Cooperstown Choices: Jack Morris

Posted By on Jan 6, 2012 | 0 comments

With the Hall Of Fame election announcement coming on January 9, 2012, it is time to review the ballot, go over the names, and decide who belongs in the Hall Of Fame.

There are twenty seven men on the ballot this year and we will take a look at each one individually prior to official announcements. You can find all of the profiles in the I-70 Baseball Exclusives: Cooperstown Choices 2012 menu at the top of the page.

Tune in Saturday, January 7, 2012 as I-70 Baseball Radio will host a panel of writers discussing the Hall Of Fame Ballot in a 2-hour special.

In this article, we take a look at Jack Morris

Jack Morris
Morris enjoyed an 18 year career with four American League teams spanning from 1977 to 1994. His debut with the Detroit Tigers would place him with the franchise he would know for 14 years before he would move around and finish up as a member of the Cleveland Indians. Morris is on the ballot for the 17th year.

Year Tm W L ERA G GS CG SHO IP H R ER BB SO ERA+ SO/9
1977 DET 1 1 3.74 7 6 1 0 45.2 38 20 19 23 28 115 5.5
1978 DET 3 5 4.33 28 7 0 0 106.0 107 57 51 49 48 90 4.1
1979 DET 17 7 3.28 27 27 9 1 197.2 179 76 72 59 113 133 5.1
1980 DET 16 15 4.18 36 36 11 2 250.0 252 125 116 87 112 99 4.0
1981 DET 14 7 3.05 25 25 15 1 198.0 153 69 67 78 97 124 4.4
1982 DET 17 16 4.06 37 37 17 3 266.1 247 131 120 96 135 100 4.6
1983 DET 20 13 3.34 37 37 20 1 293.2 257 117 109 83 232 117 7.1
1984 DET 19 11 3.60 35 35 9 1 240.1 221 108 96 87 148 109 5.5
1985 DET 16 11 3.33 35 35 13 4 257.0 212 102 95 110 191 122 6.7
1986 DET 21 8 3.27 35 35 15 6 267.0 229 105 97 82 223 127 7.5
1987 DET 18 11 3.38 34 34 13 0 266.0 227 111 100 93 208 126 7.0
1988 DET 15 13 3.94 34 34 10 2 235.0 225 115 103 83 168 98 6.4
1989 DET 6 14 4.86 24 24 10 0 170.1 189 102 92 59 115 79 6.1
1990 DET 15 18 4.51 36 36 11 3 249.2 231 144 125 97 162 89 5.8
1991 MIN 18 12 3.43 35 35 10 2 246.2 226 107 94 92 163 125 5.9
1992 TOR 21 6 4.04 34 34 6 1 240.2 222 114 108 80 132 102 4.9
1993 TOR 7 12 6.19 27 27 4 1 152.2 189 116 105 65 103 70 6.1
1994 CLE 10 6 5.60 23 23 1 0 141.1 163 96 88 67 100 83 6.4
18 Seasons 254 186 3.90 549 527 175 28 3824.0 3567 1815 1657 1390 2478 105 5.8
162 Game Avg. 16 12 3.90 35 33 11 2 242 225 115 105 88 157 105 5.8
W L ERA G GS CG SHO IP H R ER BB SO ERA+ SO/9
DET (14 yrs) 198 150 3.73 430 408 154 24 3042.2 2767 1382 1262 1086 1980 108 5.9
TOR (2 yrs) 28 18 4.87 61 61 10 2 393.1 411 230 213 145 235 86 5.4
MIN (1 yr) 18 12 3.43 35 35 10 2 246.2 226 107 94 92 163 125 5.9
CLE (1 yr) 10 6 5.60 23 23 1 0 141.1 163 96 88 67 100 83 6.4
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/29/2011.

Why He Should Get In
Morris was an ace for the Detroit Tigers for many seasons, winning the all important 20 games three times during his career in 1983, 1986, and 1992. He also led the league in wins with 14 during the strike shortened 1981 season. He would never win a Cy Young Award, but would finish in the top ten seven times during his career. He made five All Star game rosters and received Most Valuable Player votes on five different occasions, ranking in the top 20 four times. With 254 wins and 2,478 strike outs, he should be in the Hall already.

Why He Should Not Get In
The only thing holding Morris back is the fact that he falls below 300 wins and played for a team that was not consistently competitive, keeping his numbers and recognition down.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball as well as the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com.
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.com.
Follow him on Twitter here.

Author: Bill Ivie

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