#4 Warren Morris Season 2023
Updated 4/28/06
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL CAREER (1999-2003)
Selected by the Texas Rangers in the fifth round of the 1996 amateur draft … Traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 17, 1998 … Made Major League debut on opening day of the 1999 season (April 5) with the Pirates against the Montreal Expos … Finished third in the voting for National League Rookie of the Year … Was Pittsburgh’s starting second baseman in 1999 and 2000 before playing only 48 games in 2001 … Released by Pittsburgh on March 13, 2002, and then signed as a free agent by the Minnesota Twins on March 15, 2002 … Played four games with Minnesota before being traded to the St. Louis Cardinals … Signed as a free agent by the Detroit Tigers and played 97 games in 2003 … Batted .272 in final season … Completed career (five MLB seasons) with a .267 batting average (399 for 1,495) with 70 doubles, seven triples, 26 home runs, 164 RBI, and 176 runs scored … played all but one of 440 career games at second base … Retired from professional baseball in January of 2006.
LSU CAREER
1997 Earned zoology degree from LSU
1996 United States Olympic Bronze Medalist
1996 ESPN “Showstopper of the Year” (CWS home run vs. Miami)
1996 Jim Corbett Award (Outstanding Amateur Athlete in Louisiana)
1996 Honorable Mention All-American (National Collegiate Baseball Writers Assn.)
1996 NCAA South II Regional All-Tournament Team
1996 SEC Academic Honor Roll
1995 LSU Homecoming King
1996 First-Team Pre-Season All-American (Collegiate Baseball, Baseball America)
1995 First-Team Academic All-American (GTE-CoSIDA)
1995 Second-Team All-SEC
1995 SEC Western Division All-Tournament Team
1995 First-Team All-Louisiana
1995 SEC Academic Honor Roll
1994 Honorable Mention Freshman All-American (Collegiate Baseball)
1994 SEC Academic Honor Roll
JUNIOR SEASON (1996)
Helped lead LSU to its third national championship, making it one of only seven schools to win at least three NCAA baseball titles … On June 8, dramatic two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning of the College World Series championship game gave sixth-seeded LSU a 9-8 victory over Miami (Fla.) … Play named the ESPN “Showstopper of the Year” in 1996 … Home run hit to the right-field corner off Miami’s Robbie Morrison with two outs; designated hitter Brad Wilson (who reached on a lead-off double) scored from third on the play … Marked the first time a CWS championship game was decided by a home run in the bottom of the ninth inning … The home run was Morris’ only one of the 1996 season … Played only 28 games (starting 22) due to hand surgery on April 24 … LSU was 22-0 in games Morris started … Missed 39 games, then returned to lineup on May 16 as a defensive replacement … Returned to starting lineup on May 23 in first game of the NCAA South II Regional against Austin Peay … Took home All-Tournament honors at the Regional, as the Tigers advanced to the CWS … LSU’s leading hitter in the NCAA Tournament (NCAA Regional and CWS), batting .433 (13 for 30), with three doubles one home run, 10 RBI and 10 runs scored … For the season, batted .400 (30 for 75) with 19 RBI and 24 runs … Immediately after LSU won the 1996 national title, Morris joined the United States Olympic team, and the squad — directed by then-LSU coach Skip Bertman — claimed a bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympic Games … Led Team USA in Olympics play in batting average (.409, 9 for 22) in nine games with one double, five home runs, 11 RBI and 10 runs … Was the 1995 LSU Homecoming King … Won the 1996 Jim Corbett Award (Outstanding Amateur Athlete in Louisiana) … A 1996 pre-season All-America selection by Collegiate Baseball and by Baseball America … rated No. 35 on Baseball America’s list of the Top 100 college prospects … Named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll for third time.
SOPHOMORE SEASON (1995)
A member of the 1995 USA national team which played a summer tour throughout the southeastern United States; Morris completed the tour as Team USA’s third-leading hitter, bating .361 (52-for-144) with five homers, 11 doubles and 21 RBI from the lead-off position in the line-up … a strong candidate for the Olympic team, he was invited to the summer trials in June of 1996 … An outfielder as a freshman in 1994, Morris moved to his natural position of second base for the ’95 campaign, taking over for three-time LSU all-American Todd Walker … Morris was a ’95 second-team All-American and second-team All-SEC choice as he led LSU in batting average (.369), runs (70), hits (93), stolen bases (18) and on-base percentage (.481) … he also collected 17 doubles, three triples, eight homers and 50 RBI … his hit total was the seventh-highest for a single season in LSU history … Morris reached based safely in 40 of his last 42 games … bated .350 (4-16) in the NCAA South Regional with two doubles, one run and two RBI … named to the SEC west all-tournament team as he batted .455 (10-22) in five games with three doubles, five RBI and six runs … ranked among the top players in several SEC categories, including batting average (No. 5), runs (No. 2), base hits (No. 3), walks (No. 6) and on-base percentage (No. 4) … also LSU’s leading hitter in SEC games, as he batted .407 (48-for-118) with 10 doubles, two triples, 21 RBI and 28 runs … enjoyed an 18-game hitting streak, LSU’s longest of the season, as he batted .459 (34-for-74) during the streak with seven doubles, three homers, 22 runs and 16 RBI; the streak ended in a seven inning game at Arkansas on April 23 … belted a one-out, two run homer in the top of the ninth inning to lift LSU to a 3-2 win at Tulane (April 12) … named Louisiana Sportswriters Player of the Week (April 3) after batting .615 (8-for-13) in the Georgia series (March 31-April 2) with three doubles, four RBI and three runs … in LSU’s two games at Centenary and Northwestern State (March 21-22), Morris was a combined 5-for-8 with a double, an RBI and five runs; the Northwestern State game was played in Alexandria, La. — Morris’ hometown—and he was presented the keys to the city prior to the contest … named to the Hormel Foods Classic all-tournament team (March 3-5) as he batted .500 (4-for-8) with five runs and four RBI in the Tigers’ three victories over Florida State, Michigan and Minnesota … hit two solo homers vs. Northwestern State (Feb. 21) … Morris on four occasions led off the LSU first inning with a home run — Feb.21 vs. Northwestern State, March 9 vs. Southern, March 10 vs. Maine and March 27 vs. Louisiana College … Received the LSU Athletic Director’s Cup Award for academic excellence for the second-straight season … Named a 1995 first-team GTE-CoSIDA academic all-American with a 3.728 gpa in zoology … a member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll for the second time.
REDSHIRT FRESHMAN SEASON (1994)
A starter in 63 of LSU’s 66 games, Morris batted .284 (65-for-229) with four homers, seven doubles, 33 RBI and 58 runs … earned honorable mention Freshman all-American recognition from Collegiate Baseball … finished third on the squad in walks (51) and was No. 4 in on-base percentage (.402) and runs scored (58) … his walks total was also No. 5 in the SEC … reached base safely in 51 of the 64 games in which he played … went 2-for-6 in the College World Series with one double, two RBI and one run … was 2-for-13 in the NCAA South Regional with one run scored and one stolen base … on the season, had 16 multiple-hit games and 10 multiple-RBI games; he posted three hits on eight occasions and had three RBI on five occasions … Morris had four significant hitting streaks, stretching over seven games (March 3-12), five games (March 20-26), seven games (April 16-24) and six games (April 29-May 7) … Received the LSU Athletic Director’s Cup Award for academic excellence … A member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll.
FRESHMAN SEASON (1993)
Redshirted as a true freshman in 1993.
HIGH SCHOOL
Earned four letters in baseball, three in basketball and one in cross country at Bolton High … a first-team all-state baseball selection in 1992 … honorable mention all-state in 1991, all-district in 1990, ’91 ’92 … also a 1992 all-district choice in basketball as a guard … coached in baseball by Dennis Breland an din basketball by Gene Alford … the valedictorian of his senior class, he also served as class president … received the Masonic Lodge Honest and Integrity Award.
PERSONAL
Full name is Warren Randall Morris … nickname is “Mercury” … parents are William and Barbara Morris … father is a member of the Rapides Parish school board, mother is a secretary … has one older brother … born Jan. 11, 1974 … chose to attend LSU over Louisiana Tech and Mississippi State … attends the university on an academic scholarship.
LSU Career Batting Statistics
Year
G
AB
R
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
SB
BB
SO
BA
1993
No statistics — medical redshirt
1994
64
1995
1996
Total
Major League Baseball Career Batting Statistics
Year
Tm
G
AB
R
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
SB
CS
BB
SO
BA
OBP
SLG
TB
SH
SF
IBB
HBP
GDP
1999
PIT
147
511
65
147
20
3
15
73
3
7
59
88
.288
.360
.427
218
4
5
3
2
12
2000
PIT
144
528
68
137
31
2
3
43
7
10
65
78
.259
.341
.343
181
8
3
3
2
7
2001
PIT
48
103
6
21
6
0
2
11
2
3
3
9
.204
.239
.320
33
0
1
0
2
2
2002
MIN
4
7
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
.000
.000
.000
0
0
0
0
0
0
2003
DET
97
346
37
94
13
2
6
37
4
2
23
42
.272
.316
.373
129
4
3
1
1
6
Total
440
1495
176
399
70
7
26
164
16
22
150
218
.267
.334
.375
561
16
12
7
7
27