|
Justin Ernest George Morneau (born May 15, 1981) is a Canadian professional baseball first baseman who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Minnesota Twins and Colorado Rockies. At and , Morneau was drafted as a catcher by the Minnesota Twins in 1999. He converted to first base in the minor leagues and made his MLB debut in 2003. He has held that position throughout his career and became the first Twin since Gary Gaetti in 1987–1988 to hit 30 home runs in consecutive seasons. A four-time All-Star, Morneau was the American League Most Valuable Player during the 2006 season by helping the Twins win their fourth division title in five years. He finished runner-up for MVP in 2008 and won two Silver Slugger Awards as well as the 2008 Home Run Derby. Internationally, Morneau represented Canada at the 2006, 2009, and 2013 World Baseball Classic. Midway through the 2010 season, Morneau suffered a concussion while sliding into second base. The injury sidelined him for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs. Up to that point, he was the fan voted leader to start the All-Star Game at First Base and a leading candidate for his second AL MVP award. Despite making the opening day roster in 2011, Morneau dealt with numerous injuries and sustained another concussion during the season that limited his production. Morneau has recovered from his ailments and has since split time between designated hitter and first base. ==Early years== Morneau is the youngest son of George Morneau, a hitting coach for many softball and baseball teams, childcare worker, and sporting goods store owner. His mother Audra Sinclair is an elementary school teacher and former fast-pitch softball player. Justin has an older brother, Geordie. His father once played hockey for the Brandon Wheat Kings and attended the training camp of the Minnesota North Stars. Morneau grew up in New Westminster, British Columbia, the historic "Royal City," adjacent to Vancouver, where he played hockey for the local minor team, the New Westminster Royals, and emerged as a star goaltender, playing for teams a year older than he was. He also played baseball in the New Westminster Minor Baseball Association and for the North Delta Blue Jays in the B.C. Premier Baseball League. Morneau attended Lord Tweedsmuir Elementary School in New Westminster, later transferring to Richard McBride Elementary School, where his mother was a teacher and coach and where he enrolled in a French immersion program. He played basketball and volleyball and ball hockey on the school teams. Growing up, Morneau was an avid sports fan, whose favourite athletes included hockey players Patrick Roy, fellow Vancouverite Cam Neely, Ray Bourque and baseball players John Olerud, Ken Griffey Jr, Jack Morris and Larry Walker. He was a Boston Bruins and Toronto Blue Jays fan. Morneau attended St. Thomas More Collegiate High School in 1994–95, for his grade 8 year, where he played basketball. Coaches approached him to play for the school's famed football program, based on his athletic ability, but he declined. Morneau transferred to New Westminster Secondary School and graduated in 1999. He continued to play basketball and hockey while in high school. 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 was associated with the Portland Winter Hawks of the Western Hockey League; he attended training camp and played one preseason game of Major Junior hockey as a goaltender. Morneau chose his jersey number (33) for goalie Patrick Roy. He is listed as winning the Memorial Cup in 1998 with the Winter Hawks. As Morneau put it, "I was the third goalie. A backup to the backup. If somebody got hurt, I might have gotten out there as a backup. I played in an exhibition game and backed up some regular-season games.".〔(Answer Man: Justin Morneau talks hockey, middle names – Big League Stew – MLB – Yahoo! Sports )〕 Morneau remained on Portland's Protected Player List until he decided to focus on baseball instead of hockey. According to Winter Hawks assistant coach at the time, Mike Williamson, "He was young and raw — a big guy who covered a lot of the net. I remember a conversation we had with him when recruiting him. We told him he should go to hockey because not many Canadian guys end up going very far and doing very well in baseball. He showed us otherwise."〔(【引用サイトリンク】author=James Mirtle )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Justin Morneau」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|