Alumni Report: Russ Morman

Russ Morman was originally drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the first round (28th overall) of the 1983 draft. The Kansas native made his Major League debut on August 3, 1986 with the White Sox and appeared in 49 games that season. He hit .252 with four home runs and 17 RBIs.

Morman then spent the majority of the 1987 season in Hawaii -- Chicago’s Triple-A team at the time, and hit .269 with nine home runs and 53 RBIs. In all, Morman would spend 17 seasons in the Minors, including three in Charlotte.

In 1994, Morman signed a contract with the Florida Marlins and played for Edmonton, which was Florida’s Triple-A club at the time. In 114 games that season, he hit .350 with 19 home runs and 82 RBIs. A year later, Florida’s Triple-A affiliate became the Knights and Morman was a member of the 1995 squad.

In 44 games with Charlotte that season, Morman hit .314 with six home runs and 36 RBIs. The 33-year-old slugger returned to Charlotte in 1996 and improved on his ’95 numbers.

Led by manager Sal Rende, the 1996 team featured great offensive production. That season Morman hit .332 with 18 home runs and 77 RBIs. The Knights also had Jerry Brooks (34 home runs), Tommy Gregg (22 home runs) and Billy McMillon (17 home runs) in their lineup.

Morman’s 1997 season, however, at the age of 35, was his best offensively. Morman, who was an International League All-Star that season, hit .319 with 33 home runs and 99 RBIs over 117 games. He earned a promotion to the Marlins, who became World Series champions that year.

As a Knight over parts of three seasons, Morman hit 57 home runs, which are good for second best in Knights franchise history behind Joe Borchard's 78. In all, Morman hit .297 with 207 home runs and 1,029 RBIs over 1,561 Minor League games. He appeared in 207 career Major League games and finished with a .249 batting average with 10 home runs and 43 RBIs.

After his playing days came to an end, Morman became a manager and was Manager of the Year in 2001 in the Midwest League. He managed the Kane County Cougars in 2000-2001 and the Augusta Green Jackets in 2003. Morman then became the hitting coach of the Portland Sea Dogs from 2004-2007. In 2008, he was the hitting coach of the Pawtucket Red Sox.

Most recently, Morman spent the past two seasons (2011-12) as the hitting coach for the Fresno Grizzlies – the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants.

Stay tuned for more updates on this former Knight and other former Knights throughout the offseason. Knights Media Relations Director Tommy Viola will have a new Alumni Report throughout the offseason.

If there is a former Knights player you would like an update on, please send an email to Tommy Viola at [email protected].