Neal Mersch

Neal Edward Mersch

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 185 lb.
• School Arizona Western College, University of Toledo
• Born October 27, 1951 in Covington, KY USA

BR Minors page

Biographical information

Neal Mersch is a former minor league baseball pitcher who played in the New York Yankees farm system from 1973 to 1979. He was originally drafted in the sixth round of the 1970 amateur draft by the Montreal Expos.

He spent seven years in the minors and had some success, going 55-36 (.604 W%) with a 3.55 ERA in 206 games (66 starts). Two seasons were especially notable. In 1973, he was 11-0 with 10 complete games and a shutout in 16 games (12 starts) for the Oneonta Yankees. He allowed only 89 hits and 23 walks in 114 innings, while striking out 104 batters. The next year, he was 14-4 with 5 complete games in 28 appearances (12 starts) for the Fort Lauderdale Yankees.

He was involved in a notable trade between the Yankees and Texas Rangers that took place on August 1, 1979. From Baseball-Reference.com:

"The New York Yankees traded players to be named later and Mickey Rivers to the Texas Rangers for players to be named later, Oscar Gamble, and Amos Lewis (minors). The Texas Rangers sent Ray Fontenot (October 8, 1979) and Gene Nelson (October 8, 1979) to the New York Yankees to complete the trade. The New York Yankees sent Bob Polinsky (minors) (October 8, 1979), Neal Mersch (minors) (October 8, 1979), and Mark Softy (minors) (October 8, 1979) to the Texas Rangers to complete the trade."

Though he never played in the Rangers system.