Baseball Beginnings

By John Klima
April 25, 2010

Baseball Beginnings is certainly resourceful. While working the Cape Cod League beat last summer, we ran across a few teams having lunch at the Chicago Uno’s in Hyannis, which, if you’ve ever done time on the Rock (I mean, the Cape), you know that’s pretty much as good as it gets. After lunch, we ran down Auburn’s Hunter Morris in the parking lot before the little yellow school bus drove the players to work. Yes, if you think I’m fabricating even one detail of this, you have never worked in amateur baseball. Most of you, I think, know what I mean.

Morris is a power hitter and, along with Arizona Diamondbacks prospect Matt Davidson, is one of the few players we have met that prefer wood over metal as amateur hitters.

Morris was Mr. Everything at Gus Grissom High in Huntsville, Alabama. His career high school Triple Crown numbers of .470-46-198 helped get him drafted in the second round of the 2007 draft, 84^th overall, by the Boston Red Sox. Based on his 2010 start at Auburn, he’s got a chance to go higher and move fast.

Morris declined to sign and went to Auburn, where he killed the SEC, winning the conference’s Freshman of The Year Award in 2008 when he hit .351-11-49 and hit .393 in the SEC. While not thinking up ways to torment the University of Alabama, Morris headed into his sophomore season in 2009 with aspirations of maintaining that consistency. Instead, a series of injuries had him doing what college players, both pitchers and hitters alike, hate the most. He had to play catch-up during the regular season.

The end result was a season that most college players would be happy with in the SEC. Morris batted .282 with 12 home runs and 33 RBIs. A wrist injury suffered in Fall Ball hindered him, and it was reflected in his average drop and 50 strikeouts and only 29 walks in 195 at-bats.

Morris went to Team USA workouts, got cut, took some summer school classes, and headed up to the Cape, where Baseball Beginnings caught up with him. Morris will hit his way into professional baseball with his power, but knows that putting out one solid season of college baseball will help determine how high he goes out of Auburn in 2010. If nothing else, he can say that he’ll never have to do another interview in front of a little yellow school bus again.  

Baseball Beginnings: How did you feel about your 2009 college season?
Morris: I struggled with some injuries and it felt like one thing after another. I hurt my back, which bothered me for at least a month. I tried to play through it and missed some games here and there, but it really just came at a bad time. I hurt it like the second week of the season. I had torn some cartilage in my wrist during the fall and didn’t get any swings. Now I feel great. I feel like I’m at 100 percent. I feel like if some things go my way, that 2010 can be a very good year for me. As long as I can stay healthy, I can do some good things.

Baseball Beginnings: It sounds like you were playing catch-up all season.
Morris: Yeah, I was. I dug myself into a big hole after I came off the injuries and I was fighting an uphill battle the whole season.

Baseball Beginnings: Did you feel that you fell off the radar because of that?
Morris: No. I think it was just injuries. Injuries happen. I did have some very good points in the season. I hit over .400 in April and I think a lot of people have seen what I’m capable of. I have to come back and prove that I can still do it.

Baseball Beginnings: How has this summer been for you? Is using wood beneficial for getting back up to speed?
Morris: I love hitting with wood. I always have. I’ve always preferred it as a hitter. I know it’s strange, but I’ve always preferred it. It’s been a little tough getting used to the pitching. I’ve only been down here for a few weeks because I was down in Auburn taking some summer classes. Going from not seeing live pitching from the middle of May to picking up with wood a little more than a month later against guys who are still pitching like it’s the middle of the season is tough. I feel healthy now and hopefully I can keep that rolling through the summer and into 2010.

Baseball Beginnings: How did you decide to approach that as a hitter? Was it more just go back up the middle or retain a power-centric focus where you would show scouts ability to drive the ball?
Morris: I wanted to be patient to find better pitches and center them up good. You kind of have to go back to basics if you’ve been away for a month, but hopefully after a few at-bats you can get back in that attack mode.

Baseball Beginnings: You turned down the Red Sox in the second round of the 2007 draft. How would you describe that process?
Morris: I felt like the deal was handled very professionally. They handled it well. I handled it well myself, I thought. It just didn’t work out. I felt that, at the time, it was in my best interests to go to college for at least three years and see what comes of it.

Baseball Beginnings: What did you end up turning down, if I’m allowed to ask? Is that public?
Morris: I don’t mind you asking, but for two years, it hasn’t been public.

Baseball Beginnings: Well, I gave you the option! You can always break the news here if you want to.
Morris: (laughing) Everyone asks. I just say, hey, it was a fair offer for the second round.

Categories: '10 Meet the Player
Tags: Auburn, Cape Cod League, Hunter Morris