Kendrys Morales Announces His Retirement from MLB

February 9, 2020

After 13 seasons playing with seven Major League teams, Cuban Kendrys Morales officially announced his retirement as an active player on Friday in an interview with ESPN journalist Marly Rivera.

"I believe I could have finished with better numbers in the Major Leagues, but after my surgery for the knee injury, I played with pain in the affected area along with discomfort in my hip and spine. I leave with fond memories of the teams where I played and many players. But it's time to spend more time with my family," Morales stated.

The native of the town of Fomento, in Las Villas, who has been one of the best Caribbean hitters to pass through the Major Leagues in recent years, signed a six-season contract with the Los Angeles Angels in December 2004 and made his debut on May 23, 2006, connecting three hits, including a home run with three runs batted in.

Kendrys did not have much playing time in his first three years with the Angels as this team had another talented young player at first base named Casey Kotchman, and later Mark Teixeira (2008). Because of this, whenever they called him up to the Majors regardless of whether he was producing, they sent him back to the minors. It happened frequently, as he had only 197 at-bats in 2006, 119 in 2007, and 61 in 2008.

When he was given a permanent spot in 2009 since Teixeira went to the New York Yankees, Kendrys destroyed the ball batting .306, with 34 home runs (sixth), 108 RBIs (#5), .355 on-base percentage, a .569 slugging percentage (#2), and 322 total bases (#6), finishing fifth in voting for the American League Most Valuable Player award.

In 2010, bad luck struck the Cuban. It happened on May 29 when after hitting a grand slam to leave the Seattle Mariners stranded on the field, at the moment when the players were waiting for him to embrace him he jumped and upon colliding with home plate he fractured his left ankle.

That injury caused him to miss the rest of the season and less than a year later he had to return to surgery for a second operation after suffering a setback in his rehabilitation process that caused him to miss the 2011 season.

Morales was able to return to the field in 2012, but he was never the same player again having to run with pain, suffering discomfort in his hip and spine as a result of his injured knee.

The only season in which Morales came close to his best offensive year (2010) was in 2015 when he achieved a .290 average, with 22 home runs and 106 RBIs (#6) with the Kansas City Royals, the team with which he won the World Series and the Designated Hitter of the Year award (Edgar Martínez Prize).

Kendrys is the only ambidextrous and Latino hitter who has hit a home run in seven consecutive games. The number eight he wore on his uniform he chose in honor of his mother who was born on August 8.

In addition to the Angels, Morales played with the Seattle Mariners, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics, and New York Yankees.

He finished his career with 213 home runs, 714 RBIs, a .265 average, and 1,289 hits, being the fifth Cuban with the most home runs in the Major Leagues. Currently he ranks first in home runs among players coming from the Cuban National Series.

Before playing in the Major Leagues, Morales played in Cuba with the Industriales team and in his first season won the Rookie of the Year award.