Michael Morse (Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

The early seasons of baseball’s return to Washington produced some poor teams, as the franchise attempted to rebuild from years of neglect in Montreal. Like a bad high school breakup, many Nationals’ fans would prefer to simply forget 2006-2011 – however, one of the happy memories from this period is former Washington slugger Michael Morse. Armed with a batting stance like a coiled cobra and known affectionately as “The Beast”, Morse brought “Beast Mode” to NatsTown and became one of the most popular players in franchise history.

Morse was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 3rd round of the 2000 MLB Draft by way of a Florida high school. He would spend four years in their minor league system before being traded, along with Miguel Olivo and Jeremy Reed, to Seattle for Freddy Garcia and Ben Davis in June 2004. Morse would spent the next four seasons bouncing between Seattle and the minors, playing a total of 107 games for the Mariners between 2005-2008.

In what was considered a minor swap at the time, on June 28, 2009 the Washington Nationals traded OF Ryan Langerhans to Seattle for a then 27-year-old minor leaguer Morse. At the time Morse was regarded as an oversized shortstop and a defensive liability. He spent several weeks in Washington’s minor leagues before receiving a promotion on August 21st. Morse finished 2009 with 3 home runs and 10 RBIs in 52 at-bats for the Nationals.

2010 was another disappointing season for Washington, but Morse took advantage of the available playing time to hit .289/.352/.519 with 15 home runs and 41 RBIs in 266 at-bats. This performance set up Morse for substantial playing time in 2011 as part of a left field platoon with OF Laynce Nix.

Although he led the Grapefruit League with 9 home runs, Morse started the season slowly in 2011 and was relegated to primarily a pinch hitting capacity by mid-May. However, a season-ending injury to Adam LaRoche forced Morse into a starting role at first base.  This consistent playing time allowed him to blossom offensively. From the time Morse took over on May 22 through July 5th, Morse hit 13 homers and drove in 35 runs, earning him one of five places in the voting for the final spot on the All-Star roster. Overall Morse completed 2011 with a .303/.360/.550 battling line with 31 home runs and 95 RBIs, establishing himself as a legitimate right-handed major league slugger.

Morse again struggled to begin the 2012 season, this time due to a back injury and spent the first two months of the season on Washington’s disabled list. Once he returned, Morse continued to be a productive hitter, batting .291/.321/.470 with 18 home runs in 108 games played. In addition he was a major reason Washington won 98 games that season. Unfortunately he entered the offseason in a quagmire, as Washington needed to make a decision to either re-sign free agent Adam LaRoche or commit to Morse at the cold corner.

On January 16th, 2013 general manager Mike Rizzo made the difficult decision to trade Morse, sending him in a 3-way deal with Seattle and Oakland, in return for prospects A.J. Cole and Blake Treinen, along with a Player To Be Named Later, eventually Ian Krol. Morse began 2013 bouncing between left and right field for Seattle in between stints on the disabled list, swatting 13 home runs in 76 games for the Mariners before a late August trade to the Orioles. The move to Baltimore was an epic failure, as Morse only hit .103/.133/.103 in 29 September at-bats before entering free agency.
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The San Francisco Giants signed Morse to a 1-year $6 million contract that offseason to start in left field and provide right-handed power. Although his defense in their expansive left field was aesthetically unappealing, Morse provided the Giants with a .279/.336/.475 batting line and 16 homers over 131 games played. Furthermore, Morse played a role as postseason hero for San Francisco, sparking improbable rallies in Game 5 of the NLCS and Game 7 of the World Series.

Again Morse reached free agency that winter but this time he signed a 2-year $16 million contract with the Miami Marlins to be their starting first baseman and lineup protection for slugger Giancarlo Stanton. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned for Morse, as he lost his job to Justin Bohr by May and was shipped to the Dodgers in a “salary dump” 3-team deal in July. The Dodgers promptly designated him for assignment and on July 31st Morse was traded to Pittsburgh for Jose Tabata.

He rebounded with the Pirates, batting .275/.390/.391 in 45 total games for Pittsburgh. As of today, Morse enters 2016 projected to be in a platoon in the Steel City, competing with recent acquisitions John Jaso and Jason Rogers for playing time at first base.

Michael Morse will always have a permanent place as a Nationals’ fan-favorite due to his monster home runs, infectious smile and outgoing personality. In addition to these qualities, all of which are true, I fondly recall Morse because he was perhaps the only player who took advantage of the available playing time on a rebuilding team to develop himself into a successful major league player.

Injuries have limited his overall big league production, but few played harder in Washington or are more enjoyable to watch take club a baseball than Morse. Here’s to another season of health and success in 2016, except against Washington, and I eagerly anticipate the day when Michael Morse is inducted in the Nationals’ Ring of Honor.

* Special Thank You to Cheryl Nichols of District Sports Page for generously sharing her impressive photos! *