Adam Morrissey

Adam Morrissey

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 170 lb.

• Born June 8, 1981 in Gosford, New South Wales Australia

BR register page

Biographical Information

Adam Morrissey has played four seasons in AAA (through 2008).

Morrissey made history when he became the youngest player in the Australian Baseball League at age 15, hitting .179/.233/.214 in 12 games for the Hunter Eagles in the 1996-1997 ABL season, clearly outmatched. His status as the youngest player in the ABL was short-lived as Rikki Johnston debuted shortly thereafter.

Morrissey had also played for the Australian junior national team. He improved to .250/.416/.400 for the Eagles in 1997-1998 but fielded just .810.

In 1999, he made his US debut with the AZL Cubs, hitting .296/~.374/.409. He led Arizona League second basemen with 14 errors, though. In the 1999-2000, he played for NSW Country in the International Baseball League of Australia, batting .277/.373/.354. During the 2000 minor league campaign, he hit .275/.374/.428 and was 5th in the Northwest League with 115 total bases for the Eugene Emeralds. He was back in the IBLA for the winter of 2000-2001, batting .275/.333/.348. He would not play in the Australian leagues again through 2008.

Adam had a great 2001 for the Lansing Lugnuts, posting a batting line of .309/.427/.524 with 11 triples, 80 walks and 88 runs. He led Cubs farmhands in both three-baggers and bases on balls. He did not have a set position, bouncing between second base, third base and the outfield. He was second in the Midwest League in OBP behind Jason Maule, third in walks (3 behind leader Chris Morris) and 5th in triples (one back of the 4 co-leaders). Morrissey was not named to the MWL All-Star team despite his success. That winter, the Chicago Cubs traded him to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for Mark Bellhorn.

Morrissey split his first year in the A's chain between the Modesto A's (.291/.383/.418 in 36 games) and Midland RockHounds (.235/.323/.311 in 90 games, fielding .941 at second base). He led Texas League second basemen with 22 errors.

In 2003, the Gosford native spent a full year with Midland, posting a batting line of .267/.335/.365 and stealing 9 bases in 10 tries. He led TL third baseman with 21 miscues as defense continued to be a problem. During the 2004 season, Morrissey made his AAA debut for the Sacramento RiverCats, hitting .291/.358/.431 for a solid season; he even fielded well, posting a .977 average in 79 games at 2B and .957 in 27 at 3B. Sacramento won the Pacific Coast League title. Morrissey slumped in 2005, hitting .240/.270/.331 in 34 games for Midland and .250/.346/.351 in 55 for Sacramento.

Adam moved to the Texas Rangers system in 2006 and spent time with both the Oklahoma RedHawks (.236/.296/.332 in 42 games) and Frisco RoughRiders (.313/.387/.457 in 54 games). In 2007, he was in the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim organization, playing for the Arkansas Travelers and batting .263/.396/.383 with 92 walks, 131 strikeouts and 85 runs. He led Angels farmhands in walks and was second to Jon Still in all of the affiliated minors. He led the Texas League in walks. His glovework had improved to the point where he led the TL's second basemen in fielding percentage (.985) and double plays (79).

Morrissey split 2008 between Arkansas (.280/.347/.421 in 78 games) and the Salt Lake Bees (.299/.376/.543 in 32 games). He was on the provisional Australian roster for the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

Sources

• Flintoff & Dunn Australian Baseball Almanac
• 2000-2009 Baseball Almanacs