Avery Bryan Morris (born March 28, 1987) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

and

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

Early life

Morris was born in Woodbury, TN. He attended

Tullahoma High School Tullahoma High School is a public high school located in Tullahoma, Coffee County, Tennessee. It is operated by the Tullahoma City Schools. Campus The current high school in Tullahoma was established on the North Jackson Street campus in 195 ...

and

Motlow State Community College Motlow State Community College is a Public college, public community college with multiple locations in southern Middle Tennessee. The main campus opened its facilities in 1969 and is located in Moore County, Tennessee, Moore County on 187 acres ...

Professional career

Morris was drafted by the

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home venu ...

in the third round of the

2005 Major League Baseball Draft The 2005 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 7 and 8. It was conducted via conference call with representatives from each of the league's 30 teams. It is widely considered to be one of the best ...

, but he did not sign with Devil Rays. He re-entered the draft and was chosen again in the first round, 26th overall, in the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft, by the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

. Morris is currently represented by Jim Kuzmich, a sports and entertainment attorney located in Gilbert, Arizona.

Los Angeles Dodgers

In 2006, Morris played for the Dodgers affiliate, the

Ogden Raptors The Ogden Raptors are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Ogden, Utah and play their home games at Lindquist Field. Pitche ...

of the Pioneer League He was voted by ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

'' as the top prospect for entire rookie-level Pioneer League. He missed the entire 2007 season recovering from

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

. In 2008, Morris played for the Dodgers Single A affiliate, the

Great Lakes Loons The Great Lakes Loons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Midland, Michigan, and play their home games at Dow Diamond, which opened in April 2007. Histor ...

of the

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

. In July 2008, he was traded to the

, as part of the three team trade that sent

Jason Bay Jason Raymond Bay (born September 20, 1978) is a Canadian-American former professional baseball left fielder. Bay played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, New York Mets and Seattle Marine ...

to the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

and

Manny Ramirez Manuel Arístides Ramírez Onelcida (born May 30, 1972) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for parts of 19 seasons. He played with the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Lo ...

to the Dodgers.

Pittsburgh Pirates

In July 2008, he was traded to the

, as part of the three team trade that sent

to the

and

to the Dodgers. Morris was considered the key prospect the Pirates received in the trade. He was immediately assigned to the Pirates then-single A affiliate, the

Hickory Crawdads The Hickory Crawdads are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League (SAL) and the High-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Hickory, North Carolina, and play their home games at L. P. Frans Stadium, which opened i ...

of the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

. In 2009, Morris was assigned to the

Lynchburg Hillcats The Lynchburg Hillcats are a Minor League Baseball team in Lynchburg, Virginia that plays in the Carolina League and is the Single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves from 2011 to 2014, the Cincinna ...

, the Pirates' single A affiliate from 1995 to 2009. While in Lynchburg, he posted a 4–9 record with a 5.57 ERA in 15 starts after spending 58 days on the disabled list with tendonitis in his right shoulder. During the Hillcats first-round playoff game for the

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

title, he was the winning pitcher in Game 5 of the best-of-five series against

Wilmington Blue Rocks The Wilmington Blue Rocks are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Wilmington, Delaware, and play their home games at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. ...

. The Pirates suspended Morris in August 2009 for "unprofessionalism" after arguing umpire calls. Despite the struggles, the Pirates added Morris to the 40 man roster after the 2009 season to protect him from the 2009 Rule 5 Draft. In 2010, the Pirates and

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

swapped minor league franchises. As a result, the Reds took control of the Hillcats, while the Pirates received Cincinnati's

Sarasota Reds The Sarasota Reds were a professional minor league baseball team, located in Sarasota, Florida, as a member of the Florida State League. However team originally started play in Sarasota as the Sarasota White Sox in 1989. They remained in the city ...

. The Pirates then moved Sarasota's operations to nearby

Bradenton Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698. History Late 18th and early 19th centuries A settlement established by Maroons or escaped sl ...

, where the club was renamed the

Bradenton Marauders The Bradenton Marauders are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Bradenton, Florida, and play their home games at LECOM Park, which also serves as th ...

. On April 8, 2010, Morris was the

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years ...

starting pitcher for the Marauders in their inaugural game. In eight starts for Bradenton, Morris posted a 3–0 record and a 0.60 ERA, the lowest among starters in all of

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

baseball. He also limited opposing hitters to a .220 batting average while walking seven and striking out 40 in 44 innings. On May 16, 2010, Morris became the first Marauder to get promoted, when he was called up to the Pirates Double A affiliate, the

Altoona Curve The Altoona Curve are a Minor League Baseball team based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, named after nearby Horseshoe Curve (but also alluding to the curveball, a type of pitch). The team plays in the Eastern League and is the Double-A affiliate of the ...

. The

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the All ...

later reported that Pirates general manager

Neal Huntington Neal Alden Huntington (born February 4, 1969) is the former General Manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball and currently works in the front office of the Cleveland Guardians. Background A native of Amherst, New Hampshire, Hunt ...

, stated that Morris had a chance to land with Pittsburgh's Triple-A affiliate, the

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...

, by August "if he can sustain what he's doing." However, he was benched in Altoona by mid-season. After throwing 103 innings, he had shown signs of fatigue. The Pirates management wanted to limit Morris to around 130 innings. Pirates' GM, Neal Huntington stated that "Rather than limit his innings each start ... we felt it was good to take a couple starts off, tweak his delivery and then get him back out there." Huntington also added that he expects Morris to pitch again in 2010. Morris had a largely successful year in 2010. He stayed healthy for the entire season and threw for a career-high 133 innings. In an interview with

MLB.com MLB.com is the official site of Major League Baseball and is overseen by Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P. (a subsidiary of MLB). MLB.com is a source of baseball-related information, including baseball news, statistics, and sports column ...

, Morris stated that he talks to other pitchers for valuable tips on throwing, like most other young pitchers do, however he also talks a lot with catchers for their perspective on how they attack hitters. Morris attended the Pirates spring training camp in 2011, however he was reassigned to the Curve. He was ranked #6 on the

Pirates Top 10 Prospects list going into the 2011 season. However, Morris struggled as a starting pitcher with Altoona and was converted to relief. Morris became a dominating reliever, although he spent the entire 2011 season in Double-A, which, combined with his move to the bullpen, made his 2011 season very disappointing. Morris began the 2012 season in the bullpen of the Triple-A

. He was recalled to the

for the first time on June 24, 2012. However, Morris did not have the opportunity to make his Major League debut, as he was optioned back to Indianapolis on June 25, 2012. He was recalled by the Pirates on September 10, 2012. On September 14, 2012, he made his major league debut, pitching a scoreless inning against the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

. Morris was recalled by the Pirates on May 28, 2013 when

José Contreras José Ariel Contreras Camejo (born December 6, 1971), is a Cuban former professional baseball pitcher, who played in the Cuban National Series (CNS), Major League Baseball (MLB), and internationally for the Cuban national baseball team. Contr ...

was placed on the disabled list. On June 20, 2013, Morris got his first career base hit off

pitcher

Alfredo Simón Alfredo Simón Cabrera, also known as The Big Pasta, (born May 8, 1981) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers and Cincinnati Reds. From 2001 thr ...

Miami Marlins

On June 1, 2014, Morris was traded to the

in exchange for the 39th overall pick in the Supplemental

2014 MLB Draft The 2014 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June ...

San Francisco Giants

In January 2017 Morris signed a minor league deal with the

for the 2017 season. He had his contract purchased on April 30, 2017. Morris pitched to a 6.43 ERA in 21 innings for the Giants. He elected free agency on June 26.

Retirement

On July 29, 2017, Morris agreed to be the pitching coach at

for the baseball team, the same school that he graduated from in 2005.

References

External links

* *
''Motlow College Baseball All-Time Records''''Morris realizes his dream in debut''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Bryan 1987 births Living people People from Tullahoma, Tennessee Baseball players from Tennessee Major League Baseball pitchers Pittsburgh Pirates players Miami Marlins players San Francisco Giants players Ogden Raptors players Great Lakes Loons players Hickory Crawdads players Lynchburg Hillcats players Bradenton Marauders players Altoona Curve players Indianapolis Indians players Jupiter Hammerheads players Jacksonville Suns players Gulf Coast Marlins players Sacramento River Cats players San Jose Giants players People from McMinnville, Tennessee Motlow State Bucks baseball players