Justin Morneau, First Base, Retired


Date of Birth: 5/15/1981
Birthplace: New Westminster, Canada

Justin Morneau, retired first baseman, began his professional baseball career in the Canadian minor leagues. He was drafted by Minnesota in 1999 and he played with their minor league teams for four years before putting on a Twins' uniform in June, 2003. Morneau played in 40 games with the Twins in 2003 and he followed that with 74 games the next season. The 2005 season was his first full season for Minnesota. In 2008, Morneau signed a lucrative $80 million, six-year contract with the Twins.

In July, 2010, Morneau suffered a concussion and it limited his game playing for the next two years. He played in just 81 games in 2010 and 69 games in 2011, being sidelined by the effects of the concussion plus other injuries.

On August 31, 2013, Morneau was traded by the Twins to the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 2013, he played in 127 games with the Twins and 25 games with the Pirates. He batted .259 with 148 hits, 36 doubles, 17 home runs, and 77 RBIs.

Awards won by Morneau in his twelve seasons in the majors include the 2006 American League MVP award and two Silver Slugger awards (2006, 2008).

In December, 2013, Morneau signed a two-year, $14 million contract with the Colorado Rockies. He had a very strong season in 2014, finishing with 160 hits, 32 doubles, 17 home runs, 82 RBIs, and a .319 batting average.

Morneau played in just 49 games in 2015. He finished with a .310 batting average and 52 hits. Defensively, he played 44 games at first base.

Morneau signed a one-year, one million dollar contract with the Chicago White Sox on June 9, 2016. He spent more than half of the 2016 season on the DL, playing in just 58 games with the White Sox. He .261 with 53 hits, 14 doubles, and 25 RBIs.

Morneau became a free agent on November 3, 2016. He didn't play professional baseball in 2017.

Morneau retired as a major league player on January 17, 2018. After retiring, the Twins hired him as a special assistant.

Morneau's statistics in his fourteen major league seasons include:

  • 5 seasons with a batting average over .300, with a high of .321 in 2006
  • 5 seasons with over 20 home runs, with a high of 34 in 2006
  • 6 seasons with over 30 doubles, with a high of 47 in 2008
  • 4 seasons with 100 or more RBIs, with a high of 129 in 2008

Career batting statistics for Morneau through 2016 include:

  • 1,545 games played
  • 1,603 hits
  • 349 doubles
  • 247 home runs
  • 985 RBIs
  • 988 strikeouts to 573 walks
  • .281 batting average

Career fielding statistics for Morneau at first base through 2016 include:

  • 1,324 games played
  • 921 assists
  • 1,180 double plays
  • 11,239 putouts
  • 49 errors
  • .996 fielding percentage

Charitable Work

Morneau and his wife Krista established The Justin Morneau Family Foundation to aid underprivileged communities. Information is available at Morneau Foundation.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Justin Morneau
Wikipedia - Justin Morneau