Logan Morrison

Logan Morrison

Morrison with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2016
Tampa Bay Rays – No. 7
First baseman / Left fielder
Born: (1987-08-25) August 25, 1987
Kansas City, Missouri
Bats: Left Throws: Left
MLB debut
July 27, 2010, for the Florida Marlins
MLB statistics
(through 2015 season)
Batting average .246
Hits 513
Home runs 70
Runs batted in 254
Teams

Justis Logan Morrison (born August 25, 1987), nicknamed "LoMo", is an American professional baseball first baseman for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). Entering the 2010 baseball season, Morrison was considered by Baseball America to be the #2 prospect in the Florida Marlins farm system, and the #20 overall prospect. He played in the 2010 MLB All-Star Futures Game in Anaheim, California. On July 27, 2010, he was called up to the major leagues by the Marlins, and made his debut that night.

Morrison is known for his witty, outspoken personality, particularly on the social media website Twitter, where he has a large following.

Early life and amateur career

Logan Morrison was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and moved around a lot with his father, who served in the United States Coast Guard.[1] He lived briefly in Wilmington, North Carolina, between the ages of 8 and 12 before returning to the Midwest.

Morrison was drafted after his senior year (2005) from Northshore High School in Slidell, Louisiana by the Florida Marlins in the 22nd Round, but decided to attend Maple Woods (MO) Community College, and was signed as a draft-and-follow prior to the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft.[2]

In his freshman year, Morrison batted .436 with 9 home runs, 45 RBIs. He led the Monarchs with a .532 OB%, .743 SLG% & 1.275 OPS with a 29-13 BB-K ratio. He made only 3 errors, good for a .977 fielding percentage.

Professional career

Florida / Miami Marlins

In 2007, Morrison batted .267 with 24 home runs, 86 RBIs, 71 runs scored, and 22 doubles in 128 games played. He was named a South Atlantic League Mid-Season All-Star.

In 2008, Morrison batted .332 with 13 HR, 74 RBIs, and 38 doubles for the Class High A Jupiter Hammerheads. He led the entire Florida State League in batting average (.332), hits (162), doubles (38) and OBP (.402). His 241 total bases were good for second-best in the Florida State League. He finished 4th in the Florida State League in ABs (488), 4th in OPS (.896), 5th in SLG% (.494), 6th in RBI (74), 7th in runs (71), 8th in HR (13) and 9th in BB (57). Morrison led the Jupiter Hammerheads in Games, ABs, runs, batting average, OB%, triples, walks, total bases, doubles, OB%, OPS, and SLG%.

A broken bone in his right thumb limited Morrison to 79 games at Double-A in 2009, where he batted .277 with 8 HR, 47 RBIs, and 18 doubles.

In 2010, Morrison played for the Jupiter Hammerheads and New Orleans Zephyrs. On July 27, 2010, the Florida Marlins called up Morrison to replace the injured Chris Coghlan. He went 1-4 that night, recording his first major league hit in his debut.

On August 13, 2011, Morrison was optioned back to the New Orleans Zephyrs.[3][4] Ten days later, he was called back up to the majors. In his first at-bat back, he hit a home run. On September 15, 2011, Morrison filed a grievance against the Marlins for what he termed was an unfair demotion to the minors.[5]

On February 11, 2012, Morrison switched to uniform No. 5. The number had been retired for the entirety of the Marlins' existence, in honor of the late Carl Barger, the team's founding president and chief operating officer. (Barger's favorite player had been Joe DiMaggio, who also wore No. 5). Morrison requested the number in honor of his own late father, who had encouraged Morrison to model his career after Hall of Famer George Brett, who wore No. 5 for the Kansas City Royals.[6]

On May 22, 2012, Morrison was moved to first base after the Marlins sent teammate Gaby Sánchez to Triple-A. Morrison was familiar with first base because he played that position before playing left field. On June 10, 2012, Morrison was moved back to left field after the Marlins called Sanchez back up. Morrison played 20 games at first, with a fielding percentage of .994 and one error. In 2012, Morrison was the Marlins' nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, given to a player who shows outstanding commitment to helping others both on and off the field.[7]

Seattle Mariners

Morrison during his tenure with the Seattle Mariners in 2015

On December 13, 2013, the Marlins traded Morrison to the Seattle Mariners for pitcher Carter Capps.[8]

Tampa Bay Rays

On November 5, 2015, Morrison, along with Brad Miller and Danny Farquhar, were dealt to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Nathan Karns, C. J. Riefenhauser, and Boog Powell.[9]

Personal life

Morrison's father battled lung cancer during Morrison's rookie season and died on December 8, 2010.[10] Morrison pays tribute to his father with a Coast Guard salute to the skies every time he hits a home run.[11] Morrison hosts an annual baseball camp in his father's honor with all proceeds benefiting the American Lung Association. Since the camp started in 2011, Morrison has raised over $300,000 for the American Lung Association.[7] The third annual LoMo: Camp for a Cure took place on January 12–13, 2013.[12] In the offseason he trains at Cressey Sports Performance in Jupiter, Florida which is widely recognized as the best baseball training facility in the country.

References

  1. ↑ Associated Press."Marlins first baseman Logan Morrison a hit on Twitter," USA Today (May 31, 2011).
  2. ↑ Frisaro, Joe (February 19, 2009). "Morrison impressing Marlins". MLB.com. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Marlins Send LF Logan Morrison to Triple A and Release Wes Helms". Washington Post. August 13, 2011.
  4. ↑ Hammerman, Ethan. "Logan Morrison demotion tale full of twists," YES Network (August 16, 2011).
  5. ↑ Nelson, Amy K. "Marlins' Logan Morrison files grievance," ESPN.com (September 15, 2011).
  6. ↑ Frisaro, Joe (February 11, 2012). "Marlins unretire uniform No. 5 for Morrison". MLB.com.
  7. 1 2 "Morrison named Marlins nominee for 2012 Roberto Clemente Award". Miami Marlins. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Mariners". The Seattle Times. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  9. ↑ Stecker, Brent (November 5, 2015). "Mariners send Brad Miller, Logan Morrison to Rays in 6-player trade". mynorthwest.com. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  10. ↑ Spunberg, Adam (September 8, 2010). "Morrisons show strength is family trait." MLB.com. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
  11. ↑ "Florida Marlins' Logan Morrison: Dad is 'forever in my heart'"
  12. ↑ http://lomo4lungs.org/index.php?p=camp

External links

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