Jack Morris

John Scott Morris (born May 16, 1955) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher. He is a color commentator for the Detroit Tigers on Fox Sports Detroit. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1977 and 1994, mainly for the Detroit Tigers. Morris won 254 games throughout his career.

For other people named Jack Morris, see Jack Morris (disambiguation).

Jack Morris
Morris in 2013
Pitcher
Born: (1955-05-16) May 16, 1955
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
July 26, 1977, for the Detroit Tigers
Last MLB appearance
August 7, 1994, for the Cleveland Indians
MLB statistics
Win–loss record254–186
Earned run average3.90
Strikeouts2,478
Teams
Career highlights and awards
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction2018
Vote87.5%
Election MethodModern Era Committee

Armed with a fastball, a slider, and a forkball,[1][2] Morris was a five-time All-Star (1981, 1984, 1985, 1987, and 1991), and played on four World Series Championship teams (1984 Tigers, 1991 Minnesota Twins, and 1992–1993 Toronto Blue Jays). He went 3–0 in the 1984 postseason with two complete game victories in the 1984 World Series, and 4–0 in the 1991 postseason with a ten-inning complete game victory in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series. Morris won the Babe Ruth Award in both 1984 and 1991, and was named World Series MVP in 1991. While he gave up the most hits, most earned runs, and most home runs of any pitcher in the 1980s,[3] he also started the most games, pitched the most innings, and had the most wins of any pitcher in that decade.[4] He is one of seven players in MLB history to have won back-to back World Series championships on different teams, the other six being Ben Zobrist, Jake Peavy, Bill Skowron, Clem Labine, Don Gullett, and Ryan Theriot.

Since retiring as a player, Morris has worked as a broadcast color analyst for the Blue Jays, Twins, and Tigers. He has also been an analyst for MLB broadcasts on Fox Sports 1. Morris was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018.

Playing career

Amateur career

Morris attended Highland Park High School in Saint Paul, Minnesota, graduating in 1973.[5] He then attended Brigham Young University (BYU), and played college baseball for the BYU Cougars.[6]

Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers selected Morris in the fifth round of the 1976 MLB draft.[7] He was first called up to the Tigers in 1977 after Mark Fidrych was placed on the disabled list with an injury. Morris broke into the Tigers' starting rotation in 1979, posting a 17–7 record and a 3.29 ERA and establishing himself as the ace of the Detroit staff. Morris, along with catcher Lance Parrish, shortstop Alan Trammell, second baseman Lou Whitaker, outfielder Kirk Gibson, and manager Sparky Anderson, played a notable role in turning the Tigers into a contending team for most of the 1980s. In 1980, Morris learned to throw the split-finger fastball from newly hired pitching coach Roger Craig, and it became an effective pitch for the rest of Morris' career. He led the major leagues with 14 wins in the strike-shortened 1981 season.

Despite playing for the notorious "Captain Hook" (Anderson),[8] nicknamed because of his tendency to pull his starters at the first sign of weakness, Morris was known for finishing what he started. He racked up 175 complete games in his career (154 with Detroit). He compiled double-digit complete game totals in 10 of his 12 full seasons as a Tiger. In 1983, Morris completed 20 of his 37 starts. That year, he led the league in innings pitched (293.2), batters faced (1204) and strikeouts (232), while posting his first 20-win season.[9]

On April 7, 1984 (on NBC's nationally televised Game of the Week), Morris no-hit the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park,[10] beginning what would be an excellent season for both him and the Tigers. The no-hitter was the first by a Tiger since Jim Bunning in 1958. By the end of the 1984 campaign, he had notched 19 wins and a 3.60 ERA, leading Detroit into the postseason. He scored a win over the Kansas City Royals in the ALCS, and added two more complete-game victories in the World Series against the San Diego Padres as the Tigers concluded their wire-to-wire 1984 campaign with the World Championship. While teammate Alan Trammell was named World Series MVP, Morris was given the Babe Ruth Award for most outstanding performance in the 1984 postseason.

In 1986, Morris racked up 21 wins, and had a stretch from July 9–18 in which he threw three consecutive complete game shutouts.[11] The Tigers headed to the postseason again in 1987 behind a team-leading 18 wins from Morris, but this time Morris' postseason performance was below expectations. He lost his only start in the ALCS, surrendering six runs in eight innings to the eventual World Champion Minnesota Twins. Despite a sub-par season in 1989 when he made only 24 starts and won just 6 games, he finished the 1980s with 162 wins, the most by a major league pitcher during the decade. In 1990, his final season in Detroit, Morris lost a career-high 18 games, though he also led the Tiger staff with 15 wins and led the AL with 11 complete games.

Morris had a 3–1 post-season record as a Tiger, with a 2.73 ERA.

When playing for the Tigers, Morris was approached for a locker room interview by Jennifer Frey. At the time, Frey was an intern with the Miami Herald; she would later work as a reporter for The New York Times and The Washington Post. Morris responded to Frey that, "I don’t talk to women when I’m naked unless they’re on top of me or I’m on top of them". When The Herald complained about his actions, Bo Schembechler, who was the president of the Tigers at the time, said that the newspaper had a "lack of common sense" for assigning a woman to a locker room interview.

Minnesota Twins

In 1991, Morris signed a one-year contract with his hometown Minnesota Twins. He enjoyed another great season, posting 18 wins with a 3.43 ERA, and an even better postseason after Minnesota won the AL West. Morris won both of his starts over the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALCS, and his team went on to face the Atlanta Braves in the World Series. Morris started for the Twins three times in the series, going 2–0 with a 1.17 ERA, making his final outing in the deciding Game 7. In a postseason performance for the ages, the 36-year-old hurler threw 10 innings of shutout baseball against the Braves, as the Twins won the game 1–0 on a 10th-inning single by Gene Larkin that scored Dan Gladden. Morris was named the World Series MVP for his performance, and joined fellow pitcher Sandy Koufax as the only players to win the Babe Ruth Award twice. He holds the record for most wins by a Twin in a single postseason, with four in 1991.

Toronto Blue Jays

Following the 1991 season, Morris signed with the Toronto Blue Jays. He earned 21 wins for the second time in his career (the first ever 20-win season for a Blue Jays pitcher) with only six losses, though he rode a wave of superior run support from his offense, given his 4.04 ERA that year. The Blue Jays reached the 1992 World Series against the Braves. Despite a subpar post-season performance (he went 0–3, including two World Series losses), Morris won a third World Series ring as Toronto beat Atlanta in six games. He won a fourth ring in 1993, as the Blue Jays repeated as World Champions with a victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in six games. However, Morris was not a factor in the Blue Jays World Series repeat: he pitched poorly for the team in the regular season, finishing 7–12 with a 6.19 ERA, and was not used at all in the postseason due to a season-ending injury.[12]

On April 6, 1993, Morris set a major league record by making his 14th consecutive opening day start, an impressive achievement since he played on numerous title-contending teams. The Opening Day start is usually given to either the best pitcher in the rotation or the pitcher with the highest level of respect among the players and coaches.

Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds

Morris joined the Cleveland Indians in 1994, but was released by the team on August 9, three days before the season was ended by a strike. Morris finished the season with a 10–6 record and an ERA of 5.60. After an abortive attempt at a comeback with the Cincinnati Reds during spring training of 1995, Morris retired. In 1996, he made a brief return to professional baseball, this time playing with his hometown St. Paul Saints of the independent Northern League. The 41-year-old Morris went 5–1 in 10 starts, with a 2.69 ERA, before retiring for good.

Salary

Morris was the highest-paid pitcher in the American League on at least four occasions: 1987, 1988, 1991, and 1993.

Wildness

Although it likely helped his strikeout totals, the split-finger pitch was also responsible for Morris leading the league in wild pitches on six separate occasions. His 206 wild pitches in his career rank eighth in baseball history.

Awards and highlights
Jack Morris's number 47 was retired by the Detroit Tigers in 2018.
  • 1981 – The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year
  • 1984 – Babe Ruth Award
  • 1986 - Tiger of the Year by the BBWAA-Detroit Chapter
  • 1991 – Babe Ruth Award
  • 1991 – World Series Most Valuable Player
  • World Series Champion - 1984, 1991, 1992, 1993
  • All-Star: 1981, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1991
  • AL Wins Leader: 1981, 1992
  • AL Strikeouts Leader: 1983
  • AL Shutouts Leader: 1986
  • Holds the major league record for consecutive opening day starts, with 14 (1980–1993)
  • Ranks No. 8 on the all time MLB list for wild pitches with 206[13]
  • Ranks No. 1 in Detroit Tigers history for wild pitches (155) and balks (23).[14]
  • Holds Tigers' all-time record for most times leading the team in wins – 11 (1979–88, 1990).
  • Morris is the only pitcher with 2,000-plus strikeouts who did not face a single pitcher in his career.[15]
  • Baseball Hall Of Fame Inductee - 2018 (Modern Era Committee)

Post-career activities

Morris has spent time as a color analyst for the Minnesota Twins. He also spent time in Lakeland, Florida as a part-time coach for the Detroit Tigers during spring training.

In 2013, Morris joined Sportsnet as a color analyst for Toronto Blue Jays radio broadcasts, as well as making appearances on television broadcasts.[16] In 2014, he served as a pre- and post-game analyst for Twins telecasts on Fox Sports North (as well as a part-time substitute for regular game analyst Bert Blyleven) and as a regular on-air contributor on KTWN-FM and the Twins Radio Network.[17]

On February 10, 2015, it was announced that Morris had been hired as a part-time analyst for Detroit Tigers telecasts on Fox Sports Detroit, along with former teammate Kirk Gibson.[18] In a unique arrangement, Morris continued to work part-time for the Twins' television crew as well as the Tigers'.[19] In 2017, it was announced that Morris would no longer do Tigers telecasts.[20] On January 15, 2019, Morris was named a color commentator for the Tigers.[21]

Morris has two sons from his first marriage and one with his second. He is known for his love of hunting and fishing, especially in his native Minnesota.

Hall of Fame candidacy

Morris was eligible for the National Baseball Hall of Fame from 2000 to 2014, but did not receive the required 75% of the vote in any of his eligible years. From 2000 to 2003, he never received greater than 30% of the vote. He received 40% of the vote for the first time in 2006. In 2010, he received 52.3% of the vote.[9][22] In 2012, he received 67% of the vote, and in 2013 he received 67.7% of the vote.[23] On January 8, 2014, Morris received 61.5% of the vote in his last year of eligibility.[24] After falling off the regular ballot, Morris was elected to the Hall by the Modern Era portion of the Veterans Committee in December 2017. He was inducted in 2018 along with former Tigers teammate Alan Trammell.[25]

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See also

References
  1. James, Bill; Neyer, Rob (June 15, 2004). The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers: An Historical Compendium of Pitching, Pitchers, and Pitches. Simon and Schuster. p. 314. ISBN 9780743261586. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  2. Sexton, Joe (October 18, 1992). "WORLD SERIES; For Blue Jays' Morris, It Was Feast or Famine With His Forkball". The New York Times. p. 2. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  3. Barzilai, Peter (January 3, 2011). "Study Hall: Jack Morris' case is stuck in the 1980s". USA Today.
  4. "Is collusion to blame for Jack Morris' HOF case?". Hardballtimes.com. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  5. http://www.mlive.com/whitecaps/index.ssf/2017/05/jack_morris_and_his_dual_affai.html
  6. McCarver, Tim; Jim Moskovitz; Danny Peary (2008). Tim McCarver's Diamond Gems: Favorite Baseball Stories from the Legends of the Game. McGraw-Hill Professional. p. 193. ISBN 978-0-07-154594-5. Retrieved May 6, 2009.
  7. Stone, Mike; Art Regner (2008). The Great Book of Detroit Sports Lists. Running Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-7624-3354-4. Retrieved May 6, 2009.
  8. "Sparky Anderson bio at The Baseball Library". Baseballlibrary.com. Archived from the original on September 20, 2012. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  9. Baseball Reference
  10. "Retrosheet Boxscore: Detroit Tigers 4, Chicago White Sox 0". Retrosheet.org. April 7, 1984. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  11. Beck, Jason (July 1, 2014). "Porcello extends scoreless streak with shutout of A's". MLB.com. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  12. Caple, Jim (October 16, 1994). "Jack Morris Adjusting To Life On Farm – His Farm". The Seattle Times.
  13. "Career Leaders &amp Records for Wild Pitches". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  14. "Tigers All-Time Leaders | tigers.com: History". Detroit.tigers.mlb.com. June 19, 2012. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  15. Posnanski, Joe (December 28, 2012). "Joe Blogs: Pitcher v. Pitcher". Joeposnanski.blogspot.com. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  16. Sportsnet Staff (February 5, 2013). "Morris joins Sportsnet's Blue Jays coverage". Sportsnet. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
  17. Miller, Phil (January 25, 2014). "Jack Morris added to Twins radio and TV teams". Star Tribune. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
  18. Nowak, Joey (February 10, 2015). "Gibson, Morris aboard as Tigers analysts". MLB. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
  19. Berardino, Mike (February 10, 2015). "Twinsights: Jack Morris 'on loan' to Detroit Tigers in broadcast booth". blogs.twincities.com.
  20. Crawford, Kirkland (January 25, 2017). "Jack Morris bows out of Detroit Tigers' TV booth". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  21. Beck, Jason (January 15, 2019). "Gibson, Morris join Tigers broadcasting team". MLB.com. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  22. ASSOCIATED PRESS: Andre Dawson makes Hall of Fame; Barry Larkin, Jack Morris, Alan Trammell denied, AnnArbor.com, January 6, 2010.
  23. "Former Cincinnati Reds shortstop Barry Larkin elected to baseball Hall of Fame." Article at washingtonpost.com on January 9, 2012.
  24. Morris, Raines among Hall of Fame candidates who deserved better Heyman, Jon at cbssports.com on January 8, 2014.
  25. "Morris, Trammell get long awaited call to Hall" (Press release). MLB. December 10, 2017. Retrieved December 10, 2017.

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Mike Warren		 No-hitter Pitcher
April 7, 1984		 Succeeded by
Mike Witt
Preceded by
Steve Stone
Dave Stieb
Bob Welch		 American League All-Star Game
Starting Pitcher
1981
1985
1991		 Succeeded by
Dennis Eckersley
Roger Clemens
Kevin Brown
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