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Justin Morneau
0923 398c Justin Morneau.jpg
Morneau con los Minnesota Twins en 2006
Primera base
Nacimiento: 15 de mayo de 1981 (39 años) New Westminster , Columbia Británica , Canadá (1981-05-15)
Batted: IzquierdaLanzó: Derecha
Debut en la MLB
10 de junio de 2003 para los Mellizos de Minnesota
Última aparición en la MLB
2 de octubre de 2016 para los Medias Blancas de Chicago
Estadísticas de MLB
Promedio de bateo.281
Jonrones247
Carreras impulsadas985
Equipos
Destacados y premios de la carrera
Miembro entrante de la canadiense
Salón de la Fama del Béisbol
Inducción2020

Justin Ernest George Morneau (nacido el 15 de mayo de 1981) es un ex primera base canadiense de béisbol profesional . Jugó en las Grandes Ligas de Béisbol (MLB) para los Mellizos de Minnesota , los Piratas de Pittsburgh , los Rockies de Colorado y los Medias Blancas de Chicago . Con 6 pies y 4 pulgadas (1,93 m) y 220 libras (100 kg), Morneau fue seleccionado como receptor por los Mellizos en 1999. Se convirtió a primera base en las ligas menores e hizo su debut en la MLB en 2003. Morneau ocupó esa posición. a lo largo de su carrera y en 2007 se convirtió en el primer Twin desde Gary Gaetti en 1987-1988 en conectar 30 jonrones en temporadas consecutivas.

Cuatro veces All-Star a pesar de una carrera plagada de lesiones, Morneau fue nombrado Jugador Más Valioso (MVP) de la Liga Americana (AL) 2006 , terminó subcampeón de MVP en 2008 y ganó dos Premios Silver Slugger . Además, Morneau ganó el Home Run Derby de 2008 y el título de bateo de la Liga Nacional (LN) de 2014 . A nivel internacional, Morneau representó a Canadá en el Clásico Mundial de Béisbol de 2006, 2009, 2013 y 2017 . Actualmente se desempeña como asistente especial en la oficina principal de los Twins, así como como comentarista de color para el equipo en Bally Sports North .

Primeros años [ editar ]

Morneau es el hijo menor de George Morneau, entrenador de bateo de muchos equipos de softbol y béisbol, trabajador de cuidado de niños y dueño de una tienda de artículos deportivos. Su madre Audra Chartrand es maestra de escuela primaria y ex jugadora de softbol de lanzamiento rápido . Justin tiene un hermano mayor, Geordie. Su padre una vez jugó hockey para los Brandon Wheat Kings y asistió al campo de entrenamiento de las Minnesota North Stars .

Morneau creció en New Westminster , Columbia Británica , la histórica "Ciudad Real", adyacente a Vancouver , donde jugó hockey para el equipo menor local, los New Westminster Royals, y emergió como un portero estrella, jugando para equipos un año mayores que él era. También jugó béisbol en la New Westminster Minor Baseball Association y para los North Delta Blue Jays en la BC Premier Baseball League .

Morneau asistió a la escuela primaria Lord Tweedsmuir en New Westminster, luego se transfirió a la escuela primaria Richard McBride , donde su madre era maestra y entrenadora y donde se inscribió en un programa de inmersión en francés . Jugó baloncesto, voleibol y hockey con pelota en los equipos de la escuela.

Al crecer, Morneau era un ávido fanático de los deportes, cuyos atletas favoritos incluían a los jugadores de hockey Patrick Roy , Cam Neely (también nativo de la Columbia Británica) y Ray Bourque ; y los jugadores de béisbol John Olerud , Ken Griffey Jr , Jack Morris y Larry Walker . Su equipo favorito de la NHL eran los Boston Bruins , y su equipo favorito de la MLB eran los Toronto Blue Jays .

Morneau asistió a St. Thomas More Collegiate High School en 1994–95, durante su octavo año, donde jugó baloncesto. Los entrenadores se acercaron a él para jugar en el famoso programa de fútbol americano de la escuela, basándose en su habilidad atlética, pero él se negó.

Morneau se transfirió a la escuela secundaria de New Westminster y se graduó en 1999. Continuó jugando baloncesto y hockey mientras estaba en la escuela secundaria. Fue nombrado el Atleta del año de New Westminster High School y fue miembro de los equipos campeones nacionales de béisbol de Canadá en 1997 y 1998. En 1998, fue seleccionado el mejor bateador y receptor de los Campeonatos Nacionales jugando para el Equipo de Columbia Británica.

Morneau estaba asociado con los Portland Winter Hawks de la Western Hockey League ; asistió al campo de entrenamiento y jugó un partido de pretemporada de hockey Major Junior como portero. Morneau eligió su número de camiseta (33) para el portero Patrick Roy . Aparece como ganador de la Memorial Cup en 1998 con los Winter Hawks. Como dijo Morneau, "yo era el tercer portero. Un suplente del suplente. Si alguien se lesionaba, podría haber salido como suplente. Jugué en un partido de exhibición y respaldé algunos partidos de la temporada regular". [1] Morneau permaneció en la lista de jugadores protegidos de Portland hasta que decidió centrarse en el béisbol en lugar del hockey. Según el entrenador asistente de Winter Hawks en ese momento, Mike Williamson, "Era joven y crudo, un tipo grande que cubría gran parte de la red. Recuerdo una conversación que tuvimos con él cuando lo reclutamos. Le dijimos que debería ir a hockey porque no muchos canadienses terminan llegando muy lejos y haciéndolo muy bien en el béisbol. Él nos demostró lo contrario ". [2]

Carrera profesional [ editar ]

Jonrón para Morneau, Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome

Ligas menores [ editar ]

Morneau no asistió a la universidad, a pesar de recibir muchas ofertas atractivas de las escuelas de la NCAA. Fue seleccionado por los Mellizos en la 3ª ronda como la 89ª selección general del draft de entrada amateur de la MLB de 1999 . Se convirtió a primera base en 2001 mientras jugaba para los Clase A Quad Cities River Bandits . En seis temporadas de ligas menores, bateó .310 con 87 jonrones, 153 carreras impulsadas y 122 dobles.

Morneau participó en los All-Star Futures Games de 2002 y 2004 , jugando para los equipos mundiales. Morneau jugó para el equipo mundial en MLB Futures Game, el 7 de julio en Milwaukee . Morneau fue nombrado dos veces Jugador de la Semana de la Liga Este, del 22 al 28 de abril y del 15 al 21 de julio. El 3 de septiembre, Morneau fue ascendido al equipo Triple A de Minnesota, The Edmonton Trappers . Durante su primera temporada de Triple A, Morneau ganó el campeonato PCL con los Trappers.

Minnesota Twins (2003-2013) [ editar ]

Carrera temprana (2003-2005) [ editar ]

Morneau hizo su debut en las Grandes Ligas con los Mellizos el 10 de junio de 2003 contra los Rockies de Colorado , limpiando el bateo . Conectó un sencillo en el primer turno al bate de su carrera frente a Jason Jennings y se fue de 2 de 4 en el juego. Una semana después, conectó el primer jonrón de su carrera ante el relevista de los Kansas City Royals , Albie López . Morneau conectó cuatro jonrones en su temporada de novato mientras bateaba para .226. Pasó la mayor parte de la temporada con Rochester Red Wings, filial de Triple-A de los Mellizos .

En 2004, después de que Morneau compilara impresionantes números de ligas menores, los Mellizos traspasaron al primera base veterano Doug Mientkiewicz a los Medias Rojas de Boston y Morneau se convirtió en el primera base titular de los Mellizos. Apareció en 74 juegos para los Mellizos en 2004, bateando 19 jonrones y 58 carreras impulsadas en 280 turnos al bate mientras cometía solo tres errores.

La temporada 2005 fue una lucha para Morneau, ya que lidiaba con enfermedades fuera de temporada y también fue golpeado en la cabeza por un lanzamiento en abril. Aunque nunca pareció sacudirse por completo de sus reveses de principios de temporada, Morneau terminó la temporada 2005 segundo en jonrones con 22 en los Mellizos y lideró el equipo con 79 carreras impulsadas.

Dominancia (2006-2009) [ editar ]

During Morneau's first three seasons with the Twins, he wore #27. Starting in 2006, he wore #33 for the rest of his Twins career. After a slow start to 2006, Morneau exploded offensively in the months of June, July, and August, raising his batting average nearly 50 points in June after beginning the month hitting .240. He raised his average another 33 points in July and after June consistently appeared near the top of the American League leaderboard in batting average, home runs, and RBI. On August 9, Morneau became the first Twin since 1987 to hit 30 home runs in a single season. He finished the season hitting .321 (6th in the AL) and slugging .559 (6th in AL) with 34 home runs and 130 RBI. He was second in the league in RBIs and tied Larry Walker's 1997 total for the most RBIs in a season by a Canadian. For his hitting, he won the 2006 American League Silver Slugger Award representing first basemen. His efforts helped the Twins win their fourth division title in five years.

On November 21, 2006, Morneau won the American League Most Valuable Player Award in a close vote over Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees, becoming only the fourth player in Twins history (after Zoilo Versalles, Harmon Killebrew, and Rod Carew) to receive the honour. He became the first Canadian to win the AL MVP award, and the second Canadian to win a major league MVP award (Larry Walker was the first, having won the NL MVP Award in 1997; Walker and Morneau were joined in 2010 by Joey Votto).

In 2007, Morneau played in 157 games, hitting 31 home runs. In May 2007, Morneau won the Player of the Month in the American League for the first time in his career. Morneau appeared on the cover of the arcade baseball video game The Bigs in Canadian stores and at Best Buy stores in the United States. Morneau was named to the 2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game roster in 2007 for the first time. He also participated in the 2007 State Farm Home Run Derby for the first time. He was up first and hit 4 homers and ended up tying with Albert Pujols in the first round. He was subsequently eliminated with only one homer on 5 chances in a tie-off. Pujols advanced to the 2nd round with 2 homers. Morneau had his first career three home run game on July 6, 2007, against the Chicago White Sox. He had a solo, a 2-run, and a 3-run homer. He had an at bat to try for his fourth home run, but his bat got under the ball, and he flew out to deep left field.

In January 2008, Morneau agreed to a six-year contract worth $80 million, which at the time was the longest and richest contract in Minnesota Twins history until in 2010, teammate Joe Mauer signed an 8-year, $184 million contract.[3] Morneau produced with his new contract, as he played in all 162 of the Twins' games and hit .300 with 23 home runs and 129 RBI.[4]

On July 10, 2008, Morneau tied a career high with 5 hits in a game as the visiting Minnesota Twins defeated the Detroit Tigers. He hit what went on to be the game-winning home run to finish the day 5 for 5 with a walk in a 7–6 extra-innings win.[5] Morneau was then announced as a reserve player for the American League in the 2008 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.[6]

Morneau won the 2008 Home Run Derby, defeating Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers. He became the first Canadian to win the Home Run Derby.[7] Later during the All-Star event, Morneau scored the winning run for the American League in the MLB All Star Game at Yankee Stadium on a sacrifice fly to right field off the bat of Michael Young.[8] Morneau was awarded the Lionel Conacher Award as the Canadian Press Male Athlete of the Year, joining Ferguson Jenkins and Larry Walker as the only Major League Baseball players to win the award.[9] Morneau finished second in the balloting for AL MVP, as Dustin Pedroia won, and Kevin Youkilis came in third.[10]

In 2009, Morneau hit 30 home runs and was selected as a reserve position player at first base for the 2009 All Star Game. On September 14, Morneau was officially diagnosed with a stress fracture in his back after a long slump; he missed the rest of the 2009 season and the playoffs.[11]

Injuries and struggles (2010–2013)[edit]

Morneau got off to a strong start in the 2010 campaign, hitting a career first-half high .345 batting average and having a major-league leading .437 on-base percentage and .617 slugging percentage at the All-Star break. For the first time in his career, he was voted in by the fans to start the 2010 All-Star Game at first base, but ended up pulling out from the event after sustaining a concussion on July 7.[12]

Morneau missed the remainder of the 2010 regular season with the effects of post-concussion syndrome. After the Twins clinched the American League Central Division championship, Morneau said that he was finally symptom-free. Morneau said he would be unavailable for the ALDS, but that he hoped to be available for the ALCS should the Twins advance.[13] On October 4, 2010, the Twins announced that Morneau would not return for the 2010 season, regardless of how far the team went in the postseason.[14]

In 2011, the Twins were glad to see Morneau somewhat recovered from his season-ending concussion in the previous season. He was in the Opening Day starting line-up against the Toronto Blue Jays. This did not last long, though, as he missed five games with the flu later in April and a couple of games in June with a sore wrist. He underwent neck surgery in June to correct pinched nerves in his neck, causing him to miss two months from mid-June to mid-August. Just ten days later, he missed two games with a bruised foot. On August 29, 2011, Morneau suffered a left shoulder injury that would lead to mild concussion-like symptoms. These symptoms eventually led to Morneau missing the remainder of the season.[15] In 2011, Morneau appeared in just 69 games collecting just 60 hits, only four of them home runs. He batted a meager .227 with 19 walks and 30 RBI. All of the previous are career lows disregarding his rookie season.[16]

In 2012, Morneau returned as an everyday first baseman for the Twins. Appearing in 134 games, Morneau finished the season with a .257 batting average, 19 home runs and 77 RBI.[17]

In 2013, before being traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 31, Morneau played in 127 games for the Twins. He had nearly matched his total stats for 2012, batting .259 with 17 home runs and 74 RBI.[18]

Pittsburgh Pirates (2013)[edit]

On August 31, 2013, Morneau was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Alex Presley and a player to be named later,[19] who was later identified as Duke Welker on October 5, 2013.[20] On September 1, 2013 he made his debut with the Pirates, playing first base and wearing number 66. Morneau wore number 33 in Minnesota, but due to number being retired in Pittsburgh (in honor of Honus Wagner), he simply decided to double it.[21]

Colorado Rockies (2014–2015)[edit]

Morneau batting with the Colorado Rockies

On December 3, 2013, Morneau agreed to a two-year, $14 million deal with the Colorado Rockies, pending a physical.[22] The deal became official on December 13.[23] Morneau became the first Rockies player since Larry Walker to wear #33 as it had been out of circulation, but not retired for Walker since he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in 2004. Morneau went on to have a solid year in Colorado, batting .319 on the season and claiming the National League batting title. Morneau had a .310 batting average in 49 games with the Rockies in 2015.

Chicago White Sox (2016)[edit]

On June 9, 2016, Morneau signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the Chicago White Sox.[24] He was immediately placed on the 15-day disabled list, and was projected to return after the All-Star break.[25] Due to Zach Duke wearing number 33, Morneau decided to wear number 44 instead.

Career statistics[edit]

In 1545 games over 14 seasons, Morneau posted a .281 batting average (1603-for-5699) with 772 runs, 349 doubles, 23 triples, 247 home runs, 985 RBI, 573 bases on balls, .348 on-base percentage and .481 slugging percentage. He finished his career with a .996 fielding percentage playing at first base. In 13 postseason games, he hit .302 (16-for-53) with 8 runs, 4 doubles, 2 home runs and 4 RBI.

Front office and broadcasting[edit]

After playing for Canada in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, but spending the 2017 MLB Season as a free agent, Morneau took a job as a special assistant to the Minnesota Twins, functionally ending his playing career.[26] His current roles as special assistant include player drafting and development, spring training instruction, and community outreach.[27] He also serves as a television analyst for the Twins on Bally Sports North, becoming the team's primary analyst for the 2020 season.[28]

International career[edit]

Morneau was selected for the Canada national baseball team at the 2006 World Baseball Classic, 2009 World Baseball Classic, 2013 World Baseball Classic, 2017 World Baseball Classic and 2019 WBSC Premier12.[29]

Morneau was also selected for the MLB-All-Stars at the 2014 MLB Japan All-Star Series.[30]

Personal life[edit]

Baseball diamond #5 in Moody Park was named Justin Morneau Field in honor of Morneau on February 2, 2008.

Early childhood[edit]

Morneau's parents divorced when he was seven years old. His mother is a retired teacher and his father works in a warehouse. He has an older brother named Geordie. His mother remarried in 2006 and now Justin has two stepsisters.[31]

Marriage and family[edit]

Morneau married Minnesota native Krista Martin on January 10, 2009 at Landmark Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.[32] The couple has five children.[33]

Morneau purchased a house in his hometown of New Westminster. His house is just four blocks from Queen's Park, where he grew up playing hockey and baseball. As a homesick minor leaguer in Florida, he would log onto a Vancouver radio station online to hear the weather and traffic reports and wonder what his friends were up to back home.[31]

Morneau's family is well known in New Westminster. On February 2, 2008, the city honored him by renaming Moody Park Diamond #5 to Justin Morneau Field.[34] Morneau Field is located just 25 kilometres (16 mi) from a field named for one of Morneau's idols, Larry Walker Field, located in the nearby city of Maple Ridge.

Morneau is superstitious. For much of his career, he wore number 33 to honor his idol, former NHL goaltender Patrick Roy. As a young hockey player, he would refuse to leave the car for hockey games until the clock read :33 minutes past the hour.[31] (He actually appears as an Easter egg in the NHL video game, NHL 2K8, playing his junior position of goaltender.) Morneau had a superstitious routine on game days in Minnesota. Before each home game, Morneau stopped by the same Jimmy John's Gourmet Subs, on Grand Avenue in St. Paul, Minnesota and ordered the same sandwich from the menu: Turkey Tom with no sprouts. Later, he drank a slurpee from a slurpee machine in the Twins' clubhouse made of one-half Mountain Dew, one-half red or orange flavor.[31]

The Justin Morneau Foundation was established by Morneau himself and his wife, Krista, to support underprivileged communities with an emphasis on those where the Morneaus have lived.

Over a span of four years, (2008–2011) Morneau mailed more than 200 personalized holiday gifts to Twins employees, including the Target Field grounds crew.[35]

See also[edit]

  • List of Major League Baseball players from Canada
  • List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders

References[edit]

  1. ^ Answer Man: Justin Morneau talks hockey, middle names – Big League Stew – MLB – Yahoo! Sports
  2. ^ James Mirtle (November 29, 2006). "Could Morneau have made it in hockey?".
  3. ^ "The Official Site of The Minnesota Twins: News: Morneau, Cuddyer ink multiyear deals". Archived from the original on January 29, 2008. Retrieved February 16, 2008.
  4. ^ "Minnesota Twins Stats — Sortable Statistics". MLB.com. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  5. ^ [1][dead link]
  6. ^ "Mauer earns first All-Star Game start | twinsbaseball.com: News". Archived from the original on November 11, 2013. Retrieved July 7, 2008.
  7. ^ "Morneau steals show to rule Derby | twinsbaseball.com: News". Archived from the original on July 18, 2008. Retrieved July 15, 2008.
  8. ^ "Morneau's mad dash pays off | twinsbaseball.com: News". Archived from the original on April 6, 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2008.
  9. ^ "Twins' Justin Morneau named Canadian male athlete of the year". The Sports Network.
  10. ^ Browne, Ian (November 18, 2008). "Youkilis finishes third in AL MVP race". MLB.com.
  11. ^ "Morneau's season ends with back injury". MLB.com. Archived from the original on April 6, 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  12. ^ "Minnesota Twins' Justin Morneau to Miss All-Star Game". FOX Sports. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  13. ^ "Morneau takes BP, may aim for ALCS return". Major League Baseball. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  14. ^ "Twins announce end to Morneau's season | twinsbaseball.com: News". Minnesota Twins. MLB. May 24, 2013. Archived from the original on April 6, 2012. Retrieved August 31, 2013.
  15. ^ "Fantasy Baseball News & Player Updates | MLB.com: Fantasy". Minnesota Twins. MLB. May 24, 2013. Retrieved August 31, 2013.
  16. ^ "Justin Morneau Stats, Video Highlights, Photos, Bio | twinsbaseball.com: Team". Minnesota Twins. MLB. May 24, 2013. Retrieved August 31, 2013.
  17. ^ "Justin Morneau News, Videos, Photos, and PodCasts – ESPN". Search.espn.go.com. Retrieved August 31, 2013.
  18. ^ "Justin Morneau 2013 Stats – Yahoo!Sports". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
  19. ^ Pirates Acquire Morneau
  20. ^ "CONFIRMED: Duke Welker IS the PTBNL In Justin Morneau Trade, Added to 40-Man Roster". Twinkie Town. October 5, 2013. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  21. ^ Souhan, Jim (September 4, 2013). "Morneau changes number". The Star Tribune. Twin Cities, Minnesota. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
  22. ^ "Colorado Rockies agree to deal with Justin Morneau". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  23. ^ "Justin Morneau signs with Rockies". ESPN.com. December 13, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  24. ^ Todd, Jeff (June 9, 2016). "White Sox Sign Justin Morneau". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved June 9, 2016.
  25. ^ "Chicago White Sox cut Mat Latos, sign Justin Morneau". Associated Press. July 9, 2016. Retrieved June 9, 2016.
  26. ^ Calcaterra, Craig (January 9, 2018). "Justin Morneau takes a job as a special assistant for the Twins". mlb.nbcsports.com. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  27. ^ "Minnesota Twins Broadcasters". mlb.com. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  28. ^ Rand, Michael (July 21, 2020). "Twins announce television schedule, with Justin Morneau getting the call as team's primary analyst". startribune.com. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  29. ^ "Baseball Canada reveals 2019 WBSC Premier12® roster". Baseball Canada. October 8, 2019. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  30. ^ Wagner, James (September 30, 2014). "Bryce Harper to play for MLB all-star team in Japan in November". Washington Post. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  31. ^ a b c d Olney, Buster (January 3, 2007). "After changing lifestyle, Morneau rose to prominence". ESPN The Magazine. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  32. ^ "Landmark Center Wedding by Olive Juice Studios in Rochester MN | Olive Juice Studios". olivejuicestudios.com. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  33. ^ "Justin Morneau was a Twins star 10 years ago when a slide changed everything". Minneapolis Star Tribune. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  34. ^ http://www.eteamz.com/newwestbaseball/images/JMF_Front_photo.jpg
  35. ^ Pioneer Press (December 15, 2011). "Charley Walters: Josh Willingham's former teammate says Twins will like new outfielder". TwinCities.com. Retrieved August 31, 2013.

External links[edit]

  • Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
Preceded by
Alex Rodriguez		 American League Player of the Month
May 2007		Succeeded by
Alex Rodriguez