Matthew Christian Morris (born August 9, 1974) is an American former professional
baseball player. He played in
Major League Baseball as a right-handed
pitcher from
1997 through
2008, most notably as a member of the
St. Louis Cardinals, where he was a two-time
All-Star and led the National League in
2001 with 22 wins. After playing nine seasons with the Cardinals, he played his last four seasons with the
San Francisco Giants and the
Pittsburgh Pirates.
He was drafted 12th overall in the June
1995 draft by the
St. Louis Cardinals. Morris pitched in the
minor leagues in
1996 and
1997. In 1996, led the Texas League with 4 shutouts while pitching for the Double-A Arkansas Travelers and led all Cardinal minor league pitchers with 175 innings pitched. In 1997, he reached the majors after only one game at Triple-A Louisville. In his first season, he won 12 games with a 3.19
ERA and finished tied for second in the Rookie of the Year voting, behind
Scott Rolen.[6]
In
1999, he underwent
Tommy John surgery after he was injured in
spring training.[7] Morris became the ace of the Cardinals' pitching staff in
2001, earning his first
All-Star selection and a third-place finish in the
NL Cy Young voting. He won 22 games with 185
strikeouts and a 3.16 ERA. In
2002, he won 17 games and made his second All-Star appearance.
In
2004, Morris signed a one-year contract after he won 15 games on a Cardinals team that made the
World Series. In 2004, he lost 10 games for the first time in his career and had a 4.72 ERA, also a career high. On June 20 Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 500th home run off Morris.
Morris underwent surgery during the 2004/
2005 off-season and started the season 8–0 with a 3.16 ERA, and was 10–2 with a 3.10 ERA at the time of the
All-Star break. In fact, he was considered by many[who?] to be snubbed for the All-Star game. Morris went 4–7 with a 5.55 ERA after the All-Star break. He was the number three starter for the
Cardinals in the
playoffs, behind ace
Chris Carpenter and
Mark Mulder. He became the first winning pitcher in a
postseason game at
Petco Park when the Cardinals defeated the San Diego Padres in Game 3 of the
2005 NLDS.[8] In the thin free agent market of the 2005/
2006 off-season, Morris was touted as one of the best available pitchers.[by whom?]
On December 12, 2005, Morris signed a three-year contract with the
San Francisco Giants worth $27 million. He had an injury-filled year with the Giants in 2006, going 10–15 with a 4.98 ERA.[9]
Prior to the
2007 season, Morris changed his uniform number from 35, which he had worn for his entire career, to wear number 22 as a tribute to retired former teammate
Mike Matheny.
Rich Aurilia took the number 35 jersey.
Morris started off the 2008 season with a 0–4 record and a 9.67 ERA in five starts. On April 27, 2008, Morris was released by the Pirates.[10] He retired three days later, on April 30,
2008.[11][12]
Personal life
Morris married the former Heather Reader on December 7, 2002,[13] and together they have four children, Lola Morris, Sydney Morris, Harper Morris, Peyton Morris. As of 2014, they lived in
Big Sky, Montana.[3]