Jackson Merrill's girlfriend Sammie Quinn, Fernando Tatis Jr., Luis Arraez, Tyler Wade react to Padres rookie's heartfelt tribute to San Diego

Jackson Merrill had an outstanding rookie year with the San Diego Padres. The 21-year-old outfielder had a rough start to the season but eventually became one of the best clutch sluggers in the game. Many believe Merrill would win the NL Rookie of the Year despite pitcher Paul Skenes having a sensational season with the Pirates.

The Dodgers ended the Padres' postseason in a tightly contested National League Division Series, which the former won 3-2. Merrill expressed disappointment after the 2-0 Game 5 loss in the NLDS.

Now, in a recent Instagram post, Merrill shared his rookie year journey through pictures highlighting his professional and personal accomplishments with the caption:

Rookie Year was a blast! Thank you San Diego for your support the entire way! Regardless of the outcome, this season was unreal…Looking forward to the future with you!

Merrill's girlfriend Sammie Quinn, teammates Fernando Tatis Jr., Luis Arraez, Tyler Wade, and more reacted to his heartfelt tribute.

"Proud!!💘 "- Merrill's girlfriend Sammie Quinn commented

Sammie Quinn has been very supportive for her boyfriend throughout the Padres' postseason journey. Along with the partners of other Padres stars, notably Michael King's wife Sheila, she has been a constant presence in the stands to watch Padres play.

In addition to Quinn, the reactions of Merrill's teammates Tatis Jr, Arraez and Wade show how much he meant to them and the team:

Love u bro ❤️ - Luis Arraez commented

❤️ - Tyler Wade commented

❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥 - Fernando Tatis Jr. commented

comments on Jackson Merrill's post

In the 2024 regular season, Jackson Merrill showed impressive talent for a 21-year-old rookie. Merrill played 156 games and homered 24 times with a .292 batting average. The rookie also had multiple clutch homers. He also matched the strong offensive output with excellent defensive performance in center field.

Jackson Merrill was humble in defeat after the postseason exit

After the Dodgers took Game 1 of the NLDS against the Padres, the team responded by winning Games 2 and 3, and with the Padres taking the series lead speculation ran rampant that the Dodgers' postseason run was coming to an end.

However, the Dodgers had other plans, and shut out the Padres in Games 4 and 5 to clinch the series. Following the Game 5 loss, Jackson Merrill showed impressive maturity when speaking to the media.

"They made good pitches the whole time. We missed our pitches a couple of times. You know, that's all it takes—one or two missed pitches, and you can get away with it for a few innings and kind of keep rolling."

"But, you know, all credit to them. They were better than us. I'm not going to sit here and make excuses and say we had it or should have had it. No, they were better than us, and they beat us three games to two, so all props to the Dodgers," said Merill.