Justin Morneau
1918652
226151404
2008-07-17T01:31:57Z
Onorem
622881
True, but not really important in the grand scheme of things...
{{Infobox MLB player|
image=Justin Morneau.jpg|
name=Justin Morneau|
width=300|
position=First base|
team=Minnesota Twins|
number=33|
bats=Left|
throws=Right|
birthdate={{birth date and age|1981|5|15}}|
debutdate=June 10|
debutyear=2003|
debutteam=Minnesota Twins|
statyear=July 17, 2008|
stat1label=[[Batting average|Batting Average]]|
stat1value=.283|
stat2label=[[Home run|Home Runs]]|
stat2value=124|
stat3label=[[Run batted in|RBI]]|
stat3value=462|
teams=<nowiki></nowiki>
*[[Minnesota Twins]] ({{by|2003}}-present)
| awards = <nowiki></nowiki>
* 2x [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] selection ({{by|2007}}, {{by|2008}})
*[[Silver Slugger Award]] winner ({{by|2006}})
* 2006 [[AL MVP]]
* 2008 [[Home Run Derby]] winner
}}
'''Justin Ernest George Morneau''' (born [[May 15]], [[1981]] in [[New Westminster, British Columbia]]) is a [[Canadian]] [[Major League Baseball]] player who is currently the [[Minnesota Twins]]' everyday [[first baseman]]. For his [[2006 in baseball|2006 season]], he was awarded the [[Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award|American League Most Valuable Player]] award. In his [[2008 in baseball|2008 season]], he became the first [[Canadian]] to win the [[Home Run Derby]].<ref>http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080714&content_id=3134852&vkey=news_min&fext=.jsp&c_id=min</ref> He is considered one of the premier first basemen in the [[Major League Baseball|Major Leagues]].<ref>[http://mopupduty.com/?p=20 Mop Up Duty | Baseball News Sabermetric | Baseball History Bio » Blog Archive » Bill Phillips vs. Justin Morneau<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
== High school and minor league careers ==
Morneau is a 1999 graduate of [[New Westminster Secondary School]], where he was named the New Westminster High School Athlete of the year and was a member of Canadian national champion baseball teams in 1997 and 1998. In 1998, he was selected the best hitter and catcher of the National Championships playing for Team British Columbia.
Morneau did not attend college. He was selected by the Twins in the 3rd round as the 89th overall pick of the [[1999 Major League Baseball Draft|1999 MLB amateur entry draft]]. In six minor league seasons, he hit .310 with 87 home runs, 153 [[RBI]] and 122 doubles. Morneau participated in the 2002 and 2004 [[All-Star Futures Game]]s, playing for the World teams. Morneau also played ice hockey, and attended a training camp with the [[Portland Winter Hawks]] as a goaltender on the team's 50-man Protected Player List.<ref>[http://www.sunmedia.ca/Slam020909/bbl_edm-sun.html In a role, maybe on a roll<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Morneau chose his jersey number (33) for goalie [[Patrick Roy]].
== Professional career==
[[Image:Justin Morneau-Metrodome-20060611.jpg|thumb|275 px|Home run for Morneau, [[Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome]]]]
===2003-2005===
Morneau made his [[Major League Baseball]] debut with the Twins on [[June 10]], [[2003]], but spent the majority of the season with the Triple A [[Rochester Red Wings]]. In 2004, after compiling impressive minor league numbers, he forced the Twins to deal veteran first baseman [[Doug Mientkiewicz]] to the [[Boston Red Sox]] and became the Twins' starting first baseman. Morneau appeared in 61 games for the Twins in 2004, hitting 19 home runs in 280 at bats while committing just three errors.
The 2005 season was a struggle for Morneau, as he dealt with a variety of off-season illnesses and was hit in the head by a pitch in April. Although he never appeared to fully shake off his early season setbacks, Morneau finished the 2005 season second on the Twins in home runs with 22 and paced the squad with 74 RBI.
Prior to the 2006 season, Morneau suited up for his native Canada in the [[2006 World Baseball Classic]]. He hit .308 with 3 doubles and 2 RBI in three games.
===2006 Season===
After a slow start to 2006, Morneau exploded offensively in the months of June, July, and August, raising his batting average nearly 50 points in June after beginning the month hitting .240. He raised his average another 33 points in July and after June consistently appeared near the top of the [[American League]] leaderboard in batting average, home runs, and RBI. On [[August 9]], Morneau became the first Twin since [[1987 Major League Baseball season|1987]] to hit 30 home runs in a single season. He finished the season hitting .321 (6th in the AL) and slugging .559 (6th in AL) with 34 home runs and 130 RBI. He was second in the league in RBI and tied [[Larry Walker]]'s [[1997 Major League Baseball season|1997]] total for the most RBI in a season by a Canadian. For his hitting, he won the 2006 American League [[Silver Slugger Award]] for first base.
On [[November 21]], Morneau won the [[MLB Most Valuable Player Award|American League Most Valuable Player Award]] in a close vote over [[Derek Jeter]] of the [[New York Yankees]], becoming only the fourth player in Twins history (after [[Zoilo Versalles]], [[Harmon Killebrew]], and [[Rod Carew]]) to receive the honor. He became the first Canadian to win the AL MVP award, and the second Canadian to win a major league MVP award ([[Larry Walker]] was the first, having won the NL MVP Award in 1997).
===2007 Season===
Morneau played in 157 games, hitting 31 home runs. In May of 2007, Morneau won the [[Player of the Month]] in the American League for the first time in his career.
Morneau appears on the cover of the arcade baseball video game [[The Bigs]] in Canadian stores and at [[Best Buy]] stores in the United States.
Morneau was named to the [[2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game]] roster in 2007 for the first time. He also participated in the [[2007 State Farm Home Run Derby]] for the first time. He was up first and hit 4 homers and ended up tying with [[Albert Pujols]] in first round. He was subsequently eliminated with only one homer on 5 chances in a tie-off. Pujols advanced to 2nd round with 2 homers.
Morneau had his first career three home run game on July 6, 2007 against the [[Chicago White Sox]]. He had a solo, 2-run, and a 3-run homer. He had an at bat to try for his fourth home run, but his bat got under the ball, and he flew out to deep left field.
====2007 Offseason====
On [[January 25]], [[2008]], Morneau agreed to a six year contract worth $80 million, the largest and longest deal in Twins history.<ref>[http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080125&content_id=2355423&vkey=news_min&fext=.jsp&c_id=min The Official Site of The Minnesota Twins: News: Morneau, Cuddyer ink multiyear deals<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
===2008 Season===
On [[July 6]], [[2008]], Morneau was announced as a reserve player for the [[American League]] in the [[2008 Major League Baseball All-Star Game]]. <ref>http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080706&content_id=3076222&vkey=news_min&fext=.jsp&c_id=min</ref>
On [[July 10]], [[2008]], Morneau tied a career high with 5 hits in a game as the visiting [[Minnesota Twins]] beat the [[Detroit Tigers]]. He hit what went on to be the game winning home run to finish the day 5 for 5 with a walk in a 7-6 11-innings win. <ref>http://www.startribune.com/sports/24332544.html?location_refer=Sports:highlightModules:1</ref>
On [[July 14]], [[2008]], Morneau won the [[2008 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby|2008 Home Run Derby]], defeating [[Josh Hamilton (baseball)|Josh Hamilton]] of the [[Texas Rangers]]. He became the first [[Canadian]] to win the [[Home Run Derby]]. <ref>http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080714&content_id=3134852&vkey=news_min&fext=.jsp&c_id=min</ref>
On [[July 15]], [[2008]], Morneau scored the winning run for the American League in the [[MLB All Star Game]] at [[Yankee Stadium]]. <ref>http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080715&content_id=3138670&vkey=news_min&fext=.jsp&c_id=min</ref>
Through [[July 17]], [[2008]], Morneau has a .323 batting average with 14 home runs and 68 RBI. <ref>http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=7063</ref>
Morneau is 7 HR away from joining the [[List of top 500 Major League Baseball home run hitters]].
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! Season !! Team !! [[Games played|G]] !! [[At bat|AB]] !! [[Run (baseball)|R]] !! [[Hit (baseball)|H]] !! [[Double (baseball)|2B]] !! [[Triple (baseball)|3B]] !! [[Home run|HR]] !! [[RBI]] !! [[Stolen base|SB]] !! [[Stolen base|CS]] !! [[Walk (baseball)|BB]] !! [[Strikeout|SO]] !! [[Batting average|AVG]] !! [[On base percentage|OBP]] !! [[Slugging average|SLG]]
|-
![[2003 Minnesota Twins season|2003]] !![[Minnesota Twins|MIN]]
|40 ||106 ||14 ||24 ||4 ||0 ||4 ||16 ||0 ||0 ||9 ||30 ||.226 ||.287 ||.377
|-
![[2004 Minnesota Twins season|2004]] !![[Minnesota Twins|MIN]]
|74 ||280 ||39 ||76 ||17 ||0 ||19 ||58 ||0 ||0 ||28 ||54 ||.271 ||.340 ||.536
|-
![[2005 Minnesota Twins season|2005]] !![[Minnesota Twins|MIN]]
|141 ||490 ||62 ||117 ||23 ||4 ||22 ||79 ||0 ||2 ||44 ||94 ||.239 ||.304 ||.437
|-
![[2006 Minnesota Twins season|2006]] !![[Minnesota Twins|MIN]]
|157 ||592 ||97 ||190 ||37 ||1 ||34 ||130 ||3 ||3 ||53 ||93 ||.321 ||.375 ||.559
|-
![[2007 Minnesota Twins season|2007]] !![[Minnesota Twins|MIN]]
|157 ||590 ||84 ||160 ||31 ||3 ||31 ||111 ||1 ||1 ||64 ||91 ||.271 ||.343 ||.492
|-
!colspan="2"|Total ||569||2058 ||296 ||567 ||112 ||8 ||110 ||394 ||4 ||6 ||198 ||362 ||.276 ||.340 ||.498
|}
==Personal life==
During an interview on WCCO radio on January 26, 2008 Morneau announced his engagement to Minnesota native and graduate of GFW (Gibbon Fairfax Winthrop) Krista Martin. <ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.startribune.com/sports/14471042.html | title=Twins' contract offer to Santana still stands | author=Sid Hartman | date=2008-1-28 | publisher= Star Tribune}}</ref>
==Quotes==
*“(The ''[[Star Tribune]]'') said they were going to do it as more of a joke. I didn’t really want to do it — I didn’t really like it.” — Morneau on newspaper's full page spread labeling him and [[Joe Mauer]] as the "M & M Boys."<ref name="quo">[http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/baseball/archive/2005/05/the_reluctant_m.shtml MPR: The Bleacher Bums: The reluctant "M"<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
*“He didn’t call me or anything. It was an accident, but a lot of people would have called to see how someone is doing after they got hit in the head. Especially if they had to go on the DL.” — Morneau on pitcher [[Ron Villone]] after an April 2005 beaning.<ref name="quo"/>
*“That felt pretty good. It was the situation too; it was a one-run game and I hit a three run homer and that was pretty cool.” — Morneau on his three-run homer off Villone in September 2006. It was the first time he had faced the left-hander since the beaning.<ref name="quo2">[http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/baseball/archive/2006/09/what_a_differen.shtml MPR: The Bleacher Bums: Justin Morneau: What a difference a year makes<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
*“I don’t like opening up the paper and reading...quotes about myself. I don’t really like to see myself on TV or anything like that.” — Morneau on the increased media attention he has experienced in 2006.<ref name="quo2"/>
*“You are just not really thinking about anything and seeing the ball well. You go out there and feel pretty relaxed and patient and when they give you that pitch, you do something with it."— Morneau on his 3 home run game on July 6, 2007<ref>[http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/baseball/archive/2007/07/kicking_it_with_1.shtml MPR: The Bleacher Bums: Kicking it with the MVP, Part II<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
==See also==
* [[Major League Baseball hitters with three home runs in one game]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* [http://www.justinmorneau.com Justin Morneau.com - News and Notes, Fan Shop, Photo Gallery and More!]
* {{Baseballstats |mlb=408047 |espn=5379 |br=m/morneju01 |fangraphs= |cube=m/justin-morneau}}
* [http://www.publicradio.org/columns/minnesota/baseball/archive/2006/09/what_a_differen.php What a difference a year makes (Minnesota Public Radio)]
* [http://www.myspace.com/justinmorneaucom Justin Morneau's MySpace]
{{start box}}
{{succession box | before = [[Alex Rodriguez]] | title = [[MLB Most Valuable Player award|American League Most Valuable Player]]| years = 2006 | after = [[Alex Rodriguez]]}}
{{succession box | before = [[Alex Rodriguez]] | title = [[Player of the Month|American League Player of the Month]]| years = May 2007 | after = [[Alex Rodriguez]]}}
{{succession box | before = [[Vladimir Guerrero]] | title = [[Home Run Derby|Home Run Derby Champion]]| years = {{by|2008}} | after = incumbent}}
{{end box}}
{{Minnesota Twins roster navbox}}
{{AL MVPs}}
{{AL 1B Silver Slugger Award}}
{{Home Run Derby champions}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morneau, Justin}}
<!-- Categories -->
[[Category:1981 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Major league first basemen]]
[[Category:Minnesota Twins players]]
[[Category:All-Star Futures Game players]]
[[Category:Canadian baseball players]]
[[Category:2006 World Baseball Classic players of Canada]]
[[Category:British Columbia sportspeople]]
[[Category:People from New Westminster]]
[[Category:American League All-Stars]]
[[fr:Justin Morneau]]
[[ja:ジャスティン・モルノー]]
[[zh:賈斯汀•摩爾諾]]