You probably don’t even remember Orlando Merced as a Cub. He played in just 12 games, all as a pinch-hitter, finishing two of them in the field. He went 3-for-10 with a walk and a sacrifice fly.
One of those hits, though, cements Merced in Cubs history.
Merced had been acquired by the Red Sox from the Twins at the trade deadline at the end of July 1998, with the Red Sox hoping he’d help them in their playoff push (they did wind up a wild card, but lost a division series to the Twins).
Merced did nothing
in Boston — almost literally. He played in nine games, eight as a pinch-hitter and one as a DH. He went 0-for-9 with two walks and a sacrifice fly and the Red Sox released him Sept. 1. Four days later, the Cubs signed Merced. He therefore wasn’t postseason-eligible for the Cubs, but his walkoff homer in this game helped them get there.
The Brewers led this game 8-2 after three and 10-3 going to the bottom of the fifth. But the Cubs made a furious comeback. Homers by José Hernandez and Gary Gaetti in the fifth and sixth made it 10-5. The Brewers scored a pair in the seventh to go up by seven, but a four-run rally in the bottom of the inning, featuring a three-run homer by Sammy Sosa and a solo blast by Glenallen Hill, brought the Cubs to within 12-9. Tyler Houston’s solo shot, the Cubs’ fifth long ball of the afternoon leading off the eighth, made it 12-10.
In the bottom of the ninth, Sosa and Hill led off with singles and were moved up a base by a sac bunt from Gaetti. Mickey Morandini walked to load the bases, and Houston singled in a pair to tie the game. Morandini moved to third, representing the winning run with one out. All the Cubs needed to win the game was a deep fly ball.
Merced was sent up to bat for Manny Alexander. He took ball one. And then: Boom!
The Cubs let Merced walk in free agency after the year and he signed with the Expos and had a pretty good year there: .268/.353/.464 with eight home runs in 93 games as a part-time left fielder/first baseman. He played in Japan in 2000 and came back to MLB in 2001, spending three years with the Astros, batting .262/.323/.417 with 15 home runs in 305 games. That might have looked good on the Cubs bench.
Merced hit 103 career MLB home runs. None was bigger than this one.
