Kendrys Morales | |||
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Morales batting for the Kansas City Royals
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Toronto Blue Jays – No. 8 | |||
Designated hitter | |||
Born: Fomento, Cuba |
June 20, 1983 |||
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MLB debut | |||
May 23, 2006, for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | |||
MLB statistics (through 2016 season) |
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Batting average | .273 | ||
Hits | 1,014 | ||
Home runs | 162 | ||
Runs batted in | 586 | ||
Teams | |||
Career highlights and awards | |||
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Medal record | ||
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Men’s Baseball | ||
Representing Cuba | ||
Pan American Games | ||
2003 Santo Domingo | Team | |
Baseball World Cup | ||
2003 Havana | Team | |
Intercontinental Cup | ||
2002 Havana | Team |
Kendrys Morales Rodriguez (born June 20, 1983) is a Cuban Dominicanprofessional baseball designated hitter for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Seattle Mariners, Minnesota Twins, and Kansas City Royals.
Morales suffered an ankle injury on May 29, 2010, during a celebration of his walk-off grand slam, which kept him out of Major League Baseball for nearly two years. On April 6, 2012, Morales returned to the Angels' line-up for the season opener against the Kansas City Royals. Morales has also played first base and right field during his MLB career.
Morales played in Cuba's equivalent of the United States' Triple-A level. With 16- to 17-year-olds in the category, he was the first starter of the pitching staff, and fourth in the batting order, and had the ability to hit home runs from both sides of the plate.
Morales joined the Cuban national baseball team in 2002 and immediately became a star player—despite being the first teenager to make the team in nearly twenty years. He was the cleanup hitter on the team during its dramatic 2003 World Cup championship. His grand slam in the final round against Taiwan secured a 6–3 Cuban victory, one game after hitting a home run that provided the winning runs against Brazil.