James Samuel Morris, Jr. was born on the 19th January 1964, in Brownwood, Texas USA, and is recognized for being a former professional baseball player, who played in the position of relief pitcher in the Major League Baseball (MLB) team – the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He is also known for making his MLB debut at the age of 35, in 1999, and his professional playing career was active only until 2000. At the present time he is known as a motivational speaker.
So, have you ever wondered how rich Jim Morris is? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that the total size of Jim’s net worth is over $2 million, as of late 2016, earned during his brief professional playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB), and since then his current work as a motivational speaker has also had a huge influence on his net worth. Another source is coming from the sale of his autobiographical book.
Jim Morris Net Worth $2 Million
Jim Morris was raised by his mother, Olline Morris, and his father, Jim Morris, Sr., who was a recruiter for the US Navy, thus the family moved to different cities quite often. He began playing baseball at the very young age of three, but when his family finally settled in Texas, his school Brownwood High School did not yet have a baseball program, so Morris played American football and even won the state championship with the Lions, playing as a wingback, punter and kicker under the coach Gordon Wood.
At the age of 18, Morris was selected 466th in the first round of 1982 amateur baseball draft by the New York Yankees, however, he chose to advance his education first and did not sign. He was offered football scholarships from Penn State and Notre Dame, but he turned them down as he would not be allowed to play college baseball. He went on to enroll on an academic scholarship at Angelo State University.
Later on, Jim was selected as the fourth overall pick of the 1983 amateur draft by the Milwaukee Brewers and chose to sign with the team. Unfortunately, he suffered several arm injuries while playing in the minor leagues, which prevented him from progressing further, thus he never got past the single-A minor leagues, and was released by the Milwaukee Brewers during the 1987 season. He signed with the Chicago White Sox in 1989, but was again unable to advance further than the single-A leagues.
As he was unable to make it to the Major League, Jim decided to retire. He married, raised a family and finished his studies. He earned his college degree and started working at Reagan County High School in Big Lake, Texas as a physical science teacher and baseball coach of the Reagan County Owls.
During the 1999 season, Jim made a deal with his team that he would go for a professional baseball tryout if they win the District Championship, which they promptly did for the first time in its history, so Morris attended a trial with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and in spite of his age and previous arm injuries, he performed well enough to sign a contract with the Devil Rays when he was 35 years old. After several solid games with the minor league teams, Jim was given the chance to play for the big club, and on 18th September 1999, he realized his dream of playing in the MLB, debuting against the Texas Rangers. After this game, he made four more appearances before the end of the season, which added a considerable amount to his net worth.
In 2000, he made 16 more major league appearances, increasing further his net worth, but he suffered again from arm injuries. His final appearance was on the 9th May 2000, after which he was signed to a minor league team of the Los Angeles Dodgers, but never played for them.
Apart from his career in the sports industry, Jim went on to release an autobiography entitled “The Oldest Rookie”, and often makes appearances as a motivational speaker, for which he receives up to $15,000 per appearance, which has increased his net worth by a large margin.
Speaking about his personal life, Jim Morris has been married to Lorri since 2002, with whom he has three children.
