Mark Merila (born November 9, 1971) is a scout for the San Diego Padres and a former professional baseball player.
[4] Near the end of his senior year at Minnesota, Merila was diagnosed with a brain tumor, which was treated with radiation therapy.
He was next taken by the Padres in the 33rd round of the 1994 draft, beginning his professional career that year.
After the tumor returned in 2005, he was forced to give up his bullpen catching duties, however he still served as an aide to third base coach Glenn Hoffman.
[6] After recovering from his second bout of brain cancer, he returned to the job of bullpen catcher, then in 2012 was made a team scout.