Morse confident he’s got plenty of swing left in bat
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Some wedding guests take home a floral centerpiece.
Michael Morse went to Hunter Pence’s wedding in November and took home an invitation to spring training.
“It wasn’t planned or anything,” said Morse, who found himself chatting with Giants GM Bobby Evans and ending the conversation with a handshake deal.
I told themto write up a contract. I don’t care about the money part.… What other team would do that? That’s probably why I’m the luckiest guy here.” — Michael Morse
Morse told Evans that he felt he still had something to offer as a reserve player, even though he appeared in just six major league games last season before the Pirates released him.
Evans replied: “Well, if you don’t think you’re done, why don’t you come to camp?”
“I told them to write up a contract,” Morse said. “I don’t care about the money part. … What other team would do that? That’s probably why I’m the luckiest guy here.”
Count his best friend, Pence, a close second.
“He was so excited,” Morse said. “I told him, ‘I think we just shook on a little deal here.’ Hunter said, ‘I got married, and you’re coming back? Perfect!’”
Time will tell if this rebound relationship between Morse and the Giants has a chance of working. There is no doubting the clutch, right-handed power that Morse would offer off the bench. (His final acts as a Giant in 2014 included the improbable, tying home run he hit off the Cardinals’ Pat Neshek in the NLCS clincher and the RBI single that drove in the go-ahead run against the Royals in Game 7 of the World Series.) But the 34-year-old must show competence in left field and at first base as well.
And the South Florida native is coming off two injury-marred seasons after signing a two-year, $16 million contract with the Miami Marlins, who ended up dumping his salary on the Dodgers in a trade. Before he could play a game for the Dodgers, they shipped him to Pittsburgh.
On the walls of his home, Morse has a framed jersey of every major league team for which he has played.
“Had to get a Dodger jersey and frame it,” he said, smiling. “Had to.”
The Pirates released Morse just three weeks into last season, and he took up some broadcasting work for CBS Sports. He said he needed the mental and physical break from the game, but it gnawed at him when he’d watch players and find himself thinking, “I can do that. I’m better than him.”
So he started working out. But not for just anyone.
“I don’t want to play for anybody else but the Giants,” Morse said. “My main goal is to make this team. I’m pretty sure if I hit .900 this spring and didn’t make the team, I wouldn’t want to play somewhere else. It just shows you what the Giants mean and what a family they are. I’d rather go home than play somewhere else. “I know I’m not done.” Morse might be a sentimental favorite, but nostalgia only pulls so hard at the heart. The Giants twice cut Travis Ishikawa, whose home run clinched the pennant in that unforgettable Game 5 against the Cardinals that Morse had tied with his shot off Neshek an inning earlier.
Would Morse go to Triple-A Sacramento if he doesn’t make the club? He said he wasn’t sure.
It’s clear that Morse will have to impress to win a job this spring. Even if Jarrett Parker opens as the left fielder and Mac Williamson begins at Triple-A, the path to a roster spot for Morse is not clear. The Giants might decide they need more coverage in the infield, or could benefit more from carrying catcher Trevor Brown in a utility role. Morse’s chief competition would appear to be Justin Ruggiano, another nonroster invitee with right-handed power who is younger and can play center field in a pinch.
Evans mentioned the possibility of signing additional candidates when he spoke to Morse back in November. Evans told Morse that he wouldn’t be offended if the veteran hitter were to change his mind.
“No, I’ll come,” Morse told Evans. “I’m coming and I’m bringing everything I’ve got. I’m coming hard with it. If this is my last opportunity, I’ll give it everything I’ve got.”
Korean third baseman Jae-gyun Hwang reported to camp Thursday and two things became clear after he met with reporters: no, he won’t do those ostentatious bat flips after home runs, and yes, he would consider going to Triple-A Sacramento if he doesn’t make the big league roster.
Hwang, a six-time All-Star with Lotte Giants in Korea, said he stopped his flamboyant bat flips a year ago.
“Until 2015,” he said through interpreter Mark Kim, “I was very expressive.”
Hwang is in camp on a minor-league contract with a $1.5 million salary if he makes the opening-day roster, and although he can opt out of his contract if he isn’t on the club by the end of spring, he signaled a willingness to prove himself at Triple-A Sacramento.
“A lot of people assume if he doesn’t make it, he’s just going to run back to Korea, but that’s not his mentality,” Lee said. “I’ve told him it’s very much possible he could start at Sacramento, and if that’s the case, he’ll just have to work his way up.”