Carl Harrison "Stump" Merrill (born February 15, 1944) is a former

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

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. Merrill spent 38 years in the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

organization, including and as the manager of the Yankees, and he also managed several of the Yankees' minor league affiliates.

Early life

Merrill was born in 1944 in

Brunswick, Maine Brunswick is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 21,756 at the 2020 United States Census. Part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area, Brunswick is home to Bowdoin College, the Bowdoin Intern ...

. He graduated from Brunswick High School, where he was a star in baseball, basketball, and American football despite being considered undersized.

Baseball career

As a player

Merrill began his baseball career as a

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for the

Maine Black Bears The Maine Black Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of Maine. A member of the America East Conference, the University of Maine sponsors teams in eight men's and nine women's NCAA sanctioned sports. The men's and women's ice ...

, where he also played football and earned a degree in

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. He was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the

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draft. He spent that season in the class-A

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with the Batavia Clippers, and the following year with single-A teams in Bakersfield and Eugene. In and , Merrill was at the double-A level with the

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, and returned to Eugene in and while that team was at the triple-A level. His playing career ended after the 1971 season due to a leg injury.

As a manager

Merrill's managerial career started in with the

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of the Eastern League. He led the team to the best overall record in the league that season, and to a first-place finish in . When the Yankees moved their affiliation to the Nashville Sounds, Merrill moved as well, guiding the team to two more first-place finishes in and . In and , Merrill managed the

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of the Florida State League, winning the league championship in 1982. For the 1984 season, he jumped to the triple-A level, managing the Columbus Clippers to another first-place finish. Merrill joined the New York Yankees in as first-base coach for manager

Yogi Berra Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra (May 12, 1925 – September 22, 2015) was an American professional baseball catcher who later took on the roles of manager and coach. He played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) (1946–1963, 1965), all but ...

, but was returned to Columbus in mid-season to again serve as that team's manager. He rejoined the major-league team in as a coach on

Lou Piniella Louis Victor Piniella ( usually ; born August 28, 1943) is a former professional baseball player and manager. An outfielder, he played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals and ...

's staff. During the season, Merrill was sent to the Albany-Colonie Yankees, then the team's double-A affiliate in the Eastern League. He won the league title that season, and did so yet again in , guiding the Prince William Cannons to the Class A

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championship. In , Merrill began the season with Columbus before getting the call to take charge of the New York Yankees in June when

Bucky Dent Russell Earl "Bucky" Dent (born Russell Earl O'Dey; November 25, 1951) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager. He earned two World Series rings as the starting shortstop for the New York Yankees in 1977 and 1978 and ...

was fired as manager. Merrill finished out what would be one of the worst seasons in Yankees history. The Yankees finished 67-95 (49-64 under Merrill), dead last in the American League and second-worst in baseball. It was only the fourth time that the storied franchise had finished with the worst record in the league. However, Merrill was not blamed for the debacle and was brought back for the season—the first time in four years that the Yankees had a single manager for the entire season. However, after the Yankees could only improve to 71-91, he was replaced by

Buck Showalter William Nathaniel "Buck" Showalter III (born May 23, 1956) is an American professional baseball manager for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). Previously, he served as manager of the New York Yankees ( 1992–1995), Arizona Diamon ...

prior to the 1992 season and served that season as a roving minor-league instructor. During and , Merrill once again managed the Columbus Clippers before spending as a special assignment scout. In , Merrill guided the Clippers for a third time, winning the International League title, the Governors' Cup. Along the way, Merrill won his 1000th game as a manager on August 2, 1996. He remained with the Clippers for the and seasons before returning to New York. In and , Merrill had a two-year stint as special assistant to the general manager under

Brian Cashman Brian McGuire Cashman (born July 3, 1967) is an American baseball executive for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball. He has served as the General Manager and Senior Vice President of the Yankees since 1998. During Cashman's tenure as ge ...

. He returned to the dugout in to manage the Yankees' double-A farm club, then the

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. When the Yankees changed affiliations after the 2002 season, Merrill moved with the team once more, managing the

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in and . Merrill returned to New York in and was once again named special assistant to the general manager.http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20050310&content_id=963679&vkey=pr_nyy&fext=.jsp&c_id=nyy He retired in 2014.

Managerial record

Nickname

Merrill's nickname, "Stump," was given to him in 1963 by Jack Butterfield, his

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coach at

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

. Merrill recalled of the coining: "In my freshman year, we were walking out of the field house. I was with a tall pitcher who was about 6-foot-5. Just as we were outside, Jack Butterfield was trying to get my attention. He hollered at me three or four times and I didn't hear him. Finally he said, 'Hey Stump you little devil, turn around.' The pitcher heard it, and I guess it stuck."

References

External links

: {{DEFAULTSORT:Merrill, Stump 1944 births Living people New York Yankees managers New York Yankees coaches People from Brunswick, Maine Brunswick High School (Maine) alumni Maine Black Bears baseball players San Diego Padres (minor league) players Reading Phillies players Batavia Trojans players Bakersfield Bears players Eugene Emeralds players Tidewater Tides players Maine Black Bears football players Fort Lauderdale Yankees managers Major League Baseball first base coaches Nashville Sounds managers Trenton Thunder managers Baseball players from Maine Baseball coaches from Maine