José Morales (catcher)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

José Guillermo Morales (born February 20, 1983) is a Puerto Rican former professional
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...
. He played stints in
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
(MLB) with the
Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...
and
Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...
between 2007 and 2011. He played for the Camden Riversharks of the
Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...
.


Early life

Morales grew up in Puerto Rico. He attended high school at Academia de Providencia in
Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Fl ...
. Morales was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 3rd round (77th overall) of the
2001 Major League Baseball Draft The 2001 Major League Baseball draft, was held on June 5 and 6. First round selections Supplemental First Round selections Compensation Picks Background On June 1, 2001, Rolando Viera, a Cuban baseball pitcher who had recently left Cub ...
. Going into the draft, Baseball America wrote that "Morales has solid tools across the board for a shortstop, except for his speed... On the positive side, he's a switch-hitter who can handle the bat. Defensively, he has a strong arm and dependable hands."


Professional career


Minnesota Twins

From to , Morales played for the
GCL Twins The Florida Complex League Twins are the Rookie-level affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays in Fort Myers, Florida, at the Lee County Sports Complex. Prior to 2021, the ...
. He mainly played
second base In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the infield, between second and first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and feet, needs the ability to get rid of the ball quickly, and must ...
. In , Morales was converted to catcher and played for two Single-A teams, the Quad City River Bandits and the
Fort Myers Miracle The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Fort Myers, Florida, and play their home games at the Lee County Sports Complex at ...
.
Baseball America ''Baseball America'' (BA) is a sports publication company that covers baseball at every level, including Major League Baseball (MLB), with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) college, high school, and inte ...
ranked Morales the 28th best prospect in the Twins organization after the 2003 season. In , Morales had a breakout minor league season. Playing for the Triple-A
Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Fie ...
, he played in 108 games and batted .311 with 2
home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...
s and 37 RBI. He was named to the
International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...
midseason and postseason All-Star teams. On September 6, 2007, with
Joe Mauer Joseph Patrick Mauer (born April 19, 1983) is an American former professional baseball catcher and first baseman who spent his entire 15-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Minnesota Twins. Regarded as one of the greatest contact h ...
and
Mike Redmond Michael Patrick Redmond (born May 5, 1971) is an American former professional baseball catcher, coach, and manager, who was most recently the bench coach for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for 13 seasons in Majo ...
banged up, his contract was purchased by the big league club. On September 8, 2007, Morales made his major league debut against the
Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...
. In the second inning, he collected his first major league hit, which was a single, against
José Contreras José Ariel Contreras Camejo (born December 6, 1971) is a Cubans, Cuban former professional baseball pitcher, who played in the Cuban National Series (CNS), Major League Baseball (MLB), and internationally for the Cuban national baseball team. ...
. In the third inning, he collected his second major league hit, which was a
double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...
and would eventually score. In the fifth inning, he collected his third major league hit, which was once again a single. Two batters later, Jason Tyner laid down a bunt single. When Morales was running towards second base, he lost his footing and injured his left ankle. Chris Heintz then pinch ran for Morales. The next day, the Twins purchased the contract of Matt LeCroy and placed Morales on the 60-day DL, thus ending his 2007 season. He ended the 2007 season having played just 1 game, batted 1.000 (3-3), and scored a run. In 2008, Morales was hitting .315 with the Red Wings before going on the disabled list again June 12 with a sprained left ankle. In 2009, Morales made the Twins opening day roster due to an injury to starting catcher
Joe Mauer Joseph Patrick Mauer (born April 19, 1983) is an American former professional baseball catcher and first baseman who spent his entire 15-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Minnesota Twins. Regarded as one of the greatest contact h ...
. During Mauer's absence, Morales split catching duties with backup catcher
Mike Redmond Michael Patrick Redmond (born May 5, 1971) is an American former professional baseball catcher, coach, and manager, who was most recently the bench coach for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for 13 seasons in Majo ...
. Morales finished the year batting .311 (37-119), which contributed to the team's decision to not bring back Redmond for 2010. Morales had surgery on his right wrist in January 2010, and was expected to be out until mid-March 2010. On September 22, 2010, Morales played first base for the first time in this career. In that game he made couple of nice plays on defense and went 3 for 4 with 3 RBIs.


Colorado Rockies

On December 16, 2010, he was traded to the
Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...
for minor leaguer Paul Bargas. He appeared in 22 games for the Rockies in 2011, hitting .267. In June 2011, he was placed on the 60-day
disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 Major League Baseball season, 2019 season, it was known as the disabl ...
with a broken thumb after he was hit with a foul ball.


Pittsburgh Pirates

He signed a minor league contract with the
Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...
for the 2012 season. Morales played for Triple-A
Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
, where in 58 games, he hit .266/.360/.335 with 31 RBI. In November 2012, Morales elected free agency.


Chicago Cubs

On April 20, 2013, Morales signed a minor league deal with the
Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...
. After playing for the
AZL Cubs The Arizona Complex League Cubs are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays it home games at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona. The team is composed mainly of player ...
, he was released on June 27.


Camden Riversharks

Morales plays catcher for the Camden Riversharks of the
Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...
in 2014.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morales, Jose 1983 births Living people Minnesota Twins players Colorado Rockies players Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Gulf Coast Twins players Fort Myers Miracle players Quad Cities River Bandits players New Britain Rock Cats players Sportspeople from Río Piedras, Puerto Rico Baseball players from San Juan, Puerto Rico Rochester Red Wings players Indianapolis Indians players Camden Riversharks players Cangrejeros de Santurce (baseball) players Long Island Ducks players Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente catchers