Jim Morris: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 22:24, 2 April 2007

Revision as of 15:07, 15 April 2007

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[[Image:Jimmy_Morris_-_Pitching.jpg|thumb|100px|left|Pitching for the Devil Rays]]

The major league scout for the [[Tampa Bay Devil Rays]] initially wasn't interested in Morris, but agreed to allow him to tryout so Morris could keep his promise with his students. Surprisingly, Morris discovered that in spite of his age, and having several surgeries on his arm, he was able to throw a 98 mph [[fastball]]. He started out in the AA club but after a few apeerences he immediately earned a spot on their AAA club, the [[Durham Bulls]]. Thanks to solid performances with Durham, Tampa Bay gave him a chance to pitch with the big club when the rosters expanded, and on September 18, 1999, against [[Royce Clayton]] of the [[Texas Rangers (baseball)|Texas Rangers]], the 35-year old Morris made his debut, striking Clayton out on four pitches. His goal of pitching in the majors was finally realized, and he made four more appearances later that year.

His arm problems recurred, limiting him in 2000 to only 16 major league appearances, after which the Rays released him. His final appearance came on [[May 9]], [[2000]], at [[Yankee Stadium]]. He entered a tie game in the bottom of the 10th inning with the bases loaded, and issued a game-ending bases loaded walk to his first batter, [[Paul O'Neill (baseball player)|Paul O'Neill]]. He attempted to catch on with the Dodgers the following spring but wasn't able to overcome his injuries. At the end of his major league career he was 0-0 with an [[Earned run average|ERA]] of 4.80 and 13 [[strikeout]]s.