Veteran infielder Jordy Mercer took to Twitter on Tuesday to announce that he’s retiring after a decade-long career at the big league level.
“Thank You baseball!” wrote Mercer. “Thank you for the opportunity and love you have given me. I hope I loved you back just as much. Thank you to the ones that have supported me, especially my family every step of the way. It’s time!! Excited for the next chapter.”
Mercer, 35, was a third-round pick out of Oklahoma State University by the Pirates back in 2008 and made his big league debut with Pittsburgh four years later in 2012. He logged just 68 plate appearances over 42 games and didn’t hit much as a 25-year-old rookie. However, Mercer seized the Pirates’ starting shortstop role the following season when he slashed .285/.336/.435 with eight homers, 22 doubles and a pair of triples in 395 plate appearances.
Over the next five seasons, Mercer was a constant in the Pirates’ lineup and in their infield. From 2013-18, he racked up 2928 plate appearances over 779 games while batting .257/.317/.387 with 54 home runs, 145 doubles, 14 triples and 13 stolen bases. That steady play at shortstop for the Buccos earned him a one-year, $5.25MM deal with the Tigers in free agency during the 2018-19 offseason.
Mercer managed just 74 games in his first season with the Tigers thanks to a pair of quadriceps strains that resulted in multiple stints on the injured list, but his overall production was sound when healthy. In 271 plate appearances, he smacked nine homers and 16 doubles while batting .270/.310/.438. He returned to the Tigers on a minor league deal but was immediately selected to their big league roster in July once the season was finally able to get underway. Mercer appeared in just three games with the Tigers before clearing waivers, electing free agency and signing with the Yankees, for whom he played another six games that season.
Last winter, Mercer inked a minor league deal with the Nationals and, by the end of Spring Training, had played his way onto the big league roster. Quadriceps and calf strains again hampered him in 2021, however, and Mercer was limited to just 46 games and 127 plate appearances as a National, during which time he slashed .254/.307/.364.
That brief stay in D.C. proved to be the final chapter of what wound up being a ten-year career at the MLB level for Mercer. He’ll head into retirement with a lifetime .256/.315/.386 batting line, 66 home runs, 173 doubles, 15 triples, 796 total hits, 330 runs scored and another 308 runs driven in. He may never have been an All-Star, but Mercer was a solid regular for several years in Pittsburgh who was able to celebrate three postseason berths (2013-15 with the Pirates) and suit up for 950 Major League games — all while topping $20MM in career earnings.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
I always liked him. 66 dingers and $20M in his pocket – heck of a career. I wish him well.
Me too. And and great teammate. Wish him well as well.
He got his pension. Good job!
Not a full pension. Service time has him at slightly over eight years. Need 10.
Always liked jordy. Was so happy for barmes to be gone when he took over didn’t care if a rock played SS but jordy was solid
Loved rooting for Mercer. Happy retirement.
Forever a member of a pretty exclusive fraternity. Congrats to him.
4 brothers fraternity right
Edit: have you ever Pam Jearls? It’s better than Demple of Tog
Never got into them. Love miron Aiden
Funny… you seem more of a Moys to Ben or Villi Minilli fan.
As far as the Seattle grunge scene goes, I was more into Nivrana and Gardensound.
You guys know you’re spelling all the names of those bands wrong?
Soundgarden was the best of that bunch, agreed. Chris Cornell was awesome.
Everytime I heard whalberg yelling JORDY B!1&&PING MERCER!!!!
It sounds trite sometimes, but he’s one who I always thought would be a great coach. He had more ups and downs than an elevator, but always seemed to keep an excellent attitude. And the Bucs could use the PR.
Was solid vs LHP as a Pirate. And as much as we all hate Boras, he somehow got the Tigers to give this guy $5+ Mil. Not bad.
Impressive career, see you in Cooperstown.
Solid career and knew when it was time to hang it up. Could have hung around as a backup/AAAA player for few more years, like far to many do, but was to proud to do so and kudos to him for this choice.
Might not be pride; he has boys who are 9 and 6 years old. It may be time to just stay home and be a dad and husband.
Yep
Everybody dreams of playing in the big leagues and everybody thinks they’ll be the next Willie Mays but very, very few ever reach that peak..
Mercer was a solid major league player and should be proud of his career – and is lucky enough to be able to tell his grand kids what it was like.
I forgot he played on the Yankees. Great that he was able to get to his 10-year mark. Embarking on a cap bing career seems like a very logical choice for him.
He achieved what most people only dream of…
Cardinals will win 2 more games this year due to him not playing. Always hit the Cards well. Good luck to him.
But Goldy will cancel those games out because he knocks the bejesus out of Pittsburgh whether in STL or Arizona.
That is true but Goldy hits a lot of teams well and a lot of hitters hit the Pirates well now.
Still remember his rookie year and now he’s retired.. enjoy retirement!
I really liked Jordy Mercer.He was a very consistent shortstop who played very well for the Pirates during their peak years.I thought that he was underrated but he played during a time when there were a lot of better shortstops.He was always upbeat and played well under pressure.Just a good teammate who never let them down,I wish him well during his retirement.
Jordy was never flashy with his glove and rarely was on the highlight reel. Even with that, he was a top 10 SS in the league and I really loved watching him play in Pittsburgh. He was a great teammate and human being. Good luck to Mercer in his retirement and hopefully he comes back home as a coaching gig. Infield instructor or something