The Oldest Rookie
When an injury forced Jim Morris to give up his dream of playing major league baseball, he became a teacher and baseball coach. But he still had a dream.
Just last spring he was a physics and chemistry teacher at Reagen County High School in Big Lake, Texas, where he also served as coach of the school's baseball team.
But then he made an unusual bet with his players: If they made the playoffs, he'd try out for the majors.
"They were down in the dumps," explains Morris. "I was looking for a way to motivate them."
"We had a talk after practice one day, and I was talking to them about dreams andÂ…setting goals and reaching out past what you thought you could achieve," he adds.
"They stopped me in midspeech and said, 'What are you talking about? You're preaching, yet you're not practicing what you're telling us,'" Morris adds.
So the bet was made. The team did make the playoffs and at the age of 35, Morris tried out.
At his first tryout, the other pitchers showed up with their duffel bags full of equipment. Morris had a stroller with one of his three children.
On Saturday, he became the oldest rookie to pitch in the majors since 1970 when he suited up for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He pitched against the Texas Rangers and struck out the one batter he faced, throwing at speeds up to 98 miles an hour.
"When I came out of the bull pen and on my way to the mound, everything seemed so big," he recalls.
"I was like, 'Man, how am I going to keep my heart in my chest?' As I got closer to the mound, everything closed down," he says.
"By the time the catcher went behind the plate, everything seemed to calm down," he recalls. "I don't think I breathed out there."
On Monday he retired three batters in a row against the Anaheim Angels. This weekend the Devil Rays are playing at New York's Yankee Stadium.
For every dream that comes true, however, there is a price to be paid. In Morris' case, his new job has meant that he did not spend much time with his family over the summer.
"It's been a rough summer," he says. "We have been separated the whole summer. She's taking care of everything at home while her husband has been out playing a kid's game. Everything's going fine now."