Merrifield gets second All-Star Game nod

CLEVELAND -- Whit Merrifield leads the Royals in Wins Above Replacement (2.0 per FanGraphs), he leads the Majors in stolen bases (24), he holds the longest active consecutive games played streak in MLB (395) and he ranks eighth with 26 multihit games this year.

And now he’s an All-Star.

The Royals' leadoff hitter and second baseman was named an All-Star replacement by Major League Baseball via a player vote on Saturday -- following Astros second baseman Jose Altuve’s announcement that he won’t be playing. Merrifield will be joining American League starting catcher and longtime teammate Salvador Perez in Denver for the Midsummer Classic on Tuesday night.

• MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard: July 13 on FOX

Merrifield found out Friday night, after the Royals’ 2-1 walk-off loss to Cleveland at Progressive Field. Because Major League Baseball needed to know if Merrifield was going to attend quickly, manager Mike Matheny ran in to tell Merrifield while he was in the shower.

“Nobody really let me get out of the shower,” Merrifield said, laughing. “Everybody came in and hugged me, which was a really awkward celebration. But it was how it went down.”

“Timing was of the essence,” Matheny added. “We barely got off the field and were still trying to catch our breath after getting the wind knocked out of us. My boss calls and says this is something the league needs to know about ASAP. And that’s where he was.”

This is Merrifield’s second All-Star nod, following 2019 when he was named a reserve at second base. He actually took over for Mike Trout in center field during the game, though, and was 0-for-2 in the AL’s 4-3 win.

To be voted in by his peers on a player ballot makes this year even more special.

“It means the most, frankly,” Merrifield said. “The fan vote is great, and we appreciate all the support we get from the fans, but nobody knows what this game is like more than the players. And how tough it is. Outside of numbers, what guys are doing and the type of ability that just isn’t reflected solely looking at a box score. And players know that more than anybody. To be voted by the players, it means a ton to me, and it’s something I’m very appreciative of and thankful for.”

Merrifield entered Saturday hitting .272 with a .734 OPS, eight home runs and 46 RBIs this season, and he has played in every game for the Royals since June 25, 2018 -- a 395-game stretch that is just 26 shy of the Royals’ record of 421 games, set by Alcides Escobar from Sept. 26, 2015, to July 8, 2018.

It hasn’t been a career year yet for Merrifield, as he’s faced more offensive struggles than in past years. His bat has had more streakiness to it, going on hot runs like an 11-game hitting streak but also going on 0-for-11 runs, one of which he snapped Thursday night against Cleveland.

“It happens every year, it’s just this year I haven’t been able to salvage or scrap across a hit when I’m not feeling well,” Merrifield said. “… I can point to a lot of things. The high expectations we had after our start, and then going through struggles and then getting out of the type of player that I am to try to do more and help us get back to winning. There’s a lot of things that factor into hitting. I just got to be better, plain and simple. I got to be more consistent.”

Merrifield has done enough to help the Royals when he’s not hitting as well as he’d like, though, and players recognize that. Part of that is his versatility -- he's able to play all over the field, and do it well. He’s seen the most time at second base this year because of injuries, but he also excels in the outfield.

“I just think he sets himself apart,” Matheny said. “Very unique. Most of the guys that are selected to that team have something specific they do really well, whether it’s offensively or whether they shine in one particular spot defensively. He’s the kind of player that he’s got to do a little bit of everything right, whether it’s on the bases, on the defensive side.

“You’ve got an All-Star-caliber player who can play all over the field, that’s one thing. One who willingly does that, it’s a completely other one. A guy that would prefer to be in one spot but has no qualms whatsoever wherever we need him. That’s rare. Just speaks to his character.”

Merrifield, 32, was selected in the ninth round of the 2010 MLB Draft out of the University of South Carolina and made his debut in '16. Since then, he’s hit .292/.340/.440 and has led the Majors twice in hits (2018 and ’19). It wasn’t an easy road for him to get to the Majors or even to be in the lineup every day as a leader of this team, but the work he put in has been paying off now.

“It’s been a crazy journey,” Merrifield said. “Many ups and downs and peaks and valleys. But it’s got me to where we’re at now. There’s a lot I wouldn’t change about it. I think it’s just a testament to keeping your head down and keep working. It’s just an incredible honor to be voted in by fellow players, to have them watch me play and appreciate the way I go about it and to think I’m worthy to represent the American League in an All-Star Game.”