Colin Richard Moran (born October 1, 1992) is an American

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 ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

who is currently a free agent. He has previously played in MLB for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

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 ...

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 ...

. Moran attended the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

North Carolina Tar Heels baseball The North Carolina Tar Heels baseball team, commonly referred to as Carolina, represents the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in NCAA Division I college baseball. They compete in the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. ...

team. In his freshman season, he was named Freshman of the Year and was the only freshman named to the

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

team. After his junior year, the

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 ...

selected Moran with the sixth overall selection of the

2013 Major League Baseball draft The 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in ...

. They traded him to the Astros the next season. The Astros promoted Moran to the major leagues in 2016. The Astros traded him to the Pirates in a package for

Gerrit Cole Gerrit Alan Cole (born September 8, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros. Cole played for the baseball team ...

on January 13, 2018.

Amateur career

Moran attended

Iona Preparatory School Iona Preparatory School, or simply Iona Prep, is an independent, Roman Catholic, all-male, college-preparatory school located in the north end of New Rochelle, New York, in suburban Westchester County. It consists of the Upper School for Grade ...

New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state of ...

. Undrafted out of high school, he chose to attend the

(UNC) to play

for the

team in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

(ACC). In his freshman year, he led the Tar Heels with a .335

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

, .442

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

, .540

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player, ...

, nine

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s, 71

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

and 20 doubles. Moran was named to the

National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) is an association of baseball writers, broadcasters, and publicists in the United States. It was founded in 1962. The NCBWA compiles a preseason ranking of the top 35 teams in the nati ...

Freshman

team, ACC Freshman of the Year, and ''

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 ...

'' Freshman of the Year. Moran was named a ''Baseball America'' All-American, the only freshman to earn the honor. North Carolina 3B Colin Moran about to swing away (cropped)

North Carolina 3B Colin Moran about to swing away (cropped)

Despite an injury shortened sophomore season, Moran again led the Tar Heels with a .365 average and 35 RBIs. Moran followed the injury plagued season by being selected as a second team All America by

Louisville Slugger Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

, ACC player of the year, and a finalist for the

Golden Spikes Award The Golden Spikes Award is bestowed annually to the best amateur baseball player in the United States. The award, created by USA Baseball and sponsored by the Major League Baseball Players Association, was first presented in 1978. It is given to ...

while setting a single season RBI record for UNC, with 86 runs batted in. In 2011 and 2012, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Bourne Braves The Bourne Braves are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Bourne, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Braves play their home games at Doran Park on the c ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

, and was named a league all-star in both seasons. Moran led the Tar Heels in 2013 with 13 home runs, along with a .544 slugging percentage, and a .470 on-base percentage.

Professional career

Miami Marlins

The

selected Moran in the first round, with the sixth overall selection, of the

2013 MLB draft The 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in ...

. Moran signed with the Marlins, receiving a $3.5 million

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

. He hit a home run in his first professional at-bat, as a member of the

Greensboro Grasshoppers The Greensboro Grasshoppers are a Minor League Baseball team based in Greensboro, North Carolina. They are members of the South Atlantic League and are the High-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They play their home games at First National ...

of the Class A

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 ...

. He spent all of his first professional season with Greensboro, batting .299 with four home runs and 23 RBIs in 42 games. Attending

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

in 2014, Moran sprained the

medial collateral ligament The medial collateral ligament (MCL), or tibial collateral ligament (TCL), is one of the four major ligaments of the knee. It is on the medial (inner) side of the knee joint in humans and other primates. Its primary function is to resist out ...

in his left knee. He began the 2014 season on the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

before being assigned to the Marlins' Class A Advanced affiliate

Jupiter Hammerheads The Jupiter Hammerheads are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in the town of Jupiter, Florida, Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home game ...

, in the

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

Houston Astros

Colin Moran swings during 2015 spring training

On July 31, 2014, the Marlins traded Moran,

Jake Marisnick Jacob Shawn Marisnick (born March 30, 1991) is an American professional baseball outfielder in the Chicago White Sox organization. He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago Cubs, Miami Marlins, Houston Astros, New York Mets, San Diego Padr ...

, Francis Martes, and a compensatory draft pick to the

for

Jarred Cosart Jarred Lynn Cosart (born May 25, 1990) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Miami Marlins and San Diego Padres. Career Cosart attended Clear Creek High School (Leagu ...

, Enrique Hernández, and Austin Wates. The Astros assigned Moran to the

Corpus Christi Hooks The Corpus Christi Hooks are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Corpus Christi, Texas, and are named for the city's association with fishing. The team is owned by ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

. In 117 games between Jupiter and Corpus Christi, he batted .296/.344/.397 with seven home runs and 55 RBIs. Colin Moran in Houston in Jan 2015

The Astros invited Moran to spring training in 2015. He began the season back with Corpus Christi. In May 2015, a throw hit Moran in the face that fractured his jaw, requiring surgery. He was activated later in the month, but was placed back on the disabled list on June 12. He was activated June 21. In 96 games for the Hooks, he slashed .306/.381/.459 with nine home runs and 67 RBIs. Moran opened the 2016 season with the

Fresno Grizzlies The Fresno Grizzlies are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They are located in Fresno, California, and play their home games at Chukchansi Park, which was opened in 2002 in do ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL ...

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

. The Astros promoted him to the major leagues on May 17. Moran batted 2-for-19 (.105) before he was

optioned In the film industry, an option is a contractual agreement pertaining to film rights between a potential film producer (such as a movie studio, a production company, or an individual) and the author of source material, such as a book, play, or s ...

back to Fresno. He began the 2017 season with Fresno and was promoted to the major leagues on July 18. Moran would play nine games with the Astros in 2016, compiling a .130 average and 2 RBIs. In 117 games for Fresno, he batted .259 with ten home runs and 69 RBIs. Moran began 2017 with Fresno. He was recalled by the Astros on July 18. On July 22, Moran was injured in the sixth inning when he fouled an inside pitch from Orioles reliever

Darren O'Day Darren Christopher O'Day (born October 22, 1982) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, New York Mets, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Oriole ...

straight up and into the left area of his eye. Moran went down to the ground and grabbed his face, which had started to bleed. After a lengthy time down on the field with athletic trainers—including a brief moment where he attempted to stand up but couldn't – he was carted off the field. Moran suffered a facial fracture from the foul ball, and was placed on the 10-day disabled list. The Astros finished the 2017 season with a 101–61 record and won the

2017 World Series The 2017 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2017 season. The 113th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National League (NL) champion Los Angeles Dodgers and the ...

. Moran did not play in the playoffs, but won his first championship as he was still on the team's 40-man roster at the time. In nine games for Houston, he batted .364 with one home run and three RBIs, and in 79 games for Fresno, he posted a .308 batting average with 18 home runs and 63 RBIs.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On January 13, 2018, the Astros traded Moran,

Joe Musgrove Joseph Anthony Musgrove (born December 4, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played within the Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros, and Pittsburgh Pirates organ ...

, Michael Feliz, and Jason Martin to the

for

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 ...

ranked Moran as Pittsburgh's eighth best prospect going into the 2018 season. After the trade, Moran was named Pittsburgh's starting third baseman. During the Pirates home opener on April 2, 2018, in his first at-bat for the Pirates at

PNC Park PNC Park is a baseball stadium on the North Shore (Pittsburgh), North Shore of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the fifth home of the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). It was opened during the 2001 Major League Baseball season, ...

, Moran hit his first career

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

off of

Lance Lynn Michael Lance Lynn (born May 12, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees, and Texas Rangers. ...

. Moran finished his 2018 campaign slashing .277/.340/.407 with 11 home runs and 58 RBIs in 144 games. In a game against the

on September 5, 2019, Moran faced his older brother

Brian Moran Brian Joseph Moran (born September 9, 1959) is an American politician and a member of the Democratic Party. He served as Virginia Secretary of Public Safety from 2014 to 2022, and was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1996 until 2 ...

in Brian's major league debut. He ended up striking out on a full-count slider against Brian. In the

pandemic A pandemic () is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. A widespread endemic (epidemiology), endemic disease wi ...

shortened 2020 season, Moran led the Pirates in total bases (84), home runs (10), and tied for first in RBI (23), slashing .247/.325/.472. After the 2021 season, the Pirates designated Moran for assignment. On November 30, Moran was non-tendered by the Pirates, making him a free agent.

Cincinnati Reds

On March 17, 2022, Moran officially signed a one-year contract with the

. He was sent outright to Triple-A on June 29. On September 6, Moran was designated for assignment and was released on September 8.

Personal life

Moran's brother,

, is a professional baseball

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 ...

. His uncles,

Rich Rich may refer to: Common uses * Rich, an entity possessing wealth * Rich, an intense flavor, color, sound, texture, or feeling ** Rich (wine), a descriptor in wine tasting Places United States * Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated commun ...

and

B. J. Surhoff William James "B. J." Surhoff (born August 4, 1964) is an American former catcher, outfielder, first baseman, third baseman, and designated hitter in Major League Baseball (MLB). Over his 18-year MLB career, he played every position except pitcher ...

, 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), ...

. His grandfather,

Dick Surhoff Richard Clifford Surhoff Jr. (November 16, 1929 – May 1, 1987) was an American professional basketball player.Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

References

External links

North Carolina bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moran, Colin 1992 births Living people People from Port Chester, New York Sportspeople from Westchester County, New York Baseball players from New York (state) Iona Preparatory School alumni All-American college baseball players Major League Baseball third basemen Houston Astros players Pittsburgh Pirates players Cincinnati Reds players North Carolina Tar Heels baseball players Bourne Braves players Greensboro Grasshoppers players Jupiter Hammerheads players Quad Cities River Bandits players Corpus Christi Hooks players Fresno Grizzlies players Indianapolis Indians players