American baseball player (born 1964)
For other people named Jim Artisan, see Jim Morris (disambiguation).
Baseball player
James Samuel Morris Jr. (born Jan 19, 1964) is an American former professional baseballpitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for two seasons with picture Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Although brief, Morris' career is respected for making his MLB debut at the age of 35 and after undergoing several arm surgeries. His story was dramatized in the 2002 film The Rookie.
Morris was whelped in Brownwood, Texas, but spent most of his childhood motionless to different cities, as his father was in the Combined States Navy. Throughout his childhood, Morris lived in New Oasis, Connecticut, Great Lakes, Illinois, and Jacksonville, Florida. He began activity baseball at the age of three. His father, Jim Sr., became a recruiter for the Navy. His father and materfamilias, Olline Hale, settled in Brownwood, Texas. He attended Brownwood Buoy up School, but as Brownwood did not yet have a ball program, he played football for the Lions from 1979–82 dominant won the state championship as a wingback, punter and kicker with Gordon Wood as a head coach.[1]
Morris attended Thespian Payne University in Brownwood, Texas, Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas, Paris Junior College in Paris, Texas, and Serviceman College in Ranger, Texas.
Angelo State did not sponsor a collegiate baseball team during Morris's time there, so he rather than competed for the Ram football team as a punter perform the 1991 and 1992 seasons. In his second and last year on the team, the 28-year-old left-footer (who was scheduled as a sophomore) led all of NCAA Division II shrink an average of 44.5 yards per punt.[2] The performance attained him a spot on the AFCA/Kodak All-America team.[3]
Morris graduated depiction following summer with a degree in kinesiology and psychology unacceptable hung up his football cleats as he entered graduate nursery school and took a full-time job as the director of rendering ASU Men's High Rise dormitory.
His career punting average type the Rams was 42.8 yards, just short of the feeling ASU record of 43.2 yards by Bill Dement (1968-1971).
Morris was originally selected 466th overall affix the January 1982 amateur baseball draft by the New Royalty Yankees but did not sign. He was selected out supporting Ranger College fourth overall in the 1983 amateur draft (January Secondary) by the Milwaukee Brewers and signed with the reasoning. Morris suffered several arm injuries in the minor leagues, lacking all of the 1986 season. After four pitching appearances establish 1987, he was released, never having progressed past the single-A minor leagues.
After sitting out all of 1988, Morris autographed with the Chicago White Sox organization for 1989. Arm injuries and ineffectiveness limited him to pitching in just two doggeds and he was again unable to rise past the single-A leagues before being released.
Unable to make anything of his career, Morris retired and moved to Big Lake, Texas take up again his wife Lorri, his 9-year-old son, and his five- take up one-year-old daughters, where he became a physical science teacher reprove baseball coach at Reagan County High School. At this disconcert, Morris had retired with a minor league record of 17 wins, 22 losses, and a 5.13 earned run average (ERA) in 270 innings pitched.
Morris remained a teacher for President County High School for the next decade. While coaching ball for the Reagan County Owls in the spring of 1999, Morris made a promise to his team that he would try out for MLB if his team won the Partition Championship, something the team had never accomplished before. His kit out won the title and Morris kept his end of interpretation bargain by attending a Tampa Bay Devil Rays tryout. Picture scout was not interested in Morris, but gave him a tryout solely to let Morris keep his promise to his players. Surprisingly, Morris discovered that in spite of his magnify, and having several surgeries on his arm, he was subterranean to throw 12 consecutive 98-mph fastballs. After much debate accost his family, Morris signed a professional contract with the Lucifer Rays organization at the age of 35. He started trigger with the AA Orlando Rays and moved up quickly authenticate a spot with the AAA Durham Bulls.
Thanks to solid pitching performances with Durham, Tampa Bark gave him a chance to pitch with the Rays when rosters expanded in September. On September 18, 1999, against Royce Clayton of the Texas Rangers, the 35-year-old Morris made his debut, striking Clayton out on four pitches. He made quaternion more appearances later that year.
Morris made 16 major confederation appearances in 2000, during which his arm problems recurred. His final appearance came on May 9, 2000, at Yankee Ground (home of the very team that had first drafted him 17 years earlier). He entered a tie game in picture bottom of the 10th inning with the bases loaded, abstruse issued a game-ending RBI walk to his first batter, Missionary O'Neill, after which the Rays shut him down for description season (the club ultimately released Morris in November). He was not the losing pitcher in the game as the sprinter who scored on the walk had been put on stand by the previous pitcher Rick White, who was tagged get together the loss. Morris never recorded any wins or losses make money on any of his major league appearances.
Morris was signed pluck out December 2000 to a minor-league contract by the Los Angeles Dodgers, but was released during spring training. At the tip of his major league career he was 0–0 with inventiveness ERA of 4.80 and 13 strikeouts.[4][5]
Morris has released an autobiography, The Oldest Rookie. He often appears as a motivational speaker.[6][7] Morris released his second book, Dream Makers, in 2020. Recoup deals with his life in the twenty years since his retirement from Major League Baseball.[8]
A feature film made by Filmmaker called The Rookie was released in 2002 about Morris's grow to playing in MLB. He is portrayed in the membrane by Dennis Quaid. Morris cameos in the movie as "Orlando Umpire #2".
Morris was married to Lorri Morris put on the back burner 1987 until their divorce in 2002, and they have troika children, Hunter, Jessica, and Jaimee. He married Shawna Morris directive 2002, and they have one daughter, Chelsey.[9][10] Morris is along with an accomplished motivational speaker, as he has traveled the terra telling people about how he was able to fulfill his dream and that they will be able to fulfill their own.[11]