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By Jon Paul Hoornstra
Contributing Sports Writer
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John Morris, a journeyman left-handed pitcher who played eight seasons in Major League Baseball, died Wednesday in Scottsdale, Arizona. He was 84.
Born Aug. 23, 1941 in the coastal town of Lewes, Delaware, Morris played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Pilots, Milwaukee Brewers, and San Francisco Giants from 1966-74.
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Morris played both baseball and football in high school, and was a scholastic All-State quarterback who reportedly turned down 20 collegiate offers to sign with the Phillies for $25,000 in 1960.
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After toiling for six sesons in the minor leagues, Morris made his big league debut in July 1966 with Philadelphia, a relief appearance at the Astrodome against the Houston Astros. He would go on to make 12 more appearances out of the Phillies' bullpen that year, going 1-1 with a 5.27 ERA (71 ERA+).
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Morris lost his 40-man roster spot after the season. He would spend all of the 1967 season with the San Diego Padres, then the Phillies' affiliate in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League.
Morris' next ticket to the big leagues came by way of a trade. On Dec. 18, 1967, he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles along with cash (estimated at $15,000) as the player to be named later in the deal that sent pitcher Dick Hall to Philadelphia.
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Morris went 2-0 with a 2.56 ERA in 19 games out of the Orioles' bullpen in 1968, and spent most of the season in the minors. The Orioles were the runners-up to the Detroit Tigers for the American League pennant that year. With little room on their pitching staff, the Orioles left Morris unprotected in the 1969 expansion draft.
The brand-new Seattle Pilots franchise drafted Morris 52nd overall, and he made six appearances out of their bullpen in the team's only season of existence. That earned him a brief cameo in "Ball Four," pitcher Jim Bouton's legendary memoir that touched on his time in Seattle.
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Morris moved with the Pilots to Milwaukee in 1971, and he saw his most action over the next two seasons with the Brewers. He went 6-5 with a 3.83 ERA (95 ERA+) in 63 games (10 starts) as a Brewer.
In October 1971, Morris was traded again, this time to the San Francisco Giants for two minor league pitchers. He finished his career in San Francisco, making 24 relief appearances from 1973-74.
Morris is survived by his wife, Judith Klaiber, three children, and four grandchildren.
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