| Jack Morris | |
|---|---|
 Morris in 2013 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1955-05-16)May 16, 1955 (age 70) Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. | |
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 record | 254–186 |
| Earned run average | 3.90 |
| Strikeouts | 2,478 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Member of the National | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 2018 |
| Vote | 87.5% |
| Election method | Modern Baseball Era Committee |
John Scott Morris (born May 16, 1955) is an American former professionalbaseballstarting pitcher. He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) between 1977 and 1994, mainly for theDetroit Tigers. Morris won 254 games throughout his career.
Armed with afastball, aslider, and aforkball,[1][2] Morris was a five-timeAll-Star (1981, 1984, 1985, 1987, and 1991), and played on three World Series Championship teams (1984 Tigers, 1991Minnesota Twins, and 1992Toronto Blue Jays). He went 3–0 in the 1984 postseason with two complete-game victories in the1984 World Series, and 4–0 in the 1991 postseason with a ten-inning complete-game victory in Game 7 of the1991 World Series. Morris won theBabe Ruth Award in both 1984 and 1991, and was namedWorld 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 ten players in MLB history to have won back-to back World Series championships on different teams, with the other nine beingAllie Clark,Clem Labine,Bill Skowron,Don Gullett,Ryan Theriot,Jake Peavy,Ben Zobrist,Joc Pederson, andWill Smith.[5]
Since retiring as a player, Morris has worked as a broadcastcolor analyst for the Blue Jays, Twins, and Tigers. He has also been an analyst for MLB broadcasts onFox Sports 1. Morris was inducted into theBaseball Hall of Fame in 2018. Morris has the highest career ERA among pitchers in the Hall of Fame.[6]
Morris attendedHighland Park High School inSaint Paul, Minnesota, graduating in 1973.[7] He then attendedBrigham Young University (BYU), and playedcollege baseball for theBYU Cougars.[8]
TheDetroit Tigers selected Morris in the fifth round of the1976 MLB draft.[9] He was first called up to the Tigers in 1977 afterMark 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 3.29ERA and establishing himself as the ace of the Detroit staff. Morris, along with catcherLance Parrish, shortstopAlan Trammell, second basemanLou Whitaker, outfielderKirk Gibson, and managerSparky Anderson, played a notable role in turning the Tigers into a contending team for most of the 1980s. In 1980, Morris learned to throw thesplit-finger fastball from newly hired pitching coachRoger 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, while posting a 3.05 ERA.
Despite playing for the notorious "Captain Hook" (Anderson),[10] nicknamed because of his tendency to pull his starters at the first sign of weakness, Morris was known for finishing games. 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. In1983, 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.[11]
On April 7, 1984 (onNBC's nationally televisedGame of the Week), Morrisno-hit theChicago White Sox atComiskey Park,[12] beginning what would be an excellent season for both him and the Tigers. The no-hitter was the first by a Tiger sinceJim Bunning in 1958. By the end of the1984 campaign, he had notched 19 wins and a 3.60 ERA, leading Detroit into the postseason. He scored a win over theKansas City Royals in theALCS, and added two more complete-game victories in theWorld Series against theSan Diego Padres as theTigers concluded their wire-to-wire 1984 campaign with the World Championship. While teammateAlan Trammell was named World Series MVP, Morris was given theBabe Ruth Award for most outstanding performance in the 1984 postseason.
In 1986, Morris went 21–8 with a 3.27 ERA and 223 strikeouts. His career-high six shutouts that season included a stretch from July 9–18 in which he threw a complete-game shutout in three consecutive starts.[13] TheTigers 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 theALCS, surrendering six runs in eight innings to the eventual World ChampionMinnesota Twins. Despite a sub-par season in1989 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. In1990, 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.
In 1991, Morris signed a one-year contract with his hometownMinnesota Twins. He enjoyed another great season, posting 18 wins with a 3.43 ERA, and an even better postseason afterMinnesota won the AL West. Morris won both of his starts over theToronto Blue Jays in theALCS, and his team went on to face theAtlanta Braves in theWorld 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 byGene Larkin that scoredDan Gladden. Morris was named theWorld Series MVP for his performance, and joined fellow pitcherSandy Koufax as the only players to win theBabe Ruth Award twice. He holds the record for most wins by a Twin in a single postseason, with four in 1991.
Following the 1991 season, Morris signed a two-year contract with theToronto Blue Jays. In the 1992 season, 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. TheBlue Jays reached the1992 World Series against theBraves. Despite a subpar post-season performance (he went 0–3, including two World Series losses), Morris won a thirdWorld Series ring as Toronto beat Atlanta in six games. He won a fourth ring in 1993, asthe Blue Jays repeated as World Champions with a victory over thePhiladelphia 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.[14]
On April 6, 1993, Morris set a major league record by making his 14th consecutive Opening Day start, becoming the fourth pitcher to make fourteen Opening Day starts to go with being the first (and so far only) pitcher to start the first game of a season in fourteen consecutive seasons.[15]
Morris joined theCleveland Indians in 1994, but was released by theteam on August 9, three days before the season was ended by astrike. Morris finished the season with a 10–6 record and an ERA of 5.60. He signed a one-year, $600,000 contract with theCincinnati Reds on December 22, 1994.[16] After an abortive attempt at a comeback with the Reds during spring training of1995, Morris retired. In 1996, he made a brief return to professional baseball, this time playing with his hometownSt. Paul Saints of theindependentNorthern League. The 41-year-old Morris went 5–1 in 10 starts, with a 2.69 ERA, before retiring for good.
Morris was the highest-paid pitcher in theAmerican League on at least four occasions: 1987, 1988, 1991, and 1993.
The split-finger pitch was responsible for Morris leading the league in wild pitches on six separate occasions. His 206 wild pitches in his career rank thirteenth in baseball history (tied withAdonis Terry) and third highest among pitchers who pitched their entire careers in the live-ball era. (OnlyNolan Ryan with 277 andPhil Niekro with 226 rank higher than Morris.)
Morris has spent time as acolor analyst for theMinnesota Twins. He also spent time inLakeland, Florida, as a part-time coach for the Detroit Tigers duringspring training.
In 2013, Morris joinedSportsnet as a color analyst forToronto Blue Jays radio broadcasts, as well as making appearances on television broadcasts.[20] In 2014, he served as a pre- and post-game analyst for Twins telecasts onBally Sports North (as well as a part-time substitute for regular game analystBert Blyleven) and as a regular on-air contributor onKTWN-FM and the Twins Radio Network.[21]
On February 10, 2015, it was announced that Morris had been hired as a part-time analyst forDetroit Tigers telecasts onFox Sports Detroit, along with former teammateKirk Gibson.[22] In a unique arrangement, Morris continued to work part-time for the Twins' television crew as well as the Tigers'.[23] In 2017, it was announced that Morris would no longer do Tigers telecasts.[24] On January 15, 2019, Morris was once again named a color commentator for the Tigers.[25]
On August 17, 2021, Morris used an accent that some deemed insensitive during a broadcast whileShohei Ohtani of theLos Angeles Angels was at bat. Later during the broadcast, he issued an on-air apology. Ohtani said (through an interpreter), "Personally, I'm not offended and I didn't take anything personally."[26] Following this incident, Morris was suspended indefinitely from the Tigers' broadcast booth,[27] though he returned in less than a month's time.[28] After the 2022 season, Morris parted ways from the Tigers broadcast team.[29]
Morris has two sons from his first marriage and one with his second. He is known for his love ofhunting andfishing, especially in his nativeMinnesota.
Morris was eligible for theNational Baseball Hall of Fame from 2000 to 2014, but did not receive the required 75% of the vote; from 2000 to 2003, he never received greater than 30%. But his vote totals slowly crept upwards as the years went by, receiving 40% of the vote for the first time in 2006. In 2010, he managed 52.3% of the vote.[11][30] In 2012, he received 67% of the vote, and 67.7% a year later.[31] On January 8, 2014, Morris received 61.5% of the vote in his last year of eligibility.[32] After falling off the regular ballot, Morris was elected to the Hall by the Modern Era portion of theVeterans Committee in December 2017. He was inducted (as a Detroit Tiger) in 2018 along with former Tigers teammateAlan Trammell.[33] His 3.90 career ERA is the highest of any player elected to the Hall of Fame as a pitcher.
As a result of being the first Hall of Fame pitcher to have played all of his games in the American League following the introduction of thedesignated hitter rule and before the start of interleague play, Morris has the fewest MLB regular-season at-bats of any player inductee: one. On April 30, 1987, Morris pitched a complete game victory over theCalifornia Angels; in the eighth, DHMike Heath moved to first base, thus eliminating the designated hitter for the rest of the contest. Morris came up with two out in the ninth, hitting a foul fly to right; it was his first time in thebatter's box since playing for the minor-leagueEvansville Triplets in 1977. (Morris also logged 19 appearances as apinch runner in his career, scoring four times. This makes him the only Hall of Fame player to have more runs than plate appearances.)
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | No-hitter Pitcher April 7, 1984 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | American LeagueAll-Star Game Starting Pitcher 1981 1985 1991 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
