 5'7", 250 pound fire hydrant and has lit the baseball world on fire. Just electric factory with how exuberant he is on the field and how funny he looks off it:
Just a bowling ball. That's why we NEED to get him in the HR derby. It'd not only be great for the Sox, but great for baseball. Dude would put on a complete and total rock concert for everyone who's watching. Just dismantling baseballs 500 feet and looking like a toad while doing it. I don't care what needs to happen, but baseball would be stupid to not have the Yerminator in the Derby this year not just because of how good he's been, but because of how fun he is and how funny he looks. And I mean that in a good way. Dude must get shit tons of ass.
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Ohand yes, as of now, he absolutely, 100% should be named to the All Star team this year as well. Dude's earned it. Let's go beat those greasy assholes faces in tonight. We're riding with a Yermin Mercedes Odds boost + White Sox win tonight in the Barstool Sportsbook - BE ON STANDBY AND LET'S MAKE SOME MONEY!!!