Nyjer Morgan
Nyjer Morgan | |
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Milwaukee Brewers – No. 2 | |
Outfielder | |
Born: | July 2, 1980|
Bats: Left Throws: Left | |
debut | |
September 1, 2007, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
Career statistics (through June 9, 2011) | |
Batting average | .286 |
Home runs | 5 |
Runs batted in | 84 |
Stolen bases | 94 |
Teams | |
|
Nyjer Jamid Morgan (born July 2, 1980, in San Francisco) is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Milwaukee Brewers.
Morgan also played ice hockey, reaching the Major Junior level with the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League in 1999–2000.[1] Following that season, Morgan turned his focus exclusively to baseball and was drafted by the Pirates in the 33rd round of the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft.[2]
Major league career
Pittsburgh Pirates
2007
On September 1, 2007, Morgan made his major league debut for the Pirates against the Milwaukee Brewers as a late-season call-up. On September 17, 2007, Morgan made a catch in Minute Maid Park's center field that proved the difference in a 4-3 Pirates win. Houston Astros manager Cecil Cooper said of the catch "That's probably the best catch I've seen this year.".[3] The catch garnered references to Willie Mays' The Catch on SportsCenter the following day.[4] Morgan also showed his tools against the San Diego Padres on September 20, going 2 for 3 with a triple, two runs scored, two stolen bases, and an outfield assist throwing out Scott Hairston.[5] Morgan's first home run came September 25 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.[6]
2008
Morgan was expected to make the 2008 roster as the Pirates' starting center fielder, but lost the position battle to Nate McLouth during spring training.[7] After a poor start to the season, he was optioned to the Triple-A affiliate Indianapolis Indians. Morgan made several appearances for the Pirates, but spent most of his season in Indianapolis until a productive September call up to the parent club.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/Nyjer_Morgan_2009.jpg/280px-Nyjer_Morgan_2009.jpg)
2009
Morgan overcame an unimpressive spring training in 2009 to claim the job of starting left fielder.[citation needed] Building on his positive second half of 2008, he proved himself to be a defensively-gifted fan favorite, often referring to left field as "Morgantown" referencing Morgantown, West Virginia approximately 70 miles away.[citation needed]
Although he stole 42 bases in 2009, he was caught 17 times—tied for the most in the majors.[8]
Washington Nationals
On June 30, 2009, Morgan was traded to the Washington Nationals along with pitcher Sean Burnett in exchange for outfielder Lastings Milledge and pitcher Joel Hanrahan. Morgan fractured his hand sliding into third base on August 27, 2009, and was placed on the 15-day disabled list on August 28.[9] On July 22, 2010, Morgan became the first Nats player to steal three bases in one game.[10]
Incidents
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/63/9TH_Nyjer_Morgan.jpg/240px-9TH_Nyjer_Morgan.jpg)
On August 25, 2010, Morgan was given a seven game suspension for allegedly throwing a ball at a fan during a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park; Morgan appealed the suspension and was cleared of wrong doing.[11]
Just one week later, on September 1, 2010, Morgan was involved in an on-field altercation with Florida Marlins pitcher Chris Volstad. On the previous night Morgan ran into Marlins catcher Brett Hayes, separating Hayes' shoulder. On the following night Morgan was hit by a pitch in the 4th inning. Later that night Volstad threw behind Morgan. Incensed by the pitch, Morgan charged the mound, taking a swing at Volstad before being clotheslined by Marlins first-baseman Gaby Sanchez, leading to a bench clearing brawl. [12] MLB gave Morgan an eight-game suspension and an undisclosed fine as a result of his actions.[13] The suspension from the September 1, brawl was upheld and Morgan started serving his eight game suspension on September 17. The league also gave him a $15,000 fine in addition to the eight game suspension. The incident came just days after Morgan ran into St. Louis Cardinals backup catcher Bryan Anderson in spite of the fact that the Cardinals catcher didn't have the ball and had stepped away from the plate.[14]
Morgan was involved in an incident on May 22, 2010 in which he let a drive by Baltimore's Adam Jones pop out of his glove, and instead of picking it up and getting it back into the infield as quickly as possible, Morgan instead decided to spike his glove in anger, while stomping away from the ball. Jones circled the bases for an inside the park home run. Morgan's play cost his team a run, and he was booed by the crowd as he left the field.[15]
Milwaukee Brewers
On March 27, 2011, Morgan was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for prospect Cutter Dykstra.[16] Morgan fractured his middle finger in the 8th inning on a sacrifice bunt against Jonny Venters. After two separate stints on the disabled list, he joined Carlos Gomez in a platoon in center field with Gomez in the lineup versus left-handed pitchers and Morgan in the lineup versus righties. On June 8th against the New York Mets, Nyjer hit his first walk-off with a double down the right field line at Miller Park to win the game 7-6.
Personal life
Morgan occasionally refers to himself as Tony Plush, which he states is his "name on the field" or his "gentleman's name."[17]
References
- ^ Kruchak,, Matthew (31 March 2008). "Hockey shaped Morgan". Leader-Post. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ "Pirates speedster swaps skates for baseball spikes". Calgary Sun. AP. 2008-03-12. p. S12.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Langosch, Jenifer. "Morgan helps Pirates steal win." 09/15/07. Article. Retrieved 2009-08-31.
- ^ Langosch, Jenifer. "Notes: Van Benschoten gets reprieve." 09/15/07. Article. Retrieved 2009-08-31.
- ^ "Padres 5, Pirates 3." 09/20/07. Chicago Tribune. Article. Retrieved 2009-08-31.
- ^ "Pirates hold off D-backs' comeback." 09/26/07. The Sporting News. Article. Retrieved 2009-08-31.
- ^ Langosch, Jenifer. "Mailbag: Will club raise payroll in '08?." 09/24/07. Article. Retrieved 2009-08-31.
- ^ "MLB Player Batting Stats - 2009," ESPN, accessed October 8, 2009
- ^ "Nationals place CF Nyjer Morgan on 15-day DL, select contract INF Pete Orr from Triple-A Syracuse." 08/28/2009. Article. Retrieved 2009-08-31.
- ^ Kilgore, Adam (July 23, 2010). "Livan Hernandez's complete game gives Washington Nationals a second straight win over Cincinnati Reds". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 23, 2010.
- ^ "Nyjer Morgan Suspended Seven Games". ESPN.com. August 25, 2010. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "Nyjer Morgan Charges Mound, Setting Off Brawl Between Nationals, Marlins". fanhouse.com. September 1, 2010. Retrieved September 2, 2010.
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(help) - ^ "MORGAN GETS EIGHT GAMES, VOLSTAD SIX AFTER NATS/MARLINS BRAWL". tsn.ca. September 3, 2010. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
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ignored (help) - ^ "Nyjer Morgan stirs up trouble again with hit on Cards catcher". nbcsports.com. August 29, 2010. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
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ignored (help) - ^ "Morgan's gaffe gives Jones inside-the-parker". MLB.com. May 22, 2010. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
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(help) - ^ "Stats, scores and schedules". The Washington Post.
- ^ "Interview with Rocco DeMaro". 104.7 WPGB-FM Pittsburgh, PA. 2009-04-15. Retrieved 2009-07-02.
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External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Profile at Yahoo! Sports
- 1980 births
- Living people
- African American baseball players
- African American ice hockey players
- Pittsburgh Pirates players
- Washington Nationals players
- Milwaukee Brewers players
- Indianapolis Indians players
- Major League Baseball outfielders
- Baseball players from California
- Sportspeople from San Francisco, California
- Regina Pats alumni
- Lynchburg Hillcats players
- Williamsport Crosscutters players
- Nelson Leafs players
- Nashville Sounds players