Getting to know the Herd: Tanner Morris

BUFFALO, NY - Tanner Morris’ journey in baseball began at the age of three, watching his older brother play tee ball. “I just came from a baseball family,” said Morris regarding his start in the sport. His passion for the game was fostered by his father, George, who played college baseball, and his mother, Lauren, who excelled in softball. “I liked it when I was younger, but I really took a passion to baseball when I was about 15 to 16 years old,” the Bisons infielder added.

When speaking about his dad Morris expressed “he never was one to yell at me after an 0-3 game or bad performance. He was always supportive through those moments as I was growing up”. Being a self-proclaimed mischievous kid, Morris was occasionally sent home from practice or benched.

However, George would set Morris in the right direction and help him differentiate right and wrong. “I don't think I would be playing baseball or played any sports if that wasn't the case,” he added. Morris has a strong belief that the advice he received from his parents played a crucial role in shaping his career. Morris believes that without their guidance, he wouldn't have achieved the level of success he enjoys today.

Another person who had an impact on Morris’s baseball career is MLB legend, Billy Wagner. At thirteen, Morris began playing travel baseball under Wagner. He transferred schools to stay under the mentorship of the MLB legend at Miller School of Albemarle, where Wagner guided and supported him.

“The reason that I liked playing for Coach Wagner is he understood how tough baseball was because he played it for a long time. Being in the closer role, that’s a high stress high leverage situation, so the emotions and nervousness that every player goes through, he really understood that. He knew how to help players get through tough times.”

The career moments that stand out the most to Morris are “the ones that I've messed up” and the moments that showed intensity. One frustrating time that sticks with Morris is an at bat from his eighth-grade year while playing for the varsity team. He remembers the senior pitcher coming “into the game with a runner on second base. We were down by one in the seventh inning. It was a three-pitch at bat, 3 fastballs. I took the first two and then I ended up like ‘I’m going to swing; I’m going to swing at the third one’. Then he threw the third one and I never swung!”

Another situation he remembers was his lucky break and his aggressive play at the University of Virginia. When Morris was a freshman, the starting shortstop was pulled after missing a hit-and-run sign. Morris was put into the game and that weekend hit 9 for 12 and played in every game after.

When asked about his work ethic, Morris said, “I don't consider really anything that I choose to do with my time to be work.” Morris puts himself in a mindset where activities he loves don’t feel like work. Aggression on the field allows him to stay in the zone. Even if Morris makes a mistake behind the plate, in the field, or on the basepath, he would rather give his all and make an error than not try. Morris added that, “being aggressive, I think you'd be more satisfied with that decision than if you come in like I did in my eighth grade year in high school, because those ones will stick with you.” That mindset helped Morris bat .420, 21-50, in the month of July to help bolster the Bisons’ second half play.

Morris’ draft day did not unfold as expected, however. Multiple teams called the infielder and his agent saying they were going to pick him. As the third round came and went with no calls, he took his mind off of the draft and went golfing instead.

The course was in a rural area without cell reception, keeping Morris in the dark about his draft status. Once he finished his round on the course and returned home, his phone was flooded with messages from the Toronto Blue Jays organization. “The more interesting part I guess was the Blue Jays were more interested in me in high school for the high school draft,” Morris continued “but I never talked to them much when I was in college”. He was selected with the 147^th pick in the fifth round of the 2019 draft.

If you are sitting at the ballpark, Morris’ walk up song stands out because it is a country song and because of its personal significance for him – one that resonates with his love for the surrounding nature of his home and his love for his grandparents. The song “Mountain Music” by Alabama takes Morris home to Crozet, Virginia and evokes memories of him back with his grandparents.

Morris finds that nothing is, “more beautiful than the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia, Tennessee, West Virginia, North Carolina, and the Appalachian Mountains going down through there. That song kind of just reminds me of home”. The sound specialist always includes the lyric “Oh, play me some mountain music/Like grandma and grandpa used to play” moments before Morris steps in the batter’s box. That line takes Morris back to his grandparents’ home who lived just a mile down the road from him.