Orlando Merced
Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1990-2003)
Orlando Merced was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1990 to 2003 for 7 teams, including the Pittsburgh Pirates, a span of 14 seasons. In 1,391 career games, he hit .277 with 1,108 hits, 103 home runs, and 585 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 4,772.
- AVG (Batting Average):
- Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
- HR (Home Runs):
- Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
- RBI (Runs Batted In):
- Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
- OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
- On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.
Data updated
- Position
- Outfielder
- Bats / Throws
- B / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'0" / 180 lb
- MLB Debut
- 1990-06-27
- Last Game
- 2003-09-28
Full name: Orlando Luis Merced
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,391 | 3,998 | 564 | 1,108 | 229 | 28 | 103 | 585 | 57 | 487 | 661 | .277 | .355 | .426 | .781 | 4,772 |
Career AVG .277 vs. league average .264 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OBP .355 vs. league average .333 across their career seasons — +6.5% above league average.
Career SLG .426 vs. league average .413 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OPS .781 vs. league average .746 across their career seasons — near league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | Lg AVG | Lg OBP | Lg SLG | Lg OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | PIT | NL | 25 | 24 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | .208 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1991 | PIT | NL | 120 | 411 | 83 | 113 | 17 | 2 | 10 | 50 | 8 | 64 | 81 | .275 | .255 (+8%) | .323 (+15%) | .384 (+4%) | .708 (+9%) | 944.9 |
| 1992 | PIT | NL | 134 | 405 | 50 | 100 | 28 | 5 | 6 | 60 | 5 | 52 | 63 | .247 | .255 (-3%) | .322 (+3%) | .377 (+2%) | .699 (+2%) | 199.7 |
| 1993 | PIT | NL | 137 | 447 | 68 | 140 | 26 | 4 | 8 | 70 | 3 | 77 | 64 | .313 | .265 (+18%) | .332 (+24%) | .403 (+10%) | .735 (+16%) | 1823.3 |
| 1994 | PIT | NL | 108 | 386 | 48 | 105 | 21 | 3 | 9 | 51 | 4 | 42 | 58 | .272 | .269 (+1%) | .338 (+1%) | .424 (-3%) | .763 (-1%) | -41.1 |
| 1995 | PIT | NL | 132 | 487 | 75 | 146 | 29 | 4 | 15 | 83 | 7 | 52 | 74 | .300 | .266 (+12%) | .337 (+8%) | .417 (+12%) | .755 (+10%) | 1022.7 |
| 1996 | PIT | NL | 120 | 453 | 69 | 130 | 24 | 1 | 17 | 80 | 8 | 51 | 74 | .287 | .269 (+6%) | .340 (+5%) | .426 (+7%) | .767 (+6%) | 594.5 |
| 1997 | TOR | AL | 98 | 368 | 45 | 98 | 23 | 2 | 9 | 40 | 7 | 47 | 62 | .266 | .266 (avg) | .336 (+5%) | .419 (-1%) | .756 (+1%) | 158.0 |
| 1998 | MIN | AL | 63 | 204 | 22 | 59 | 12 | 0 | 5 | 33 | 1 | 17 | 29 | .289 | .266 (+9%) | .335 (+3%) | .420 (avg) | .755 (+2%) | 67.2 |
| 1998 | BOS | AL | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 67.2 |
| 1998 | CHN | NL | 12 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .300 | — | — | — | — | 67.2 |
| 1999 | MON | NL | 93 | 194 | 25 | 52 | 12 | 1 | 8 | 26 | 2 | 26 | 27 | .268 | .271 (-1%) | .344 (+2%) | .433 (+7%) | .778 (+5%) | 196.3 |
| 2001 | HOU | NL | 94 | 137 | 19 | 36 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 29 | 5 | 14 | 32 | .263 | .263 (avg) | .332 (avg) | .426 (+6%) | .758 (+4%) | 91.3 |
| 2002 | HOU | NL | 123 | 251 | 35 | 72 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 30 | 4 | 26 | 50 | .287 | .261 (+10%) | .331 (+6%) | .416 (+4%) | .747 (+5%) | 235.0 |
| 2003 | HOU | NL | 123 | 212 | 20 | 49 | 17 | 2 | 3 | 26 | 3 | 15 | 33 | .231 | .264 (-13%) | .332 (-15%) | .422 (-12%) | .754 (-13%) | -519.6 |
| Career · 15 seasons | 1,391 | 3,998 | 564 | 1,108 | 229 | 28 | 103 | 585 | 57 | 487 | 661 | .277 | — | — | — | — | 4,906 | ||
Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
Playoff Batting by Year
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (1390 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 702 | 1920 | 301 | 550 | 51 | 277 | .286 |
| Away | 688 | 2077 | 263 | 558 | 52 | 308 | .269 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003-09-28 | HOU | MIL | W | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2003-09-27 | HOU | MIL | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2003-09-26 | HOU | MIL | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003-09-24 | HOU | SFG | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2003-09-23 | HOU | SFG | L | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2003-09-22 | HOU | SFG | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2003-09-20 | HOU | STL | L | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003-09-17 | HOU | COL | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2003-09-14 | HOU | STL | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003-09-11 | HOU | MIL | L | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 418 | 325 | 3081 | 224 | 32 | 277 |
| 3B | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| OF | 700 | 600 | 1241 | 65 | 29 | 22 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | PIT | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1990 | PIT | OF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1991 | PIT | 1B | 105 | 95 | 911 | 60 | 12 | 64 |
| 1991 | PIT | OF | 7 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1992 | PIT | 1B | 114 | 87 | 882 | 73 | 5 | 73 |
| 1992 | PIT | OF | 17 | 11 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 1993 | PIT | 1B | 42 | 31 | 276 | 20 | 2 | 23 |
| 1993 | PIT | OF | 109 | 83 | 209 | 11 | 8 | 5 |
| 1994 | PIT | 1B | 55 | 47 | 409 | 26 | 3 | 46 |
| 1994 | PIT | OF | 68 | 55 | 99 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| 1995 | PIT | 1B | 35 | 19 | 175 | 15 | 1 | 22 |
| 1995 | PIT | OF | 107 | 102 | 199 | 8 | 5 | 2 |
| 1996 | PIT | 1B | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1996 | PIT | OF | 115 | 113 | 241 | 14 | 3 | 5 |
| 1997 | TOR | 1B | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 | TOR | OF | 96 | 94 | 190 | 10 | 3 | 4 |
| 1998 | MIN | 1B | 38 | 34 | 299 | 21 | 6 | 32 |
| 1998 | MIN | OF | 13 | 12 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 1998 | BOS | OF | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998 | CHN | OF | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1999 | MON | 1B | 7 | 2 | 21 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 1999 | MON | OF | 44 | 41 | 74 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 2001 | HOU | 1B | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | HOU | 3B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | HOU | OF | 31 | 20 | 38 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2002 | HOU | 1B | 7 | 6 | 53 | 3 | 0 | 8 |
| 2002 | HOU | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | HOU | OF | 56 | 46 | 89 | 7 | 2 | 1 |
| 2003 | HOU | 1B | 12 | 4 | 50 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
| 2003 | HOU | 3B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | HOU | OF | 31 | 22 | 43 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Catcher | 1 |
| First Base | 418 |
| Third Base | 5 |
| Left Field | 93 |
| Right Field | 617 |
| Designated Hitter | 20 |
Salary History
| Year | Team | League | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | HOU | NL | $1,700,000 |
| 2002 | HOU | NL | $1,050,000 |
| 2001 | HOU | NL | $300,000 |
| 1999 | MON | NL | $560,000 |
| 1998 | MIN | AL | $800,000 |
| 1997 | TOR | AL | $2,700,000 |
| 1996 | PIT | NL | $2,700,000 |
| 1995 | PIT | NL | $2,000,000 |
| 1994 | PIT | NL | $1,485,000 |
| 1993 | PIT | NL | $305,000 |
| 1992 | PIT | NL | $150,000 |
| 1990 | PIT | NL | $100,000 |
| Total Career Earnings | $13,850,000 | ||
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Rookie of the Year | NL | 2nd | 53.0 | 120 | 1 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Orlando Merced (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Orlando Merced: the record in brief
Orlando Merced played a first major league game on June 27, 1990 and a last one on September 28, 2003. Merced played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1990 to 1996), the Toronto Blue Jays (1997), the Minnesota Twins (1998), the Boston Red Sox (1998), the Chicago Cubs (1998), the Montreal Expos (1999), and the Houston Astros (2001 through 2003). Listed as an outfielder, Merced switch-hit and threw right-handed. Merced is listed at 6'0" and 180 pounds. The birth record reads November 2, 1966, in Hato Rey, P.R. The given name on file is Orlando Luis Merced.
Merced's career batting table shows 1,391 games, 3,998 at bats and 1,108 hits, a .277 average, plus 103 home runs, 585 runs batted in, and 57 stolen bases. On-base and slugging figures of .355 and .426 give Merced a career OPS of .781. The .277 career average is close to the .264 the league hit across the same seasons. The single-season home run high is 17, set in 1996. The highest hit total in a season was 146, in 1995.
Frequently Asked Questions about Orlando Merced
- What years did Orlando Merced play?
- Orlando Merced played in Major League Baseball from 1990 to 2003.
- Was Orlando Merced a pitcher?
- No. Orlando Merced was a position player (Outfielder).
- How many home runs did Orlando Merced hit?
- Orlando Merced hit 103 career home runs with 1108 hits.
- What was Orlando Merced's career batting average?
- Orlando Merced batted .277 over his career, with 1,108 hits in 3,998 at bats.
- How many RBI did Orlando Merced have?
- Orlando Merced drove in 585 runs in his career.
- Is Orlando Merced in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Orlando Merced has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.