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Nyjer Jamid Morgan (born July 2, 1980 in San Francisco, California) is an American Major League Baseball outfielder for the Washington Nationals. Morgan also played ice hockey, reaching the Major Junior level with the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League in 1999–2000. Following that season, Morgan turned his focus exclusively on baseball and was drafted by the Pirates in the 33rd round of the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft.[1]
[edit] Major league career[edit] Pittsburgh Pirates[edit] 2007On September 1, 2007, Morgan made his major league debut for the Pirates against the Milwaukee Brewers as a late-season call-up. On September 17, 2007, Morgan made a catch in Minute Maid Park's center field that proved the difference in a 4-3 Pirates win. Houston Astros manager Cecil Cooper said of the catch "That's probably the best catch I've seen this year.".[2] The catch garnered references to Willy Mays' The Catch on SportsCenter the following day.[3] Morgan also showed his tools against the San Diego Padres on September 20, going 2 for 3 with a triple, two runs scored, two stolen bases, and an outfield assist throwing out Scott Hairston.[4] Morgan's first home run came September 25 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.[5] [edit] 2008Morgan was expected to make the 2008 roster as the Pirates' starting center fielder, but lost the position battle to Nate McLouth during spring training.[6] After a poor start to the season, he was optioned to the Triple-A affiliate Indianapolis Indians. Morgan made several appearances for the Pirates, but spent most of his season in Indianapolis until a productive September call up to the parent club. [edit] 2009Morgan overcame an unimpressive spring training in 2009 to claim the job of starting left fielder. Building on his positive 2nd half of 2008, he proved himself to be a defensively-gifted fan favorite, often referring to left field as "Morgantown". Although he stole 42 bases in 2009, he was caught 17 times -- tied for the most in the majors.[7] [edit] Washington NationalsOn June 30, 2009, Morgan was traded to the Washington Nationals along with pitcher Sean Burnett in exchange for outfielder Lastings Milledge and pitcher Joel Hanrahan. Morgan fractured his hand sliding into third base on August 27, 2009, and was placed on the 15-day disabled list on August 28.[8] [edit] Personal lifeMorgan occasionally refers to himself as "Tony Plush", which he says is his "gentleman's name".[9] [edit] References
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Categories: 1980 births | Living people | African American baseball players | Pittsburgh Pirates players | Washington Nationals players | Indianapolis Indians players | Major League Baseball outfielders | Major League Baseball players from California | People from San Francisco, California | Regina Pats alumni | Lynchburg Hillcats alumni | Williamsport Crosscutters players | United States baseball outfielder stubs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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