The start of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics takes center stage this weekend, with all the traditional pomp and circumstance you’ve come to expect, minus the actual crowds.
If this really is the end for Mercedes, as he wrote on Instagram, his 2021 season will serve as a cautionary tale for all athletes who think they’ve finally got it made.
From minor-league journeyman to instant sensation with a major-league record 8 hits in 8 at-bats to start the season for the White Sox, to poster boy for breaking the unwritten rules, to his return trip to Triple-A Charlotte, Mercedes’ life has gone through the spin cycle over the last few months.