Kendry Morales
From BR Bullpen
Kendrys Morales Rodriguez
- Bats Both, Throws Right
- Height 6' 1", Weight 220 lb.
[edit] Biographical Information
Kendry Morales broke into the Cuban Serie Nacional in fine form in 2001-2002. After being named the best junior player in Latin America by the Pan American Baseball Federation in 2001, Morales hit .324 his rookie season for the Industriales. He was third in the Serie Nacional in homers (21), RBI (82) and total bases (203). The 3B-OF set rookie records with 114 hits, 82 RBIs, 21 home runs, 46 extra-base hits and 60 runs. He became the first teenager to make the Cuban national team since the legendary Omar Linares two decades earlier. In the 2002 Intercontinental Cup, Morales hit .270/.310/.459 with 15 RBI in 10 games for Cuba, which won a Gold Medal after Silvers in the prior two Intercontinental Cups. Morales was second to Yobal Dueñas in RBI that tourney, but did not make the All-Star team as Feng-An Tsai was chosen at first base.
In 2002-2003, Kendry hit .391, second to Osmani Urrutia, the two-time defending champ. The switch-hitter starred in the 2003 Pan-American Games, hitting a key homer in a comeback win over Panama en route to the title, but was sent back to Cuba after improper contact with an American sports official. In the 2003 Baseball World Cup, Morales hit .265/.306/.588 with 3 homers and 11 RBI in 9 games. Morales's biggest hit came in the quarterfinals; with Cuba down 3-2 in the bottom of the 9th and facing elimination from medal contention against upstart Brazil, Morales hit a 2-run homer off of Kleber Tomita to win the game. Yulieski Gourriel scored on the play. Sharnol Adriana beat out Morales for the All-Star slot at 1B.
Morales was banned from playing by the Cuban government, then he defected to the USA in June 2004 with 16 others by boat. Establishing residency in the Dominican Republic, Morales did not sign until December 1, when he inked a six-year deal with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including a $3 million signing bonus.
Morales hit .344/.400/.544 in 22 games for the 2005 Rancho Cucamonga Quakes and .306/.349/.530 for the Arkansas Travelers with 17 HR in 74 games. Baseball America ranked him as the 7th-best prospect in the Texas League and he hit 3rd, starting for first base for the World team in the 2005 Futures Game, in which he went 1 for 2.
Kendry split 2006 between the Angels and Salt Lake Bees. He hit .320/.359/.520 in 66 games for the Bees and .234/.293/.371 in his first 57 games in the major leagues. In '07, Morales again dazzled with Salt Lake, batting .341/.385/.486 in 64 games and held his own in The Show, producing at a .294/.333/.479 clip in 43 games, backing up Casey Kotchman at 1B. Kotchman had a slightly better OPS+ for the year, 119 to 111.
Morales continued the trend in 2008, hitting .341/.376/.543 with 64 RBI in 78 games for Las Vegas while Kotchman held the fort in LA until they traded for Mark Teixeira. Kendry struggled that year in his time with the Angels, hitting just .213/.273/.393 in 27 games. People were likely to tag him as a AAAA Player; like most players so named, he had not yet gotten a real role at a regular job in the majors.
That chance came with the 2009 Angels when Teixeira left to sign a blockbuster deal with the New York Yankees. Morales batted .306/.355/.569 with 43 doubles, 34 home runs, 86 runs and 108 RBI. He was among the 2009 AL leaders in slugging (2nd, .018 behind MVP Joe Mauer), OPS (8th, just ahead of Jason Bay), total bases (322, 6th), doubles (tied for 8th with Teixeira and Marlon Byrd), homers (tied for 6th with Miguel Cabrera), RBI (tied for 5th with Victor Martinez and Aaron Hill), extra-base hits (79, 3rd behind Teixeira and Adam Lind) and OPS+ (137, 9th). He finished fifth in voting for the 2009 American League Most Valuable Player Award, behind Mauer, Teixeira, Derek Jeter and Cabrera.
He was only 6 for 34 in the 2009 Postseason, with 2 homers and 7 RBI.
Sources: 2002-2006 Baseball Almanacs, BaseballAmerica.com article, IBAF site
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 20-Home Run Seasons: 1 (2009)
- 30-Home Run Seasons: 1 (2009)
- 100 RBI Seasons: 1 (2009)
