Selected in the first round (No. 4 overall) of the 1983 MLB Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers out of Ranger College (Ranger, Texas)... originally drafted by the New York Yankees as the No. 466 pick in the 1982 MLB Draft but did not sign... attended Angelo State University (San Angelo, Texas), Paris Junior College (Paris, Texas) and Ranger College after playing football for Brownwood (Texas) High School... Brownwood did not have a baseball program at the time... debuted with the Paintsville Brewers in the Appalachian League in 1982... appeared in 85 Minor League games across seven seasons (1983-89, 1999-2000) and pitched in 21 Major League games for Tampa Bay from 1999-2000... Morris described his path to WRAL News in 1999 while with the Durham Bulls: "I played a couple years, spent a few years on the DL, came back with the White Sox, still experienced pain, and decided at that time it was better off to get my education," he said during a July 1999 television segment. "I threw batting practice every day [in high school]... I would throw and throw, and I guess I started throwing harder and harder, and [the high school players] were like, 'Why are you coaching high school when you could still be pitching?' I went to a try out, and I got signed by the Devil Rays." ...his unlikely career path from first-round pick to science teacher to a 35-year-old Major League rookie was dramatized in the 2002 Disney film The Rookie starring Dennis Quaid; Morris made cameos in the film, including as a Southern League umpire... the film became the fourth-highest-grossing baseball movie of all-time... Morris became a motivational speaker and authored two books after his baseball career... he had three children with his first wife, Lori, before adding a fourth with his second wife Shawna... his second book, Dream Makers (2020) details his life since retiring from baseball... returned to Durham to throw out the ceremonial first pitch on Aug. 27, 2015
Read more: How Jim Morris' unlikely story became a hit movie
2001
Morris signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent in December 2000 and was invited to Spring Training... he was released by the Dodgers during Spring Training in the spring of 2001
2000
Morris' improbable story continued when the 36-year-old reliever made Tampa Bay's Opening Day roster and pitched in the Devil Rays' Opening Day victory on April 3, a 7-0 win over Minnesota... appeared in 16 games for the Devil Rays, finishing with a 4.35 ERA and 10 strikeouts in 10 1/3 innings... made one more appearance in the International League with Triple-A Durham... he again, despite being 36, was not the oldest player to appear in a game for Durham in 2000 -- reliever Billy Taylor appeared in 42 games for the Bulls as a 38-year-old in 2000 and catcher Pat Borders hit .273 with 12 homers in 96 games at age 37... the final series of his Major League career came against the team that originally drafted him -- Morris relieved Doc Gooden on May 8 and retired the Yankees' Bernie Williams and Tino Martinez to end the fifth inning... his final Major League outing came on May 9 at Yankee Stadium, when he came in with the bases loaded against the eventual World Series champions and walked Paul O'Neill to force home Scott Brosius from third to give the Yankees a walk-off 4-3 win in 10 innings... Morris' recurring arm problems prompted Tampa Bay to shut him down for the season after the May 9 outing... he was released by the organization after the 2000 season in November
1999
The Devil Rays, impressed by Morris' velocity at tryouts, signed the 35-year-old science teacher to a Minor League contract and assigned him to Double-A Orlando in the Southern League... Morris made three appearances for the Orlando Rays, going 0-1 with a 1.80 ERA and six strikeouts in five innings out of the bullpen... Tampa Bay promoted him to Triple-A Durham, where he went 3-1 with a 5.48 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 23 innings across 18 relief appearances with the Bulls... Morris, despite being a 35-year-old rookie, was not the oldest player to play for Durham in 1999 -- both fellow relievers Joe Strong and Norm Charlton were 36... the Devil Rays called him up to the Majors and he made his Major League debut on Sept. 18, 1999 at Texas... pitched in five Major League games with the Devil Rays, striking out three in 4 2/3 innings... his final two appearances of the 1999 season were against the eventual World Series champion Yankees -- he escaped a bases-loaded jam on Oct. 1 when he got Jim Leyritz to fly out to center to end the seventh inning; in his final appearance on Oct. 3, Morris retired Clay Bellinger, Alfonso Soriano and Chili Davis in the fifth inning... appeared in five games with the Maryvale Saguaros in the Arizona Fall League, where he did not allow a run in five innings... the 1999 Devil Rays featured a number of players older than Morris, including future Hall of Famer Wade Boggs (41) and first baseman Julio Franco (40)
1990-1999
Retired from baseball, Morris moved to Big Lake, Texas with his wife Lori and their children to pursue a career as a public school teacher... the former reliever taught science at Reagan County High School and served as the school's baseball coach... coached the Reagan County Owls until 1999, when he made a deal with his players that he would attend an MLB tryout if the team won the District Championship... Morris helped the Owls to the title and attended an open tryout with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Angelo State University
1989
Signed with the Chicago White Sox and was assigned to the organization's Class A Advanced affiliate in Sarasota, Florida, where he appeared in two games out of the bullpen... struck out four and walked two in 2 2/3 innings, finishing 0-1 with a 10.12 ERA before the White Sox released him... most of his deltoid muscle in his throwing shoulder was removed during a surgical procedure, with the doctor telling Morris he'd never pitch again
1988
Did not play
1987
Returned to Stockton, where he made four appearances out of the bullpen for the Ports before the Brewers released him... was 1-0 with a 0.75 ERA and nine strikeouts in 12 innings at the time he was released
1986
Missed the entire 1986 Minor League season due to arm injuries
1985
returned to Beloit as a reliever in 1985, making one appearance... spent most of the 1985 season with Stockton in the California League, where he made 13 starts in 19 appearances and finished 5-6 with a 6.04 ERA in 73 innings
1984
appeared in 24 games for the Beloit Brewers in the 1984 Midwest League season, 22 as a starter; in his longest season in baseball, Morris went 8-9 with a 5.05 ERA and 109 strikeouts in 112 1/3 innings... set career highs in innings pitched, strikeouts, games played and complete games
1983
Debuted with the Paintsville Brewers in the Appalachian League, going 3-6 with 75 strikeouts in 67 innings across 13 starts
