By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer

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Photos of Saturday's games

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Kent Mercker was done with baseball, retired. He was back in Dublin, Ohio, after 12 years in the big leagues.

He was content. He got to spend the summer doing things with his wife, Julie, and their daughters, Madison and Sophie, that he was never able to do as a player.

"I didn't even watch baseball," Mercker said.

It was the summer of 2001.

Mercker had no designs on pitching again. But two summers later, he is a key member of the Reds' bullpen, getting batters out as well as he ever has, thinking he could go three, four, five more years.

How Mercker got from blissful retirement to thinking he can work forever (in baseball terms, at least) is, as they say, a long story.

Mercker never planned to retire in the first place.

He had been cut on the last day of spring training by the Boston Red Sox, his seventh organization. The parting was not pleasant.

"I thought I got screwed by the GM, (Dan) Duquette," Mercker said. "I did, really. I didn't like the way it was handled."

The Red Sox wanted Mercker to go to Triple-A and wait for something to open up.

Going home to Dublin was more appealing.

Mercker was fortunate to be in camp in the first place. In fact, he was lucky to be alive.

He was pitching for the Anaheim Angels in May 2000 when he suffered what he casually refers to as a "brain bleed."

A blood vessel burst in the back of his brain.

The only symptom was a sledgehammer headache.

"It was a two-day headache," he said. "My head hurt real bad for two days. That's about it."

Well, not exactly. Mercker spent 12 days in the hospital, including four in intensive care.

He doesn't have a dramatic story about coming to grips with a life-threatening situation.

"I didn't have time to be scared," he said. "I had a really, really bad headache. I didn't know what it was. I'm not at that point thinking my brain's bleeding. By the time I found out, I was on so much morphine for pain, it was like, 'Yeah, whatever. You're not really telling me the truth.'

"By the time I was coherent and woke up, the test came back and was a good test," Mercker said. "It came back negative."

The vessel that burst sealed itself.

"I didn't have any underlying problems," he said. "No aneurysms. That was it."

Again, not really. The problem with his brain was over. But the ordeal had robbed Mercker of his strength and stamina.

"I had to get my arm back in shape," he said. "I had to go through that process again, get my body back in shape. When your brain bleeds, it doesn't care about much else in your body - it takes care of itself. I was weak. The medicine I was on tore my body down."

The hemorrhage was discovered May 11. Mercker returned to the big leagues three months and one day later.

After a touching ovation in Anaheim, he threw 3 2/3 innings against the New York Yankees.

But not a lot of teams lined up to sign him in 2001. His results with the Angels - 1-3, 6.52 ERA - had been spotty. And then there was the "brain bleed" thing.

When it didn't work with Boston, Mercker figured he was done.

"I had played long enough," he said. "I wasn't going to deal with going to Triple-A until the team needs me."

And life in the summer of 2001 was pretty good.

"I had a blast. I got to be with my kids," he said. "I got to play golf whenever I wanted. I didn't have to put a suit on and fly to Puerto Rico."

He had a good career to look back on - a 63-61 record, an ERA just over 4.00. He had been to three World Series, won one world title and been in the postseason seven times.

So he had no regrets.

Or at least he didn't think he did until the summer of 2001 turned to the fall of 2001.

"That's when I got the fever," he said. "I started watching the playoffs. I'm watching an Arizona game; Mike Morgan was on the mound. Greg Swindell was warming up. I'm like, 'Wait a minute, I'm like 20 years younger than both those guys.' "

Not quite 20. But Mercker was retired at 33, and Morgan was pitching for the world champions at 42.

"I still loved the game," Mercker said. "I said, 'You know what, I'd be stupid, I'd be cheating myself, my family, if I still have the ability to play in the big leagues and I don't.'

"I said, 'I'll try it. I'll go back and find out one way or the other. Either I'll be terrible and I'll get released, or I'll make it. But I'll know. I can put some closure to it.' "

Not a lot of teams were interested in a 33-year-old who had sat out the season before and had suffered a brain hemorrhage the season before that.

"It was: Why take a chance?" Mercker said.

But Colorado gave Mercker an invitation to camp and a minor-league contract.

"I probably had the best spring I ever had," Mercker said.

He came up with the Atlanta Braves and always saw himself as a starter alongside Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz.

He was primarily a starter from 1994-2001.

Mike Scioscia, the Anaheim manager, was the one who pushed Mercker to the bullpen.

"I fought it," Mercker said. "I started my whole life before I got called up to the big leagues. In Atlanta, I was a reliever. I enjoyed it because we were winning, but I wanted to be a starter.

"Scioscia said, 'You're better suited for the bullpen.' I was, 'No, no.' He was dead right. I've always been a high-pitch-count-per-inning guy, even in good games. I'm not going to eat 200-plus innings each year."

Colorado took it a step further, turning Mercker into a left-handed specialist.

He was on the disabled list for 56 days with a broken left hand (the result of a line drive) but still appeared in a career-high 58 games.

Mercker's overall numbers - 3-1, 6.14 ERA - weren't very good. But given what he did before the injury (lefties hit .103 off him before the broken hand) and the Coors Field factor, the Reds wanted him to be part of the 2003 team.

Mercker signed as a non-roster player, but he clearly was in the Reds' plans from the start.

"He was on a minor-league contract for administrative reasons," Reds general manager Jim Bowden said. "He's a big-league pitcher."

Mercker has pitched well.

He went into Saturday with a 1.93 ERA. He had been in eight games but pitched only 4 2/3 innings. That's the nature of being a lefty specialist.

He's enjoying his post-retirement work.

"Physically, it's no different. I got hurt last year and missed 56 days and still got in 58 games," Mercker said. "That's what I love about it. The only adjustment was to take care of yourself so you can pitch three days in a row. Take a day off and pitch two more in a row. Then, you might get a day off and pitch three more in a row."

That makes him valuable.

"He's very durable," pitching coach Don Gullett said. "He can pitch to a few hitters every day. He's going to be a huge part of our bullpen. He gives us a lot of options."

What Mercker likes about his job is the rush of a big situation. He came into Tuesday's game with runners at second and third and no outs.

He struck out Corey Patterson, the only batter he faced.

"I enjoy this role as much as anything I've done," Mercker said. "If you're doing your job, you get into a lot of games and, more importantly, games that matter. There's no such thing as a bad game to pitch in the big leagues, because it's the big leagues. But it's much more fun coming in with runners on second and third and a two-run lead and nobody out, then doing your job."

So, any thought of retirement now? Or could we see Mercker pitching into his late 30s?

"I feel like I can," he said. "But I don't look that far ahead. I'm trying to get through Thursday. I feel as good as I've ever felt. My arm bounces back good."

Kent Mercker file

Age: 35.

Bats/throws: Left/left.

Big-league time: 14 years.

Hometown/lives: Dublin, Ohio.

Family: Wife Julie; daughters Madison (8), Sophie (5).

Organizations: Atlanta, Baltimore, Cleveland, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Boston, Anaheim, Boston (again), Colorado, Cincinnati (again).

No-no: No-hit the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-0 April 8, 1994, for the Braves. The no-hitter remains his only career shutout.

First time around: Mercker was 8-11 with a 3.92 ERA in 25 starts for the Reds in 1997.

Best year: 1991. He was 5-3 with a 2.58 ERA and six saves for the Braves.

Kent Mercker on:

Best place to play: "In the big leagues, there's no such thing as a bad place to play. I'm always going to be partial to Atlanta. That's where I started. That's where I got to play in three World Series, six playoffs. That's where I learned. I have a lot of good friends there. That will always be my favorite."

Best atmosphere: "Boston. That year I got traded over for the playoffs (1999), that's about as much fun as you could have with the fans. Every one of them is rooting for you."

Best city/ballpark: "Wrigley Field is my favorite place, especially when on the way here you see the water (on Lake Michigan) is choppy. You know it's blowing in. It's a great atmosphere. The city's got everything you could possibly have. The history of Wrigley - I love it."

How to kill time on the road: "Do a lot of crosswords. That's about it. Play golf. I don't sit well. I have to be busy."

On being a leader: "With this club, there are so many guys who try to do the puzzles and just can't. So I have to do them and mentor these young guys."

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E-mail jfay@enquirer.com