Kendrys Morales Rodríguez

Excellent baseball player. Switch hitter, with great power at the plate and excellent offensive averages. On defense he plays right field. He plays as a designated hitter or as first base, although he has occupied other positions including as a pitcher.

He was born on June 20, 1983 in the municipality of Fomento, belonging to the province of Sancti Spíritus. He was part of the Industriales team, the National Team and several MLB teams.

Kendry is the son of Rafael Morales. It was his father who introduced him to baseball when he was barely three years old. Unfortunately, Kendry lost his father at a very young age.

He grew up and became a ballplayer in Cumanayagua and Cienfuegos. In 2001 he was selected as the best youth player in the world by the IBAF, by virtue of his outstanding performance in the Youth Pan American Games held in Camagüey, where he was considered the most valuable player.

He participated in the World Series held in Edmonton in 2000, among other minor category events. He played in the outfield corners, first and third base and as a pitcher, although as he advanced through the categories he developed as a right fielder and first base.

National Series.
He made his debut in the XLI National Series (2001-2002) with Industriales, wearing number 18. At only 17 years old he was the fourth hitter on the capital's team. He was the most outstanding rookie of the series and of all previous editions, setting seven rookie records: runs scored, hits, home runs, RBIs, extra bases, total bases, slugging and games and innings played. He finished with a .324 average, with 21 home runs (he hit them from both sides of the plate) and 82 RBIs. He also acted as a pitcher.

In his second season he did not hit the same number of home runs due to an injury that prevented him from participating in several games. His offensive average ended at .391.

Throughout his career in National Series he batted .330, hit 37 home runs, his OBP was .416, .537 SLG, .953 OPS, he was walked 116 times and struck out 124 times.

On defense he played first base and left field. In general, his defensive average was .954.

National Team
He was the second ballplayer to join Cuba's National Team at only nineteen years old, before him was Omar Linares. His excellent debut in the National Series catapulted him to the major team, where he occupied the fourth batting spot in the 2002 Intercontinental Cup and the 2003 World Series, both held in Havana, as well as other events of lesser importance. In 2002 he was chosen among the most outstanding athletes in the country. Within his notable performance in international events stands out the home run with which he left Brazil on the field in the sudden death game of the 2003 World Cup. In the final he hit a grand slam against Chinese Taipei, giving his team the victory (6-3).

In November 2003, during the qualifying tournament for the 2004 Olympic Games, Morales was sent back from Panama to Cuba for allegedly making contact with an agent for professional ballplayers.

That was his last appearance in the national team uniform and the Spirituano felt then that he had hit a wall. He was captured in three attempts at illegal emigration, until he managed to leave the country by boat from the northern area of Matanzas and arrived on June 6, 2004 to the Florida coast.

Little by little, life smiled on him again and after a stay in the Dominican Republic –where he played winter baseball– on April 7, 2005 he was acquired by the Angels with a contract of $10 million and six seasons.

In the spring of 2005 the Angels expected to have Kendry playing in the Cactus League, preparing for a possible promotion, with the possibility of joining the team as a designated hitter, but the Cuban did not yet have the required citizenship. The Dominican government withheld his passport for several months, preventing him from returning to the United States. He did not have his papers in order until May, making his debut in Class A on May 21, playing for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.

After three weeks of easy hitting in the category (.344 with 5 home runs) he was promoted to the Double-A category, with Arkansas, where he was second on the team in home runs, despite playing only half the season. When the season ended Kendry was selected by the Angels to play with the Surprise Scorpions during the fall.

MLB

2006 Season

Kendry had a good spring training in 2006 with the Angels, but was not selected to make the 25-man roster to start the campaign. He finally made his Major League debut on May 23, 2006, playing first base against the Rangers and batting 5-3, including a home run in his second at-bat.

In his first season he participates in 57 games in which he reaches a .234 offensive average, .293 OBP, .371 SLG and .664 OPS. He hits 10 doubles, 5 home runs, drives in 22 teammates and scores 21 times. He strikes out 28 times.

2007 Season

He participates in 43 games in which he reaches a .294 offensive average, .333 OBP, .479 SLG and .812 OPS. He hits 10 doubles, 4 home runs, drives in 15 teammates and scores 12 times. He strikes out 21 times.

2008 Season

He participates in 25 games in which he reaches a .213 offensive average, .273 OBP, .393 SLG and .666 OPS. He hits 2 doubles, 3 home runs, drives in 8 teammates and scores 7 times. He strikes out 7 times.

2009 Season

He had a great performance in his first full season in the Major Leagues. He batted 34 home runs, .569 Slugging, finishing second in the American League, only behind the MVP.

He defended first base, which was vacant, after the previous season's starter left the team as a free agent.

Kendry had a good performance during the first half of the tournament. He batted extraordinarily well in the second half, being named American League Player of the Month, driving in 33 runs in 28 games, with 10 home runs and a .385 average, plus .734 slugging. His performance made him considered as a possible MVP of the American League, finishing finally in fifth place in the voting.

He finished the season with a .306 average, 43 doubles, 34 home runs and 108 RBIs. For the third consecutive season he participated in the postseason with the Angels.

2010 Season

On May 29, 2010 he hit his first grand slam home run in his Major League career, which finished the game, but in an unfortunate incident he fractured his left leg, sliding into home, while celebrating the hit.

He was immediately placed on the disabled list, requiring surgery and missing the rest of the season. He had only played in 51 games, averaging .290, with 11 home runs and 39 RBIs.

2011 Season

He did not participate due to injury.

2012 Season

He participates in 134 games in which he reaches a .273 offensive average, .320 OBP, .467 SLG and .787 OPS. He hits 26 doubles, 22 home runs, drives in 73 teammates and scores 61 times. He strikes out 116 times.

2013 Season

Morales played this season with the Seattle Mariners, after signing for one year, leading the team in several offensive categories, which were: average, home runs and RBIs. In addition, he set a team record for home runs by a switch hitter.

He participated during the season in 156 games, the most he had played in a season up to that point, in which he reached a .277 offensive average, .336 OBP, .449 SLG and .785 OPS. He hit 34 doubles, 23 home runs, drove in 80 teammates and scored 64 times. He struck out 114 times.

2014 Season

In June Kendry reached an agreement for one year with the Minnesota Twins for $12 million. Morales had rejected at the end of the previous season a contract with the Mariners for $14.1 million for one season. The Cuban wanted a multi-year deal, but at that time had no team. A few weeks after signing with the Twins he was traded to the Seattle Mariners for a pitcher. He barely played 39 games with the Twins, in which he batted .234, with 1 home run and 18 RBIs.

He had a modest performance, averaging .218 with four home runs and 42 RBIs, playing for the Minnesota Twins and the Seattle Mariners.

2015 Season

The Kansas City Royals agreed to a two-year, $17 million contract with Kendry. The deal included additional incentives of $750 thousand per season, based on performance.

A year of rebirth for Kendry. He was a World Series champion with Kansas, becoming the thirteenth Cuban to achieve it. He finished in 18th place in the MVP race and won the Silver Bat as the best designated hitter. He had consistency, with 158 games (9th) and opportunity, with 106 RBIs (6th). He hit 22 home runs and 41 doubles, his average finished at .290, .362 OPS and .485 SLG. In the postseason he helped with four home runs and 10 RBIs.

He broke a record in the history of the Kansas Royals. He became the player with the most RBIs with two outs in a season. He was also the first member of the franchise to accumulate 15 bases in a game, with three home runs and a triple.

He was dreamy with runners on base, averaging .335, eight home runs and 84 RBIs, 27 of them trailing and 53 with two outs. He rose from the ashes, after a 2014 to forget, and synchronized his swing well by hitting 86 of his 165 hits on hard or line drives. He drove in 22 runs on a 1-ball count and five home runs, the count where he produced the most.

2016 Season

He was about to reach free agency. In a couple of seasons with Kansas he contributed 52 home runs and 199 RBIs, contributing to winning the World Series ring. The Cuban proved to be the power hitter the club needed. In 2016 he capped the cold start that was so concerning (six home runs in two months) with a surge that resulted in his second career season with 30 home runs and just seven runs shy of reaching 100 RBIs. As in Cuba, when he dominated the records for rookies, he was once again dominant on the first pitch (50-21, .420 average), and his slugging with runners in scoring position reached .576. He was one of the most valuable designated hitters in all of MLB.

After two consecutive trips to the World Series, the Kansas City Royals were looking to at least advance to the postseason; but that did not happen. In reality, the entire team, with the exception of Morales, performed below expectations. The Cuban was the best hitter on the franchise. His average finished at .263, with .327 OBP, .468 SLG and .795 OPS.

2017 Season

He signs a contract with the Toronto Blue Jays for three years and $33 million. He participates in 150 games in which he achieves a .250 batting average, .308 OBP, .445 SLG and .753 OPS. He hits 25 doubles, 28 home runs, drives in 85 teammates and scores 67 times. He strikes out 132 times.

2018 Season

Kendrys reaches 200 home runs and becomes the fifth Cuban to do so in the Major Leagues.

Read more here: https://www.elnuevoherald.com/deportes/beisbol/article214532319.html#storylink=cpy

Achievements

2002 – Most outstanding rookie of the National Series and, at the same time, considered of all previous editions.
2003 – World Cup Champion.
2015 – World Series Champion with the Kansas City Royals