Cristopher Mercedes

Cristopher Crisostomo Mercedes (born March 8, 1994), or otherwise known as C.C. Mercedes, is a Dominican professional baseball starting pitcher for the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He was signed by the Tampa Bay Rays as an international free agent in 2011 and pitched for the Yomiuri Giants of NPB from 2017 to 2022. Mercedes is listed at 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) and 180 pounds (82 kg) and throws left handed. He is a switch hitter.

Cristopher Mercedes
Mercedes with the Chiba Lotte Marines
Chiba Lotte Marines – No. 42
Pitcher
Born: (1994-03-08) March 8, 1994
La Romana, Dominican Republic
Bats: Switch
Throws: Left
NPB debut
July 10, 2018, for the Yomiuri Giants
NPB statistics
(through April 6, 2022)
Win–loss record26–21
Earned run average3.05
Strikeouts268
Teams
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  Dominican Republic
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Tokyo Team

Career

Tampa Bay Rays

On July 2, 2011, Mercedes signed with the Tampa Bay Rays organization as an international free agent.[1] He made his professional debut with the Dominican Summer League Rays in 2012, posting a 1–3 record and 3.66 ERA in 14 games. He split the 2013 season between the DSL Rays and the rookie-level GCL Rays, pitching to a cumulative 2–5 record and 3.83 ERA. He returned to the GCL Rays in 2014, pitching to a 1–2 record and 3.24 ERA with 11 strikeouts in 16.2 innings of work. For the 2015 season, Mercedes played for the Low-A Hudson Valley Renegades, recording a 2.85 ERA in 18 appearances.[2] On October 8, 2015, Mercedes was released by the Rays organization.[1]

Yomiuri Giants

On January 5, 2017, Mercedes signed with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a developmental squad player. Initially, he spent a year with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp's Dominican academies, before his contract was not renewed. He spent the year with the Giants’ farm and team, recording a 3.29 ERA in 18 games.

On July 8, 2018, Mercedes was added to Yomiuri's main team roster.[3] He made his NPB debut on July 10 as the starting pitcher against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, and pitched 5.0 scoreless innings en route to the win. He finished his rookie season with a 5–4 record and 2.05 ERA in 13 games. For the 2019 season, Mercedes pitched in 22 games for Yomiuri, logging an 8–8 record and 3.52 ERA with 107 strikeouts in 138.1 innings of work. In 2020, Mercedes recorded a 4–4 record and 3.10 ERA in 11 appearances before his season ended after undergoing surgery to clean out his left elbow.[4]

Chiba Lotte Marines

On December 14, 2022, the Chiba Lotte Marines acquired Mercedes.[5]

International career

On July 8, 2021, Mercedes was named to the Olympic roster for the Dominican Republic national baseball team for the 2020 Summer Olympics (contested in 2021).[6] He started for the team in their opening game against Japan, giving up 1 earned run over 6 innings in a no-decision.[7]

References
  1. "Christopher Crisostomo Stats & Scouting Report – Baseball America". www.baseballamerica.com.
  2. "Cristopher Crisostomo Minor & Japanese Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com.
  3. "[7/8/2018] Yomiuri Giants add Cristopher Crisostomo Mercedes to their seventy-man roster". YakyuDB. July 8, 2018. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  4. "Cristopher Mercedes". jballallen.com.
  5. "C.C.メルセデス投手 入団について". 千葉ロッテマリーンズ (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-08-16.
  6. @probeisbolrd (8 July 2021). "Nuestro roster para @Tokyo2020 #ArribaRD #Tokyo2020" (Tweet). Retrieved 8 July 2021 – via Twitter.
  7. "Dominicana pierde de Japón en inicio del béisbol en los Juegos Olímpicos". Diario Libre (in Spanish). 2021-07-28. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
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