Matt Morris (born August 9, 1974 in Middletown, New York) is a right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball with the San Francisco Giants. After starring at Seton Hall University in New Jersey, he was drafted 12th overall in the June 1995 free agent draft by the St. Louis Cardinals. Morris did well in the minor leagues, reaching the majors in 1997. He posted some solid numbers, winning 12 games with a 3.49 ERA. Unfortunately, in 1999 he had to undergo Tommy John surgery after he was injured in spring training.
Morris became the Cardinals' ace pitching staff once again in 2001, earning his first All-Star selection and a 3rd place finish in the NL Cy Young voting as he won 22 games with 185 strikeouts and a 3.16 ERA. In 2002 he won 17 games and made his second All-Star appearance.
In 2004, Morris was awarded an incentive-laden one-year contract after he won 15 games on a Cardinals team that made the World Series. Statistically, he had his worst season as he also lost 10 games for the first time in his career and had a 4.72 ERA, also a career high.
In the 2005 season, Morris has had a revival of sorts. He underwent surgery during the off-season, started the season 8-0 with a 3.16 ERA, and was 10-2 with a 3.10 ERA at the time of the All-Star game. In fact, he was considered by many to be snubbed for the All-Star game. However, he has had a tough second half of the season, going only 4-7 with a 5.55 ERA. He was still the number three starter for the Cardinals in the playoffs, behind ace Chris Carpenter, and Mark Mulder. In the especially thin free-agent market of the 2005 offseason, Morris was being touted as one of the best available pitchers.
On December 12, 2005, Morris signed a 3-year contract with the San Francisco Giants worth $27 million.
