Justis Logan Morrison (born August 25, 1987), nicknamed "LoMo", is an American former professional baseball first baseman and left fielder.
He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida/Miami Marlins, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays, Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers.
Morrison was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and moved around a lot with his father, who served as a chief petty officer during his 28-year United States Coast Guard career.
[1][2][3] Morrison has also lived in Wilmington, North Carolina; Key West, Florida; Newport News, Virginia, and Slidell, Louisiana.
[2][5] Morrison was drafted after his senior year (2005) at Northshore High School in Slidell, Louisiana, by the Florida Marlins in the 22nd round, but decided to attend Maple Woods (MO) Community College, and was signed as a draft-and-follow prior to the 2006 Major League Baseball draft.
[2] There, he batted .404 (3rd in the league), was on the All Prospect Team, was named a Rising Star, and was Player of the Week on November 3.
[2] A broken bone in his right thumb limited Morrison to 79 games at Double-A in 2009, where he batted .277/.411 (7th-best in the league)/.442 with 8 home runs, 47 RBIs, and 18 doubles.
The number had been retired for the entirety of the Marlins' existence in honor of the late Carl Barger, the team's founding president and chief operating officer.
[9] His season ended early due to right knee inflammation, and he underwent surgery to repair his patella tendon.
[2] In 2012, Morrison was the Marlins' nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, given to a player who shows outstanding commitment to helping others both on and off the field.
On June 11, he was activated from the disabled list, and immediately took over the first base role vacated by Justin Smoak, who went down with an injury.
[9] Over the final two months of the season (49 games), he hit .321/.375/.512 with 6 home runs and 20 RBIs, solidifying his role as the Mariners' first baseman heading into 2015.
Smoak was allowed to leave the club via waivers, and Morrison avoided arbitration with Seattle for $2.725 million.
Morrison also struggled against left-handed pitchers in 2015, hitting .190 with a 19.4% strikeout rate, higher than his season total of 15.9% On November 5, 2015, Morrison, Brad Miller, and Danny Farquhar were traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Nathan Karns, C. J. Riefenhauser, and Boog Powell.
Having supplanted incumbent first baseman James Loney with a solid spring training, Morrison began 2016 with the lion's share of starts at first base, with utility man Steve Pearce as his platoon-mate.
On February 6, 2017, Morrison signed a one-year contract worth $2.5 million to remain with the Rays for the 2017 season.
[27][28] A labrum tear in his left hip ended his season early, in August, as he underwent surgery.
[37] On April 28, 2021, Morrison signed with the High Point Rockers of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.
[39] On April 9, 2022, Morrison signed with the High Point Rockers of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.
[3][41] Morrison pays tribute to his father with a Coast Guard salute to the skies every time he hits a home run.
[42] Morrison hosts an annual baseball camp in his father's honor with all proceeds benefiting the American Lung Association.