2014 White Sands Pupfish Season Recap - Yermin Mercedes Produces One of the Greatest Seasons in Pecos League History

The 2014 White Sands Pupfish did not win the Pecos League Championship. They did not qualify for the playoffs. They finished the season 28-33 in the South Division. But more than a decade later, the 2014 Pupfish remain one of the most important teams in Pecos League history for one reason: Yermin Mercedes.

Mercedes arrived in Alamogordo after his opportunity with the Douglas Diablos had fallen apart. He was 21 years old, had already been released by the Washington Nationals organization and was playing independent baseball for very little money while trying desperately to keep his professional baseball career alive.

Douglas manager Mike Greene had released him. Mercedes suddenly found himself without a team and without many options. White Sands manager Darrell Carrillo gave him another opportunity.

Mercedes responded by producing one of the most extraordinary offensive stretches the Pecos League has ever seen. In just 37 games with White Sands, Baseball-Reference credits Mercedes with 63 hits in 151 at-bats, 13 doubles, 15 home runs and 56 RBIs. He hit .417 with a .458 on-base percentage, an .801 slugging percentage and a 1.259 OPS. ([Baseball Reference][1])

Another statistical database lists the White Sands portion of his season at .411 with 15 home runs, 55 RBIs and a 1.254 OPS over 36 games. The exact totals vary slightly depending on the historical database. The conclusion does not. Yermin Mercedes absolutely destroyed Pecos League pitching after joining the White Sands Pupfish. ([The Baseball Cube][2])

And by the end of August, he was no longer an independent baseball player. The Baltimore Orioles had signed him. The White Sands Pupfish had accomplished exactly what an independent professional baseball team is supposed to accomplish. They had given a talented player one more chance. Mercedes turned that chance into a return to affiliated baseball. Years later, he would turn it into a Major League career.

A Difficult Beginning to 2014

Mercedes' path to Alamogordo began long before he ever put on a Pupfish uniform. The Dominican Republic native originally signed with the Washington Nationals organization and spent three seasons in the Dominican Summer League. In 2013, he hit .255 with two home runs in 41 games. Washington released him afterward.

For a young player in the Dominican Republic, that could easily have been the end of the story. Mercedes was no longer an affiliated prospect. There was no guaranteed next opportunity. He needed somewhere to play.

That opportunity came through the Pecos League. Mercedes and several other Dominican players joined the expansion Douglas Diablos in Arizona for the 2014 season. Major League Baseball's later account of Mercedes' career specifically identifies Douglas as the place where he resumed playing professionally after being released by Washington. ([MLB.com][3])

Mercedes Starts the Season in Douglas

Mercedes immediately demonstrated that he could hit professional pitching. In 18 games for Douglas, he collected 20 hits in 60 at-bats. He hit .333 with seven doubles, two home runs, 14 RBIs and a .935 OPS. ([Baseball Reference][1])

Those were good numbers. But the situation in Douglas did not work out. The Diablos were managed by Mike Greene, and the roster experienced significant instability during the season. Mercedes' stay there ended after only 18 games.

He was released and suddenly needed another place to continue his season. For a player already trying to rebuild his career after being released by a Major League organization, it was another potentially devastating setback. Mercedes could have gone home. Instead, he went looking for another opportunity.

Darrell Carrillo Gives Mercedes a Chance

That opportunity came in Alamogordo. Darrell Carrillo was managing the White Sands Pupfish. Mercedes approached Carrillo looking for help. Years later, Mercedes remembered telling Carrillo that he was simply a young player chasing his dream and needed somewhere to play.

Carrillo agreed to take him. MLB's retrospective on Mercedes' journey specifically credits Carrillo with giving him the opportunity after things did not work out in Douglas. ([MLB.com][3])

It would become one of the most important roster decisions in Pecos League history. Carrillo wasn't acquiring a known Major League prospect. He wasn't receiving a player sent down by an affiliated organization. He was taking a chance on a released independent player who needed somewhere to finish the summer.

Mercedes rewarded him immediately.

Mercedes Explodes in Alamogordo

Whatever had happened earlier in the season disappeared once Mercedes joined White Sands. He began hitting, and he kept hitting. Singles. Doubles. Home runs. RBIs. Mercedes became one of the most dangerous hitters in the Pecos League.

According to Baseball-Reference, Mercedes played 37 games for White Sands and produced 63 hits. That meant he averaged approximately 1.7 hits per game. He scored 43 runs, drove in 56 and hit 15 home runs. His .801 slugging percentage demonstrated just how much damage he was doing when he made contact. ([Baseball Reference][1])

His OPS was 1.259. In almost any professional league, a 1.000 OPS represents an elite offensive season. Mercedes was more than 250 points above that. And he was doing it while trying to save his professional career.

One of the Best Offensive Runs the League Has Ever Seen

The Pecos League has always been known for offense. High-altitude ballparks, summer heat, small dimensions in certain markets and rapidly changing pitching staffs have produced plenty of enormous offensive seasons. Mercedes' White Sands performance nevertheless stands apart.

It wasn't simply the .417 batting average. It wasn't simply the 15 home runs. It wasn't simply the 56 RBIs. It was the combination of all of them.

He hit for average. He hit for power. He drove in runs. He got on base. He did it almost every night. And he did it over a concentrated stretch in which opposing pitchers knew exactly who they needed to stop. They still couldn't stop him.

Across Douglas and White Sands combined, Baseball-Reference credits Mercedes with a .393 batting average, 83 hits, 20 doubles, 17 home runs and 70 RBIs in 55 Pecos League games. ([Baseball Reference][4]) Those full-season numbers were outstanding. But his performance after joining White Sands was on another level entirely.

The Pupfish Begin Winning in June

Mercedes wasn't playing for one of the league's dominant clubs. White Sands had finished 25-40 in 2013 and entered 2014 attempting to return to competitiveness. The South Division included strong clubs in Alpine and Roswell along with expansion teams Bisbee and Douglas.

The Pupfish struggled at times during the season, but they became increasingly dangerous during the middle portion of the summer. The Pecos League later specifically credited Darrell Carrillo with leading White Sands to the best record in the league during the month of June. ([Pecos League][5])

Mercedes' arrival gave the Pupfish a middle-of-the-order hitter capable of changing a game with one swing. Suddenly, White Sands had one of the most feared bats in the league. Even when the team wasn't able to sustain a playoff pace for the entire season, fans at Jim Griggs Field were watching something special.

Jim Griggs Field Becomes Mercedes' Launching Pad

White Sands played its home games at Jim Griggs Field in Alamogordo, New Mexico. The Pupfish had been one of the Pecos League's original franchises in 2011 and had developed an identity around giving overlooked players an opportunity to continue their careers.

Mercedes fit that identity perfectly. He wasn't supposed to become a Major Leaguer anymore. Washington had already released him. Douglas had already moved on from him. There were no scouts following him around as one of baseball's elite prospects.

He was simply trying to hit his way into another opportunity. Alamogordo became the place where he did it. Every home run made the case stronger. Every multi-hit game made the case stronger. Every opposing pitcher Mercedes punished made the case stronger.

Eventually someone outside the Pecos League had to notice.

The Baltimore Orioles Notice

By the end of the summer, Mercedes had done enough. The Baltimore Orioles signed him out of the Pecos League. The league's official transaction history records the White Sands Pupfish sending Yermin Mercedes to the Baltimore Orioles organization on August 28, 2014.

That transaction completely changed the meaning of his season. Mercedes had entered 2014 as a former Nationals farmhand without an affiliated contract. He had gone to Douglas because he needed somewhere to play. Douglas released him. White Sands took him in. He dominated Pecos League pitching. Then he earned his way back into affiliated professional baseball.

The Pupfish had become the bridge between the apparent end of Mercedes' affiliated career and the beginning of his second chance.

The Orioles Signing Validates the Entire Season

The Baltimore signing is what makes Mercedes' 2014 White Sands season so important to Pecos League history. There have been players who hit for enormous averages in the league. There have been players who hit more home runs. There have been players who drove in tremendous numbers of runs.

But independent baseball ultimately exists to provide opportunities. Mercedes turned his performance into exactly that. He did not simply dominate Pecos League statistics. He played his way out of the league.

That is the ultimate objective for a player at this level. The Pecos League itself later highlighted Mercedes as a former White Sands Pupfish who had been signed by Baltimore and continued climbing through the Orioles organization. ([Pecos League][6])

Mercedes Keeps Climbing

The Orioles assigned Mercedes to affiliated minor-league baseball in 2015. He played 64 games for the Delmarva Shorebirds and hit .272 with eight home runs and 42 RBIs. ([Baseball Reference][1])

He continued developing. By 2016, Mercedes had become one of the top offensive players in the South Atlantic League. The Pecos League later noted that he left Delmarva with a .353 batting average, .579 slugging percentage and 14 home runs before being promoted to Frederick.

He had also started the South Atlantic League All-Star Game and won multiple Player of the Week honors. The hitter White Sands fans had watched in Alamogordo was proving that his Pecos League success wasn't simply the product of independent baseball. Mercedes could hit affiliated pitching too.

The Long Road Eventually Reaches Chicago

Mercedes' journey still required years of persistence. He spent multiple seasons in the Baltimore system. The Chicago White Sox eventually acquired him through the minor-league phase of the Rule 5 Draft. He continued hitting.

He reached Double-A. He reached Triple-A. Then, in 2020, the White Sox finally called him to the Major Leagues. The Pecos League celebrated the promotion by reminding fans that Mercedes had spent the entire 2014 season between Douglas and White Sands.

His breakout came in 2021. Mercedes became a national baseball story when he opened the season with eight consecutive hits and went 5-for-5 in his first Major League start. Suddenly millions of baseball fans knew his name.

The story of his unusual path to the Major Leagues began receiving national attention. And almost every version of that story eventually came back to 2014: Douglas, White Sands, the Pecos League and Alamogordo.

The Most Important Pickup in Pupfish History

It is difficult to imagine a more important midseason player acquisition in White Sands Pupfish history. Mercedes wasn't acquired through a blockbuster trade. There was no bidding war. There was no prospect ranking attached to his name.

He was available because his situation in Douglas had ended. Carrillo simply gave him somewhere to play. That decision changed Mercedes' career. It also permanently changed the history of the White Sands Pupfish.

The franchise would eventually produce two players who reached Major League Baseball: Chris Smith and Yermin Mercedes. The Pecos League later specifically remembered Mercedes as one of the most popular and successful players ever to come through the league. ([Pecos League][7])

White Sands Finishes 28-33

The Pupfish themselves were unable to convert Mercedes' incredible season into a playoff berth. White Sands finished 28-33. Alpine won the South Division with a 48-20 record. Roswell finished 38-27. Bisbee went 33-30. White Sands finished fourth in the South Division standings. ([Baseball Reference][8])

Ordinarily, a fourth-place season without a playoff appearance would eventually fade into the background of franchise history. The 2014 Pupfish never did. Mercedes made sure of that.

A Season Bigger Than the Standings

The purpose of independent baseball is sometimes misunderstood when judged only by wins and losses. Winning matters. Fans want playoff teams. Players want championships. Managers want winning records.

But the Pecos League also exists as an entry point and a second chance for professional players. Mercedes represented that mission almost perfectly.

He arrived with nowhere else to go. He played for very little money. MLB's later account described the difficult living conditions and financial realities Mercedes dealt with while trying to stay in professional baseball. ([MLB.com][3])

He could have quit. Instead, he played. Darrell Carrillo could have decided the roster was already full. Instead, he gave Mercedes a chance. White Sands could have been nothing more than another stop in a fading baseball career. Instead, Alamogordo became the place where Mercedes forced professional baseball to notice him again.

Was It the Best Season in Pecos League History?

Statistically, the Pecos League has produced many extraordinary individual seasons. Comparing players across different years, parks and schedules will always be subjective. But Mercedes' White Sands run belongs in any discussion of the greatest offensive performances in league history.

The raw numbers are overwhelming: approximately a .417 batting average, a .458 on-base percentage, an .801 slugging percentage, a 1.259 OPS, 15 home runs in only 37 games and 56 RBIs in only 37 games. ([Baseball Reference][1])

Project those numbers over a full Pecos League schedule and they become almost absurd. But statistics are only part of the argument.

The greater reason Mercedes' season stands above most others is what happened next. His performance resulted in an affiliated contract. That contract eventually led back through the minor leagues. That journey eventually led to Major League Baseball.

The White Sands portion of the 2014 season was not merely a great statistical performance. It changed a player's career.

Darrell Carrillo's Role Should Not Be Forgotten

Mercedes deserves the credit for producing the numbers. But the story doesn't happen without Darrell Carrillo. Independent baseball is filled with players whose careers depend on one person being willing to say yes.

Mercedes needed someone to say yes after Douglas. Carrillo did. He gave Mercedes the roster spot. He allowed him to play every day. He gave him an environment where his bat could speak for itself.

Mercedes later remembered Carrillo as the manager who helped him when he needed an opportunity. In a league built around giving overlooked players opportunities, few managerial decisions ever produced a better result.

The Legacy of the 2014 White Sands Pupfish

The 2014 White Sands Pupfish finished 28-33. They did not make the playoffs. They did not win the South Division. They did not play for the Pecos League Championship.

Yet their season produced something that ultimately became bigger than any of those things. They gave Yermin Mercedes a second chance.

Douglas had released him. His first affiliated opportunity with Washington was already gone. There was no guarantee another one would ever come. Darrell Carrillo brought him to White Sands.

Mercedes proceeded to put together one of the greatest offensive runs the Pecos League has ever seen. He hit over .400. He slugged over .800. He hit 15 home runs in little more than half a season. He drove in more than 50 runs.

And before the summer was over, the Baltimore Orioles signed him out of Alamogordo.

Years later, Mercedes reached the Major Leagues. When that happened, White Sands became much more than a line on the back of his baseball card. It became one of the most important stops of his entire career.

The 2014 White Sands Pupfish did exactly what independent baseball is supposed to do. They found a player who needed another chance. They put him in the lineup. They let him play. And Yermin Mercedes did the rest.

2014 White Sands Pupfish

Manager: Darrell Carrillo
Home: Jim Griggs Field - Alamogordo, New Mexico
Record: 28-33
Yermin Mercedes with White Sands: approximately .417 AVG, .458 OBP, .801 SLG, 1.259 OPS, 15 HR and 56 RBI in 37 games
Yermin Mercedes Pecos League totals between Douglas and White Sands: .393 AVG, 17 HR and 70 RBI in 55 games
Signed by the Baltimore Orioles from the White Sands Pupfish in August 2014
Eventually reached Major League Baseball with the Chicago White Sox

One of the greatest individual seasons - and one of the greatest player-development stories - in Pecos League history.