Jack Morris

By Brad Berreman
Love of Sports Correspondent

Can you name the winningest pitcher in major league baseball in the ‘80s, with 162 wins?

Your first guess might be Roger Clemens, but you’d be wrong.

Jack Morris is the answer to that bit of trivia.

Morris pitched in the big leagues from 1977-94. For the first 14 years, he pitched for the Detroit Tigers.

He helped the Tigers win the 1984 World Series against the Padres and make it to the 1987 ALCS, where they’d lose to the Minnesota Twins.

Morris would return to his hometown Twins in 1991. He had 18 regular season wins that season, but his most memorable moment came in Game 7 of the 1991 Series against the Braves.

That year, he went toe-to-toe with a young Braves starter named John Smoltz. They matched scoreless inning after scoreless inning throughout the game.  Morris would shut the Braves out for 10 innings, allowing the Twins to win the game 1-0 in walkoff fashion in the bottom of the 10th. He was named the World Series MVP in part for his heroic and gutsy performance in Game 7.

Morris moved on to the Blue Jays for the 1992 season, when he had 21 wins to become the first Blue Jay pitcher to have a 20-win season. He’d help Toronto beat the Braves in the 1992 Series, the third title of his career.

In 1993, Morris would collect his fourth ring with the Blue Jays as they defeated the Phillies. He didn’t pitch in the 1993 postseason, though.

Morris joined the Indians in 1994, only to leave the team in August. He’d never pitch again in the major leagues.

For his career, Morris had 254 wins, 2,478 strikeouts and a 3.90 ERA. He also made 14 consecutive Opening Day starts (which was, and probably still is, a major league record), ending in 1993.

Currently, he’s a radio analyst for the Twins on KSTP AM-1500 in the Twin Cities.

In recognition of a pitcher who personified the term “big game pitcher” and a true workhorse, here’s some Old School Love to Jack Morris!