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PHILADELPHIA — Whit Merrifield had worked on a swing adjustment for the last week. It was a small thing — a two-handed follow-through that has helped promote better habits. He wanted to try something different. Merrifield had started once for the Phillies in the previous six days. He was signed to bolster a thin bench, so three hits in 28 at-bats was not the impression he envisioned.
He did something else this week. He ditched “I’m Your Boogie Man” by KC and The Sunshine Band. He chose The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside” for his walk-up music Friday night.
“It’s just one of those things,” Merrifield said after a 7-0 Phillies win over the White Sox. “When things aren’t going well, you just kind of want something new. Hear something new, see something new.”
The game was already decided when Merrifield swatted a solo homer off Garrett Crochet in the fourth inning. The White Sox are terrible. They were held scoreless for the seventh time — the most shutouts of any team in baseball history through 19 games. The Phillies have won four straight against last-place teams. They are doing what they are supposed to do.
No matter the competition, the Phillies are starting better. They have won at least 12 of their first 20 games only 19 times since 1901. This is not something they do.
A rout against the worst team in baseball doesn’t mean much. The Phillies will face greater tests later. They are sorting through the edges of the roster to gain an understanding of who can be trusted in the summer.
Merrifield, after his home run, is hitting .129/.182/.226 in 34 plate appearances. He has not hit the ball hard. So, seeing the ball travel over the wall meant something to the veteran hitter.
Ring it, Whit!#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/PfFJrlAw6a
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) April 19, 2024
“Oh, it’s a good feeling,” Merrifield said. “It’s hard when you struggle early because we all go through funks. But when it’s at the beginning of the year, you look up and it’s like, ‘F—, that looks bad.’ Especially on a new team, with a new fan base. You want to make a good impression. Get off to a good start. And it hasn’t happened.”
Merrifield thinks he’s found some solutions. A good result is nice.
“Finally,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “Maybe that lets him breathe a little bit. You know, anytime you come to a new club, a new fan base, there’s a little bit of anxiety there. You want to get off to a good start. He can hit.”
There is always more to it. Merrifield and his wife, Jordan, had their first child in March. Her name is Seager. And Merrifield hasn’t seen her for weeks. His family is at home in North Carolina. He’s already planned to see his daughter on May 9 — an off day for the Phillies before another road trip begins in Miami.
“It’s been hard,” Merrifield, 35, said. “Yeah, that’s been hard. We were hoping to get her up here probably about now.”
They hope Seager can watch her dad at the ballpark sometime this summer. The Phillies know they will need Merrifield this season. Someone will suffer an injury. Merrifield, in essence, is the 10th man — not good enough to crack the lineup every day but the first reserve if there is an opening. The Phillies want Brandon Marsh to evolve into an everyday player, but he’s hitting .188/.222/.250 in 18 plate appearances against lefties this season. Marsh will continue to see chances against left-handed pitchers. If Merrifield hits, he could earn playing time.
It’s an adjustment — all of it. Merrifield played in 553 consecutive games from 2018 to 2022. He was an All-Star with Toronto in 2023 and faded in the second half of the season. He sought a multi-year deal and a starting job as a free agent. He received neither with the Phillies.
So, he feels the pressure to shake another label.
“I’ve been fortunate to be playing for a while,” Merrifield said. “I have a pretty good track record. I mean, these guys know who I am and what I can do.
“Being in a new city, a new fan base — it’s like the new girl at school. You want to impress her. And you get off to a bad start. You stumble. Trip on your shoelaces the first day you see her. It’s like, ‘Well, shoot, now I have to dig myself out of a hole.’ But, yeah, it’ll come. I know it’ll come. I’ve done it for a long time, so I know what kind of player I am and what I can do. And I think it’s going in the right direction.”
Merrifield had not hit a ball harder than 95 mph this season. The homer left his bat at 95.3 mph. There were red flags last year; Merrifield’s 85.1 mph average exit velocity was in the bottom 1 percent of the league. He’s never been someone who slugs, but hitting the ball hard is important even for a singles hitter. Merrifield’s game is dependent on his batting average.
It can be more difficult with sporadic at-bats. The Phillies bet that Merrifield, a seasoned player motivated to contribute to a contender, could adapt to the lesser role.
“When you’re not playing every day, it’s hard mentally to get in that mindset,” Merrifield said. “Playing every day, you’re just looking for good at-bats. You know what you’re going to do. If you’re not playing every day, it’s like, ‘All right, I got one shot this series to do something’. As human nature goes, you just kind of get more concerned with results, which isn’t necessarily the best way to go about hitting sometimes.”
He felt like he saw the ball better Friday night. He could relax. And he liked the new soundtrack — The Killers and some cheers.
Said Merrifield: “That was the big change, actually.”
(Photo: Mitchell Leff / Getty Images)
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