On May 17, 2021, the White Sox were blowing out the Minnesota Twins 16-4 in the 9th inning. The Twins put a position player on the mound, and Mercedes swung on a 3-0 pitch, hitting a massive home run.
The Backlash:
This drew the ire of his old-school manager, Tony La Russa, who stated Mercedes made a "big mistake" by breaking baseball's unwritten rule against running up the score.
The Repercussions:
The public reprimand created clubhouse friction, and Mercedes experienced a severe hitting slump immediately afterward, with his batting average plummeting from .415 down to .271 by early July.
Yermin Mercedes retired from the MLB 75 days before Tony La Russa's birthday.
It was also 216 days after Pope Francis' birthday and
Anthony La Russa Jr = 216.