Tony La Russa drives Yermin Mercedes right into early retirement

Chicago White Sox rookie Yermin Mercedes has shockingly announced he is walking away from the game of baseball on Wednesday night.

At the start of the 2021 season, Chicago White Sox fans were enamored by the play of rookie slugger Yermin Mercedes. But unfortunately, his career has seemingly ended before it even started.

After being demoted to Triple-A Charlotte earlier this month, Mercedes announced on Instagram that he was walking away from the game of baseball “for a while.” The photo of Mercedes’ post features two words — “it’s over.”

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In 68 games with the White Sox this season, Mercedes slashed .271/.328/.404 while recording seven home runs, 37 RBI, 26 runs scored and 65 hits.

White Sox: Does Tony La Russa deserve blame for Yermin Mercedes retirement?

La Russa seemingly clashed with Mercedes’ playing style — it was where the unwritten rules met new-age baseball AKA fun. Mercedes’ start to the 2021 season was one of the best stories in the sport, until it wasn’t.

TLR ripped into his rookie, who fought for so long just to make the bigs, for swinging on a 3-0 count against a position player and hitting a home run. It was a hilarious baseball moment, and further proof that you should always be prepared to pimp a bomb.

The White Sox players backed Mercedes, but La Russa is a Hall of Famer. He was always going to get his way. And after ‘dealing with it internally’, Mercedes was never the same.

Should Mercedes have been able to overcome that on-field turmoil and succeed? Sure. But it’s unfair to ask a player with such limited Major League experience to do so.

Just months after finally achieving his MLB dream, all of a sudden it’s gone. We wish Yermin the best in whatever he decides to pursue next.