KANSAS CITY-- On May 17, Whit Merrifield was down in Triple-A, playing for the Omaha Stormchasers.
Fast-forward two weeks and he's the starting second baseman for a Royals team that sits atop the American League Central. He entered Tuesday hitting .350 with four RBIs through his first 10 games, and he's even getting recognized around the city.
"I had one lady come up to me the other day," Merrifield said. "These people love baseball around here. That's for sure."
On Tuesday, Merrifield experienced another first. As the team received its fan mail, Merrifield was handed a fan-written letter for the first time. He said he was excited, although there ended up being another surprise as he saw to whom it was addressed.
"Turns out it wasn't for me. It was for my grandfather," Merrifield said.
Sure enough, the yellow enveloped was addressed to "Whit Merrifield's Grandfather," rather than the rookie himself. Merrifield had a good laugh about it, as did center fielder Lorenzo Cain when he was told a couple of lockers down.

That leaves the score 1-0 in favor of Grandpa Bill when it comes to fan mail for the Merrifield clan, but Whit didn't appear to hold any grudges.
"I guess I have to relay this along," Whit said with a smile.