Luis Mercedes

Projected 1995 Baltimore Orioles Opening Day starters:Player.. .. .. .. PositionChris Hoiles.. .. .. .. .CGlenn Davis.. .. .. .. .1BRicky Gutierrez.. .. .. 2BCal Ripken.. .. .. .. ..3BManny Alexander.. .. .. SSLuis Mercedes.. .. .. ..LFDamon Buford.. .. .. .. CFMark Smith.. .. .. .. ..RFDavid Segui.. .. .. .. .DHBen McDonald.. .. .. .. .P

Luis Mercedes' brief residency in Baltimore ended last night when the Orioles traded the 25-year-old outfielder to the San Francisco Giants for minor-league pitching prospect Kevin McGehee.McGehee, 24, will be sent to the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings, and outfielder Jack Voigt will be recalled to take Mercedes' place on the Orioles' roster.Mercedes had been expecting a deal since the middle of spring train-ing.He had become the odd-man out in manager Johnny Oates' right-field rotation, despite hitting .292 in limited playing time.

Luis Mercedes is no better than 50-50 to make the Orioles roster at the moment, but STATS INC. projects him ahead of three others as rookies who could make an impact in 1992. One of the many outfits that use computerized statistics to analyze past performances and predict the future, STATS Inc. rates Mercedes ahead of the California Angels' Chad Curtis, Houston Astro' Juan Guerrero and Montreal Expos' Matt Stairs as the four rookies with the best chance of making a splash.

Stephan provides the proper Rx for Red Wings bullpenROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Todd Stephan's career goal is to be a pharmacist. He likes chemistry, and he knows something about the medical profession because his mother is a nurse.If the Orioles hadn't responded to a letter from Stephan asking for a job after the 1990 season, he'd be filling prescriptions instead of filling a hole in the bullpen for the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings.Stephan has been one of the team's most effective relievers. He has allowed three of 13 inherited runners to score.

No one ever thinks of Frank Robinson as a quitter, but he actually resigned as manager of a Mexican League team in 1978 -- after losing 12 pounds the first month, drinking soft drink after soft drink and finding the language barrier too much to bear.The California Angels fired him as hitting coach during that period, yet that's not what Robinson remembers most. "The walls literally started to close in on me," he recalls, referring to the hours he spent alone in his hotel room, flies buzzing around his head.

SARASOTA -- Juan Bell and Luis Mercedes, the last two Orioles to report for spring training, worked out for the first time yesterday.They arrived from the Dominican Republic late Friday.Though both missed the first two full-squad workouts, they were not obligated to report until the mandatory date, this Wednesday.Club officials were not visibly upset over their delayed arrival.Bell's sister was married earlier in the week, and he was a participant in the wedding. Mercedes, who had a long winter-league season, encountered a minor visa problem.

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Rule V draftee Darrell Sherman apparently has dropped out of the leadoff competition, but manager John Oates says that a bad habit he developed at the plate may have kept him from showing the club what he can do.Sherman, who has two singles in 24 exhibition at-bats (.083), recently made an adjustment in his batting stance, moving his hands farther from his chest, but it's probably too late to persuade the Orioles to keep him on the major-league roster."I don't think we've seen Darrell Sherman at his best," Oates said.

Luis Mercedes' brief residency in Baltimore ended last night when the Orioles traded the 25-year-old outfielder to the San Francisco Giants for minor-league pitching prospect Kevin McGehee.McGehee, 24, will be sent to the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings, and outfielder Jack Voigt will be recalled to take Mercedes' place on the Orioles' roster.Mercedes had been expecting a deal since the middle of spring train-ing.He had become the odd-man out in manager Johnny Oates' right-field rotation, despite hitting .292 in limited playing time.

It shouldn't have to be clarified, but just in case let it be noted that Luis Mercedes is getting his first opportunity with the Orioles this weekend.Not necessarily a last chance to prove himself, as many have suspected, and at least a few have probably hoped.Mercedes is a talented, but erratic, outfielder who has hit .318 during four minor-league seasons. He came close to leading three different leagues in hitting in consecutive years.Unfortunately, he has as many suspensions on his record as batting titles.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Rochester Red Wings second baseman Mark McLemore made a stunning debut Saturday with two plays worthy of anyone's highlight film."You start questioning if you've ever seen plays like that,Rochester manager Greg Biagini said.With two out, runners in scoring position, a run already in and thRed Wings protecting a 3-2 lead against the Syracuse Chiefs, McLemore dived to his backhand to stop a ball nearly at the second-base bag. He scrambled to his knees and threw out the runner.

MIAMI -- In the upset of the spring, Orioles manager John Oates and his coaches now want to keep Luis Mercedes. The pressure is on general manager Roland Hemond to swing a trade and clear a spot for the rookie outfielder by Opening Day.It might not happen, but Mercedes already has overcome long odds this spring. He is this year's Leo Gomez, a hitter too gifted to leave off the club. Returning him to Triple-A now would not only be unjust, it would be the wrong move for the team.Here's your leadoff hitter, or at least one of them.

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Rule V draftee Darrell Sherman apparently has dropped out of the leadoff competition, but manager John Oates says that a bad habit he developed at the plate may have kept him from showing the club what he can do.Sherman, who has two singles in 24 exhibition at-bats (.083), recently made an adjustment in his batting stance, moving his hands farther from his chest, but it's probably too late to persuade the Orioles to keep him on the major-league roster."I don't think we've seen Darrell Sherman at his best," Oates said.

Luis Mercedes is no better than 50-50 to make the Orioles roster at the moment, but STATS INC. projects him ahead of three others as rookies who could make an impact in 1992. One of the many outfits that use computerized statistics to analyze past performances and predict the future, STATS Inc. rates Mercedes ahead of the California Angels' Chad Curtis, Houston Astro' Juan Guerrero and Montreal Expos' Matt Stairs as the four rookies with the best chance of making a splash.

SARASOTA -- Juan Bell and Luis Mercedes, the last two Orioles to report for spring training, worked out for the first time yesterday.They arrived from the Dominican Republic late Friday.Though both missed the first two full-squad workouts, they were not obligated to report until the mandatory date, this Wednesday.Club officials were not visibly upset over their delayed arrival.Bell's sister was married earlier in the week, and he was a participant in the wedding. Mercedes, who had a long winter-league season, encountered a minor visa problem.

Projected 1995 Baltimore Orioles Opening Day starters:Player.. .. .. .. PositionChris Hoiles.. .. .. .. .CGlenn Davis.. .. .. .. .1BRicky Gutierrez.. .. .. 2BCal Ripken.. .. .. .. ..3BManny Alexander.. .. .. SSLuis Mercedes.. .. .. ..LFDamon Buford.. .. .. .. CFMark Smith.. .. .. .. ..RFDavid Segui.. .. .. .. .DHBen McDonald.. .. .. .. .P

Doug Melvin warned it would happen. "You'll never look at Latin players the same way again," said the Orioles' assistant general manager before I left to spend a week studying the baseball life of the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.He was right. You see their homes, streets and culture, listen to them tell their life stories, and you might as well go buy a new pair of glasses: Never again will they be just names on my score card.They are sons of a different society, many from desperate homes, their high place in the game achieved even though the vast majority of people in the game -- from fans to administrators -- have made almost no effort to understand them.

MIAMI -- In the upset of the spring, Orioles manager John Oates and his coaches now want to keep Luis Mercedes. The pressure is on general manager Roland Hemond to swing a trade and clear a spot for the rookie outfielder by Opening Day.It might not happen, but Mercedes already has overcome long odds this spring. He is this year's Leo Gomez, a hitter too gifted to leave off the club. Returning him to Triple-A now would not only be unjust, it would be the wrong move for the team.Here's your leadoff hitter, or at least one of them.

Of late, Rochester's Myers making fewer early exitsROCHESTER, N.Y. -- If his past three starts are any indication, Chris Myers is beginning to hang around his games longer and be an active participant in their outcome.Myers pitched into the ninth inning Sunday in a 4-1 victory ovethe Syracuse Chiefs, his longest of eight Class AAA starts. The left-hander pitched six and seven innings in his previous two, making the times he couldn't get out of the second inning a distant memory."If I can get through the sixth or seventh inning, giving up threruns or under, I'm doing OK," he said.

No one ever thinks of Frank Robinson as a quitter, but he actually resigned as manager of a Mexican League team in 1978 -- after losing 12 pounds the first month, drinking soft drink after soft drink and finding the language barrier too much to bear.The California Angels fired him as hitting coach during that period, yet that's not what Robinson remembers most. "The walls literally started to close in on me," he recalls, referring to the hours he spent alone in his hotel room, flies buzzing around his head.

It shouldn't have to be clarified, but just in case let it be noted that Luis Mercedes is getting his first opportunity with the Orioles this weekend.Not necessarily a last chance to prove himself, as many have suspected, and at least a few have probably hoped.Mercedes is a talented, but erratic, outfielder who has hit .318 during four minor-league seasons. He came close to leading three different leagues in hitting in consecutive years.Unfortunately, he has as many suspensions on his record as batting titles.