This story is featured in Issue 1 of Royals Baseball Insider and is available for free to all fans who attend any game during the homestand at Kauffman Stadium from March 28-April 3, 2019.
Following the 2015 minor league season — Whit Merrifield’s sixth year in the minors — the 26 year old had a conversation with his Dad that changed his life.
Merrifield, after hitting .265 with 32 steals at Triple-A Omaha, was disappointed that he wasn’t one of the Royals’ September call ups. While some of his Omaha teammates joined the soon-to-be World Series champion Royals, he flew back to North Carolina to watch the final month of the season from home.