Orlando Luis Merced Villanueva (born November 2, 1966 in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico

Hato Rey, Puerto Rico

Hato Rey is a former ward located in the northwest part of the dissolved municipality of Río Piedras. It now stretches over three wards of the municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico:*Hato Rey Central*Hato Rey Norte*Hato Rey Sur...

) is a former Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 first Baseman

First baseman

First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team...

 and outfielder

Outfielder

Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...

. He played all or part of thirteen seasons in the majors for the Pittsburgh Pirates

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...

 (1990–1996), Toronto Blue Jays

Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....

 (1997), Minnesota Twins

Minnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...

 (1998), Boston Red Sox

Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...

 (1998), Chicago Cubs

Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...

 (1998), Montreal Expos

Montreal Expos

The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...

 (1999), and Houston Astros

Houston Astros

The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...

 (2001–2003). He also played one season for the Orix BlueWave (2000) in Japan.

Merced was signed as an amateur free agent out of high school at the age of 17 by the Pittsburgh Pirates

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...

 in . Six years later, he made his major league debut. He played for the Pirates for another six years, where he helped the Pirates win the National League East

National League East

The National League East Division is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies are tied for the most National League East Division titles . All of Atlanta's NL East titles came during a record stretch of 14 consecutive division titles...

 Division in three consecutive seasons, from 1990 through 1992. Later, he was part of the Astros' 2001 NL Central Division champions.

He finished second in voting for 1991 National League Rookie of the Year, behind Jeff Bagwell

Jeff Bagwell

Jeffrey Robert Bagwell , is a former American professional baseball player and coach. He played his entire fifteen-year Major League Baseball career as a first baseman for the Houston Astros and was a four-time All-Star...

, for playing in 120 Games and having 411 At Bats, 83 Runs, 113 Hits, 17 Doubles, 2 Triples, 10 Home Runs, 50 RBI, 8 Stolen Bases, 64 Walks, .275 Batting Average, .373 On-base percentage, .399 Slugging Percentage, 164 Total Bases, 1 Sacrifice Hit, 1 Sacrifice Fly and 4 Intentional Walks.

In thirteen seasons, he played in 1,391 Games and had 3,998 At Bats, 564 Runs, 1,108 Hits, 229 Doubles, 28 Triples, 103 Home Runs, 585 RBI, 57 Stolen Bases, 487 Walks, .277 Batting Average, .355 On-base percentage, .426 Slugging Percentage, 1,702 Total Bases, 3 Sacrifice Hits, 30 Sacrifice Flies and 53 Intentional Walks.

Merced has 4 children: Natalie, Orlando Jr., Roberto and Cloe.

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