Morris, "Jack" (John S.)
Baseball
b. May 16, 1955, St. Paul, MN
A battler who often won games despite a relatively high ERA, the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Morris holds the AL record for most consecutive starts with 492. A right-hander, he played for Brigham Young University before entering professional baseball in 1976.
Morris was with the AL's Detroit Tigers for 7 appearances in 1977 and was used mostly as a relief pitcher in 1978. After starting the 1979 season in the minor leagues, he re-joined the Tigers and had a 17-7 record.
In the strike-shortened 1981 season, Morris led the AL in victories with a 14-7 record. He helped lead the Tigers to the AL pennant in 1994, when he was 19-11, and he had a 2-0 record with a 2.00 ERA when the Tigers beat the San Diego Padres in a five-game World Series.
Morris led the AL with 6 shutouts and had a 21-8 record in 1986. He suffered arm trouble in 1989, when he was 6-14, and he became a free agent after a 15-18 record in 1990.
The Minnesota Twins signed him in 1991 and Morris rebounded with an 18-12 record. He was 2-0 in the AL championship series and 2-0 with a 1.17 ERA in Minnesota's seven-game World Series victory over the Atlanta Braves.
Morris joined the Toronto Blue Jays as a free agent in 1991. He led the league in victories with a 21-6 record despite a 4.04 ERA, but the following season he was only 7-12 and Toronto released him. He joined the Cleveland Indians in 1994 and was released once more shortly before the players went on strike that season.
After a brief comeback attempt with the Cincinnati Reds in 1995, Morris announced his retirement with the comment, "I don't want to be second-best, and I think I would have been."
However, he pitched in the minor leagues with the St. Paul Saints of the Northern League in 1996. He led the league with a 2.61 ERA even though he retired for good before the seasons ended.
A pioneer in using the split-finger fastball, Morris often fooled catchers as well as hitters with the pitch. He holds the American League record for most career wild pitches with 193.