Greg Morrison

Gregory James Morrison

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 1", Weight 205 lb.

• School Kwantlen College

• Born February 23, 1976 in Unity, SK Canada

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Greg Morrison was a 71st-round draft pick who spent 12 years in professional baseball, setting two records in the process.

Morrison played for the Canadian junior national team in 1993-1994. In the 1994 amateur draft, the Los Angeles Dodgers chose him in the 71st round. He was their only pick from rounds 52 through 77 to sign. Morrison debuted as a pro in 1995 with the Great Falls Dodgers, hitting .323/~.369/.433 with 30 RBI in 55 games. In 1996, Morrison hit .254/.299/.358 for the Savannah Sand Gnats while moving from outfield to first base. He was released by the Dodgers and then spent some time coaching at his old high school.

The Toronto Blue Jays signed the free agent and assigned him to his hometown Medicine Hat Blue Jays. During the 1997 campaign, the 21-year-old had one of the best seasons in Pioneer League history, batting .448/.473/.826 with 23 home runs, 63 runs and 88 RBI in 69 games. He set new league records for home runs (breaking the old mark by 2; 3 more than Steve Garvey and Cecil Fielder had hit when they led the league) and RBI. He won the Triple Crown. He also led the league in slugging, hits (108), total bases (199) and extra-base hits (42), well ahead of the competition in most departments. The outfielder was named league MVP.

In 1998, Morrison moved up to the Hagerstown Suns, where he hit .276/.330/.433 with 15 home runs and 72 RBI. During the 1999 campaign, Greg produced at a .265/.302/.362 rate for the Dunedin Blue Jays, only homering twice in 260 AB. He played for Team Canada in the 1999 Pan American Games; the country won its first Medal in a major international tournament, but Greg was 0 for 6 as a backup 1B.

Let go by Toronto, Morrison moved to the independent leagues, hitting .289 for the Duluth-Superior Dukes and .280 for the New Jersey Jackals in 2000. In 2001, he hit .294 with 29 doubles, slugging .444 for the Dukes. During 2002, he batted .288/?/.414 for the Dukes. His 10 home runs and 61 RBI led the club.

Morrison hit .292 and slugged .479 for the 2003 Winnipeg Goldeyes. Greg batted .250/.280/.500 as the Canadian first baseman in the 2003 Baseball World Cup. In 2004, he batted .300 and slugged .477 with Winnipeg. During the 2005 season, Morrison batted .292/.372/.457 for the Calgary Vipers.

Morrison was with Canada for the 2005 Baseball World Cup, hitting .276/.382/.517 with 9 runs in 8 games; he alternated evenly between first base and DH with Joey Votto. All of his runs came in 3 games as he scored three apiece against Brazil, China and Sweden.

Morrison concluded his playing career in 2006 with the Edmonton Cracker-Cats, slipping to .231/.315/.353.

Notable Achievements

• 1997 MVP Pioneer League Medicine Hat Blue Jays

Sources

• SABR database
• 1995-2007 Baseball Almanacs
• 2005 Team Canada Media Guide
• Defunct IBAF site