For the Huntsville Stars, ‘The Mayor’ takes care of business from his office at first base.
Hunter Morris, the Stars’ all-star first baseman, got the nickname at the beginning of the 2012 campaign.
“It’s stuck now for well over half the season,” Morris said. “That one will stick for the rest of this year.”
Morris is doing what few have an opportunity to do: play professional baseball in his hometown.
Instead of five or six months, he gets around-the-calendar time with his wife, Macie; 20-month-old son, Tripp; his parents and his in-laws.
“I’m getting to do things a lot of fathers and husbands in baseball don’t get to do. It’s routine for me to be able to go home and see my wife and son and tuck him into bed the way I would during the offseason. I am so blessed. It’s certainly a God thing,” Morris said.
Morris has taken full advantage of being the cleanup batter in the Stars’ lineup. Through July 4 Morris was the fourth leading hitter in the Southern League and Huntsville’s leader with a .303 batting average. He also led the league with 27 doubles. He played in the Southern League All-Star game in June.
Brewers’ best power-hitting prospect
One reason the Milwaukee Brewers drafted Morris (6’4”, 213 pounds) in the fourth round of the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft was for his hitting. The Brewers’ 10th-ranked prospect has been tagged as their best power-hitting prospect.
Morris could have played for the Boston Red Sox straight out of high school. After being Huntsville’s City Player of the Year four times at Grissom High School, named 6-A All-State and an All-American, he was drafted by Boston in 2007.
However, Morris traded cash for college and signed with Auburn University. He was Southeastern Conference (SEC) Freshman of the Year in 2008, a freshman All-American and played for Team USA that summer in the World University Championship. He was SEC Player of the Year in 2010 and his .386 batting average helped land him as a Baseball America first team All-American. He set school records for home runs (23) and runs batted in (76).
“You always know the guys who come in. Guys who are already there check up on the new recruits,” said Montgomery Biscuits pitcher Scott Shuman, who played with Morris for two years at Auburn. “We heard we got this second-rounder who turned down a good bit of money to come play at Auburn. After the first couple of days at practice, we’re thinking, ‘Yeah, this guy is the real deal.’”
Morris’ life changed in two dramatic ways at Auburn: he made a renewed commitment to Christ and he met Macie West. Macie played softball and her brother, Kris, who was Morris’ teammate, introduced them.
Had he signed with the Red Sox he doesn’t think he would have met Macie. “I am thankful every day for the decisions that I have made that have led me to where I am now.”
During his sophomore year Morris made a decision to start living for Christ. He called it a turning point.
“I had strayed away from Him more than I had wanted the couple of years prior. The temptations were there: going out, drinking, partying, all that stuff,” he said.
He became active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and became close to chaplain Whit Smith, who later officiated his wedding. Morris’ recommitment to Christ reinforced the relationship with God that began when he was eight.
“Both my parents (Jeff and Linda Morris) are devout Christians. Once I told them I wanted to make a decision to be a follower of Christ, they wanted to make sure it was for the right reasons. They wanted to make sure I understood what I was doing and that it wasn’t a half-hearted commitment to Christ,” he said.
He was baptized at Hillwood Baptist Church, Huntsville and is now a member of Willowbrook Baptist Church, Huntsville.
“[Christ] has been right beside me in a lot of decisions,” he said. “It’s something that I turn to every day. Now being a father, it’s more important to lead my son in the direction of Christ; to bring him up to be a better Christian than I have been and to make myself better for him. There are more important things in life (than baseball) and family is certainly one of them.
“In minor league baseball, we are not celebrities, but there are kids who look up to us and adults as well,” he said.
Huntsville center fielder Josh Prince said Morris is a positive leader.
“He is trying to live the way he knows he should. You can see it by his example, by what comes out of his mouth and how he handles himself. He is a very religious guy.”
One regret Morris has is not being more vocal about his faith, especially when he is with a group of unbelievers.
“Sometimes I struggle to share the gospel with people. I have a little bit of a tough time putting my faith out there and trying to lead other people to Christ. It is something that I have been trying to change and get better at.”
While the book of Philippians has helped him through “tough times,” Morris focuses on Philippians 4:13, which he writes inside his baseball cap or on his cleats.
Morris and the other Christian Huntsville players have committed themselves to Jesus’ Lordship.
“The most rewarding thing is to come in the locker room and put Christ first and know that whatever I do on the field, as long as I glorify Him, He is going to lead me in the right direction.”
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