#192 Whit Merrifield - Kansas City Royals

Player: Whit Merrifield (Baseball Reference) (Wikipedia)

Card Number: 192 (Trading Card Database)

Team: Kansas City Royals

Division: American League Central

Position: 2B

Jersey Number: 15
RC/Future Stars/Topps Rookie Cup: No

KANSAS CITY, MO - AUGUST 6: Whit Merrifield #15 of the Kansas City Royals bats against the Seattle Mariners in game one of a doubleheader at Kauffman Stadium on August 6, 2017 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)

Game Date: August 6, 2017

Opponent: Seattle Mariners
Stadium: Kauffman Stadium
Home/Away: Home
Game Outcome: Mariners 8, Royals 7
Win/Loss: Loss
Player Game Line: 2-5, 2 RBI, 2 Runs, 1 HR
Photographer: Ed Zurga (Personal Website)
New Team/Photoshopped?: No

Birthdate: January 24, 1989

Birthplace: Florence, SC

Bats: Right

Throws: Right

MLB Service Years: 2

Social Media Handles: (Twitter) (Instagram)

Something I learned because of this card: Merrifield led the American League in stolen bases last year with 34. That is the fewest for a league leader since Luis Aparicio led with 31 in 1962. National Championship teammate of Jackie Bradley Jr. with the 2010 University of South Carolina Gamecocks.

This is Merrifield's Opening Day set debut.

Merrifield was in Series 1 and the Factory Team Set card but the fielding photo above was used on both. The above card is his flagship debut as well despite having rookie cards in Heritage and Topps Now in 2016.

Cubs Ties?: None

Mascots #M-1 Sluggerrr - Kansas City Royals

Mascot: Sluggerrr (From the Royals' Website)

Card Number: M-1 (Trading Card Database)

Team: Kansas City Royals

Division: American League Central
Introduced: 1996
Social Media Handles: (Twitter)

April 22, 2014: Kansas City Royals mascot Slugger during the MLB American League game between the Minnesota Twins and the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by William Purnell/Icon Sportswire/Corbis via Getty Images)

This photo actual took me quit a bit to find. And by that, I mean a few whole extra minutes. As you may have noticed from the caption, the mascot's name is spelled without the two extra R's at the end. A few fruitless 'Sluggerrr" searches made the lightbulb go off. Plus, I had to go all the way back to 2014 to find this one!

Photo Date: April 22, 2014

Photographer: William Purnell/Icon Sportswire (Website) I couldn't find a website for Purnell so that link goes to Sportswire.

The mascots have been appearing as an insert in Opening Day since 2010. Not every team has a mascot and not every team with a mascot gets a card. Weird, I know. I assume it is some kind of licensing issue. And even weirder, in the past, not every mascot had it's name on the card. Again, must be some legal reason.

As you can see by the cards below, Sluggerrr has appeared in every incarnation of the insert set thus far, but this is the first year he got to use his own name!

  

In the 2007 Opening Day set, mascots were included as part of the regular base set. Note the standard spelling of "Slugger" on this card.