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Andre Mercurio retires

Longtime Florence Outfielder Andre Mercurio Retires

June 28, 2021

FLORENCE. KY – Veteran outfielder Andre Mercurio, who spent parts of five seasons with the Florence organization starting in 2016, has announced his retirement from baseball effective Sunday, June 27, 2021.

Mercurio calls it a career after accumulating a .282/.369/.380 slash line across five seasons. He hit a total of 12 home runs with 114 RBI. He roped 35 doubles and stole 45 bases while manning center field for the Florence Freedom and then for the rebranded Florence Y’alls during this 2021 season. The San Mateo, CA native played in just 10 games for Florence this season, but he ended his career in style with a home run, a double, and three runs batted in in his final game at Washington on June 24.

“I wouldn’t be comfortable hanging up the cleats if I didn’t give it everything I had, but for 20 years, I played as hard as I can,” Mercurio said. “I prepared as hard as I can most importantly. I trained as hard as I could in the offseason to try to outwork everybody. I feel like that is all that I have in the tank as a player, and I just feel like my heart is moving onto something different.”

Mercurio’s best season in Florence came in 2017 when he set multiple career-highs on his way to being named to his first and only All Star Game appearance. That season, Mercurio hit .293 with six home runs and 51 RBI with 14 doubles and 18 stolen bases. He recorded a hit and an RBI in the All Star Game. His play helped Florence capture the pennant and a berth into the Frontier League Championship Series. Mercurio also helped Florence – then the Freedom – reach the Championship Series in 2019.

“Being with the Y’alls and this organization has been, I mean, a blessing would understate it,” Mercurio said. “It has been one of the best experiences of my life. This place feels like a second home. These guys on the team feel like brothers. The front office staff, a lot of them have been around for five years. They feel like family to me. … My time with this organization has been nothing short of, I mean, a miracle, really.”

Mercurio plans to stay involved in baseball. He currently serves as the Director of Player Development for the baseball team at his alma mater, San José State. His new goal is to reach the Big Leagues in a different way, as a coach or as a front office member.

The Florence Y’alls are Northern Kentucky’s professional baseball team, and are proud members of the independent Frontier League, an MLB Partner League. With a purposeful focus on entertaining our fans, the Y’alls provide affordable, family-friendly entertainment. Y’alls home games are played at Y’alls Ballpark, located at 7950 Freedom Way in Florence, Kentucky. The Y’alls return home on July 6 for a three-game series against the Lake Erie Crushers. Tickets are on sale now for the series and the rest of the 2021 season. More details can be found online at florenceyalls.com or by phone at (859) 594-4487.

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