Article: Jack Morris Wrapped Up A Hall Of Fame Career With The Saints

[Kevin Luckow]

It was spring of 1996. The St. Paul Saints were on top of the Independent Baseball world, with three Northern League Championships in the first four years of the league. Darryl Strawberry, coming off a MLB suspension, was signed in April by the Saints. A fledgling cable network, FX,was sending a crew to follow the Saints all summer. If that wasn't enough, 1991 World Series MVP and St. Paul native Jack Morris decided to try a comeback with his hometown club at the age of 41.

 

As a huge Saints fan and an even bigger fan of Jack Morris, this 26-year-old Saints fan was excited the most to see Morris take the mound at Midway Stadium.Morris got the start in a Saints preseason game. Morris got his work in, but the results were not pretty. The split finger fastball that Morris was renowned for was bouncing in front of the plate and after five runs in his inning of work, the night was over for Morris.

 

The first regular season start for Morris on May 31 went slightly better, he gave up only two runs but only went 3.2 innings, giving up eight hits in a no-decision versus the Duluth Superior Dukes at Wade Stadium. Novice fans were concerned but fans that knew pitchers were creatures of habit, knew that Morris was still in spring training mode.

 

It took until June 17, but Morris found his groove pitching seven shutout innings in Sioux City in a 5-2 Saints victory. Morris took off from there. Highlights included a complete game three-hitter at Midway Stadium on July 3. The effort by Morris was overshadowed by the announcement after the game that Strawberry was signed by the Yankees. On July 13, with the Saints struggling to keep the first half lead in the East division, Morris threw a complete game five-hitter in a 5-2 victory over Fargo Moorhead.

 

With the Saints and Madison Black Wolf tied for the Eastern Division lead after the first half, a one game playoff was to be played and Morris took the mound for the Saints. Fans were flashing to five years earlier when Morris pitched in a do-or-die game on the other side of the Mississippi River.

 

It did not start well as Morris gave up five runs in the first four innings. The Saints found themselves trailing 5-4 but Morris, much like in 1991, refused to back down, giving up only one more run in six additional innings of work as the Saints came back to tie the game and go into extra innings. Unlike 1991, Morris wasn't allowed to finish what he started, yielding to closer Paul Romanoli. The Saints scored the winning run in the eleventh inning and won the first half. Folks would talk afterwards of the gutty ten-inning effort by Jack Morris.

 

After finishing the first half of the season with a 5-1 record and a 2.61 ERA in 72 innings, Morris had an offer to sign with the Yankees but the Yankees wanted Morris to start three games in AAA before deciding whether to give him a shot in the majors. Morris declined the offer and retired quietly with little fanfare.

 

Morris was a good mentor to the younger Saints pitchers while with the Saints. He was shown on FX reality show Baseball Minnesota talking to the pitching staff, giving simple but sage advice such as “The best pitch you can throw is strike one.” Morris did not “big league” the Saints as some veteran players in Independent Leagues have done in the past. Morris was accessible to autograph seekers and had no problem with making the late night bus trips with the rest of the team.

 

The time Jack Morris spent with the St. Paul Saints was short and sometimes upstaged by Darryl Strawberry. It was a nice nostalgic trip for us fans who remember Morris as a dominant major league starter, a World Series MVP for his home state in 1991 and now a Hall of Famer. (Morris is the third Hall of Famer to play independent baseball along with Tim Raines and Rickey Henderson).

 

 As far as the current Saints club goes, after being one of the best road teams in the league, the Saints dropped six in a row on the road before winning on Wednesday night. The Saints currently find themselves in third place, two and a half games back of division leading Gary SouthShore and one and a half games behind second place Fargo Moorhead. Keep in mind that the top two teams in the North Divsion make the Amercian Association playoffs.

 

The Saints come back to CHS Field for a three game homestand versus the Kansas City T-Bones. Friday night is a celebration of International Beer Day. The Xcel Energy Friday night fireworks will feature beer drinking songs. Also Terry L. Wetzel (long time scout for Kansas City, Colorado and Washington) will be inducted into the Killebrew Root Beer Scouts Hall of Fame in a pregame ceremony, held outside the main gate of CHS Field. Saturday night's promotion is 150 years of helium; attendance numbers that night may be inflated. The series finale is on Sunday. It's the annual peanut-free day. No peanuts will be sold or consumed in CHS Field so that attendees with peanut allergies can attend. The first 1500 fans receive the 2018 Saints card set.

 

After a brief road trip to Sioux Falls early next week to battle the Canaries, the Saints come home for four more games versus one of the teams they are chasing, the Gary SouthShore Railcats, followed by a visit by the Canaries for four games and a brief two game set with the Fargo Moorhead RedHawks. Call 651-644-6659 for tickets or buy online and check out upcoming game promotions on http://saintsbaseball.com.

 

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[DocBauer]

Very neat read!

 

I have always thought any HOF induction should be heralded by the following: in the time X player performed/participated, was he one of the most dependable and accomplished players at his position.

 

Period.

 

If you followed MLB in the 80's and 90's then you KNOW Morris was one of the best SP around. Especially with the steroid era involved. Actually surprised it took this long. Stupid!

[theBOMisthebomb]

It was great to have Morris play with the Saints. I had forgotten the Yankees offered him a chance and he declined. It was probably for the best that Jack hung up the cleats at that time, although the Yankees won the 1996 World Series. I wonder if Jack has any regrets at not giving it a shot with the Yanks and adding another ring to his collection?

[Sarah]

If anyone is interested and gets KSTC Channel 45 (local station, it's channel 12 for me on Comcast) the Saints game is going to be televised this Sunday at 5 pm. 

[mrmpls]

 

If anyone is interested and gets KSTC Channel 45 (local station, it's channel 12 for me on Comcast) the Saints game is going to be televised this Sunday at 5 pm. 

t.y.

[Kevin Luckow]

Guys, a little error in paragraph one. The Saints had won two of three championships. not three of four going into 1996. Though they did win it all in 1996 after a so so second half. Late additions of ex big leaguers Glenn Davis, Hector Villanueva, and John Burgos came up huge in the playoffs.

[Sarah]

 

t.y.

 

You're welcome - it was fun to watch, beautiful day for baseball and the Saints won!