José Guillermo Morales (born February 20, 1983) is a former Puerto Rican professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

. He played stints 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) with the Minnesota Twins and Colorado Rockies between 2007 and 2011. He played for the Camden Riversharks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.

Early life

Morales grew up in Puerto Rico. He attended high school at Academia de Providencia in

Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

. Morales was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 3rd round (77th overall) of the 2001 Major League Baseball Draft. Going into the draft, Baseball America wrote that "Morales has solid tools across the board for a shortstop, except for his speed... On the positive side, he's a switch-hitter who can handle the bat. Defensively, he has a strong arm and dependable hands."

Professional career

Minnesota Twins

From to , Morales played for the

GCL Twins The Florida Complex League Twins are the Rookie-level affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays in Fort Myers, Florida, at the Lee County Sports Complex. Prior to 2021, t ...

. He mainly played second base. In , Morales was converted to catcher and played for two Single-A teams, the

Quad City River Bandits Quad as a word or prefix usually means 'four'. It may refer to: Government * Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, a strategic security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States * Quadrilateral group, an informal group which in ...

and the

Fort Myers Miracle The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Fort Myers, Florida, and play their home games at the Lee County Sports Complex at H ...

. Baseball America ranked Morales the 28th best prospect in the Twins organization after the 2003 season. In , Morales had a breakout minor league season. Playing for the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings, he played in 108 games and batted .311 with 2

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 and 37 RBI. He was named to the International League midseason and postseason All-Star teams. On September 6, 2007, with

Joe Mauer Joseph Patrick Mauer (born April 19, 1983) is an American former professional baseball catcher and first baseman, who spent his entire 15-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Minnesota Twins. A six-time All-Star, Mauer is the only c ...

and

Mike Redmond Michael Patrick Redmond (born May 5, 1971) is an American former professional baseball catcher and manager. He is currently the bench coach for the Colorado Rockies. He played for 13 seasons in Major League Baseball with the Florida Marlins, ...

banged up, his contract was purchased by the big league club. On September 8, 2007, Morales made his major league debut against the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

. In the second inning, he collected his first major league hit, which was a

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, against

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 ...

. In the third inning, he collected his second major league hit, which was a

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

and would eventually score. In the fifth inning, he collected his third major league hit, which was once again a single. Two batters later,

Jason Tyner Jason Renyt Tyner (born April 23, 1977) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. His MLB career spanned nine seasons from 2000 through 2008 for the New York Mets (2000), Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2000-2003), Minnesota Twins (2005-2007), and Cleve ...

laid down a bunt single. When Morales was running towards second base, he lost his footing and injured his left ankle. Chris Heintz then pinch ran for Morales. The next day, the Twins purchased the contract of Matt LeCroy and placed Morales on the 60-day DL, thus ending his 2007 season. He ended the 2007 season having played just 1 game, batted 1.000 (3-3), and scored a run. In 2008, Morales was hitting .315 with the Red Wings before going on the disabled list again June 12 with a sprained left ankle. In 2009, Morales made the Twins opening day roster due to an injury to starting catcher

. During Mauer's absence, Morales split catching duties with backup catcher

. Morales finished the year batting .311 (37-119), which contributed to the team's decision to not bring back Redmond for 2010. Morales had surgery on his right wrist in January 2010, and was expected to be out until mid-March 2010. On September 22, 2010, Morales played first base for the first time in this career. In that game he made couple of nice plays on defense and went 3 for 4 with 3 RBIs.

Colorado Rockies

Jose Morales and umpire Sugar Land July 2014

On December 16, 2010, he was traded to the Colorado Rockies for minor leaguer Paul Bargas. He appeared in 22 games for the Rockies in 2011, hitting .267. In June 2011, he was placed on the 60-day disabled list with a broken thumb after he was hit with a foul ball.

Pittsburgh Pirates

He signed a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates for the 2012 season. Morales played for Triple-A Indianapolis, where in 58 games, he hit .266/.360/.335 with 31 RBI. In November 2012, Morales elected free agency.

Chicago Cubs

On April 20, 2013, Morales signed a minor league deal with the Chicago Cubs. After playing for the

AZL Cubs The Arizona Complex League Cubs are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays it home games at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona. The team is composed mainly of player ...

, he was released on June 27.

Camden Riversharks

Morales plays catcher for the Camden Riversharks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball in 2014.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morales, Jose 1983 births Living people Minnesota Twins players Colorado Rockies players Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Gulf Coast Twins players Fort Myers Miracle players Quad Cities River Bandits players New Britain Rock Cats players People from Río Piedras, Puerto Rico Rochester Red Wings players Indianapolis Indians players Camden Riversharks players Cangrejeros de Santurce (baseball) players Long Island Ducks players Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente catchers