Hal Morris Appointed Director, Pro Scouting
Former Major Leaguer to Oversee Major League Scouting Efforts
The Angels Monday announced former Major League first baseman Hal Morris has agreed to terms on a multi-year contract to become Director of Pro Scouting. The announcement was made by General Manager Jerry Dipoto.
"Hal brings a very special set of skills to our organization," said Dipoto. "His abilities in the areas of player evaluation and qualitative analysis will play a major role in the program we are building here."
Morris, 46, began his professional career after his selection by the New York Yankees in the eighth round of the 1986 First-Year Player draft. He attended Munster High School in Munster, Indiana, and later the University of Michigan. Morris was part of a Michigan team that started the 1983 campaign with a 33-0 record and eventually participated in the College World Series. Morris was part of a team that included three future Reds (also Barry Larkin and Chris Sabo).
He would eventually make his Major League debut on July 29, 1988 for the Yankees. During a career that included time with New York (1988-89), Cincinnati (1990-97, 1999-2000), Kansas City (1998) and Detroit (2000), the Fort Rucker, Alabama, native with a career .304 average (1,216/3,998) with 76 home runs and 513 RBI in 1,246 career games.
A member of the 1990 World Champion Reds, Morris' sacrifice fly in Game 4 turned out to be the game (and series) winning RBI. A year later, he finished second in the National League batting race, one point behind Atlanta's Terry Pendleton (.319 to .318).
Following his retirement, Morris continued his education by graduating with an MBA from Stanford University in 2005. His curriculum included a range of courses including sports marketing and quantitative analysis to name a few. Following his post-graduate degree, he worked in real estate development. Eager to return to baseball, Morris joined the Pittsburgh Pirates organization and scouted amateur players from 2008-2009 before joining the Boston Red Sox in 2010. With the Sox, Morris was assigned to evaluate players already in the organization, both on the major and minor league levels.