3-Time All-Star Whit Merrifield Makes Decision on His Future

Three-time All-Star and three-time stolen base champion Whit Merrifield struggled last season with the Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves, and now, at the age of 35, he has decided to officially call it quits.

Whit Merrifield has retired after nine seasons in baseball, his agency @WSM_Baseball announced. pic.twitter.com/anYenhlo5e
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) June 24, 2025

It was a very fruitful nine-year career for Merrifield, who led the majors in hits twice (2018, 2019), and in stolen bases once (45 in 2018), while also leading the AL in swipes in 2017 and 2021. He was an All-Star in 2019, 2021 and 2023.

All of those accomplishments, with the exception of his '23 All-Star bid with the Toronto Blue Jays, came with the Kansas City Royals, where he spent 6 1/2 seasons. He debuted with them at the age of 27. Merrifield was traded to Toronto midway through the 2022 campaign.

In his thank you note to fans, Merrifield wrote, "I was never talented enough to just show up and play. Baseball required my full focus and energy for me to compete at the level I wanted to, and I realize I can no longer give that effort. At this point in life, I’d much rather chase around a toddler than chase sliders.”

In the end, he finishes his career with a solid .280 batting average, a .741 OPS and 218 stolen bases. Baseball Reference has him with a 17.9 WAR.