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For other persons named Jim Morris, see Jim Morris (disambiguation). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2007) This article's citation style may be unclear. The references used may James "Jimmy" Samuel Morris (born January 19, 1964 in Brownwood, Texas) is a former American professional baseball player known for his brief Major League Baseball career. He spent most of his childhood moving to different cities. According to his autobiography, he began playing baseball at the age of three. After the Vietnam War his father became a recruiter for the United States Navy and his family settled in Texas. He attended Angelo State University but as his school did not yet have a baseball program, he played football, but he never gave up on his dreams of becoming a professional baseball player. Originally selected 465th overall in the January 1982 Amateur Baseball draft by the New York Yankees but did not sign, Morris would then be later selected fourth overall in While coaching baseball for the Reagan County Owls, Morris made a promise to his team that he would try out for Major League Baseball if his team won the District Championship, something the team had never accomplished before. His team won the title, and Morris kept his end of the bargain. At tryouts, the Major League scout for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays initially wasn't interested in Morris. But, the scout agreed to allow him to try-out so Morris could keep his promise to his students. Surprisingly, Morris discovered that in spite of his age, and having several surgeries on his arm, he was able to throw a 98-mph fastball. In fact, he threw 12 consecutive 98-mph fastballs. After much debate with his family, Morris signed a professional contract with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays organization at the age of 35. He started out with the Minor League Class AA Orlando Rays but after a few appearances he moved up to a spot with the AAA Durham Bulls. Thanks to solid performances | ||||
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