Kansas City Royals: Kendrys Morales calls it a career

Former Los Angeles Angels and Kansas City Royals slugger Kendrys Morales has decided to retire, ending his 13 year major league career.

Kendrys Morales was a player of peaks and valleys, staggering highs and dizzying lows. At his best, the switch hitter was a force at the plate, a valued power threat for the Los Angeles Angels and the Kansas City Royals. At his worst, he looked lost, incapable of helping a major league lineup.

His journey came to an end on Friday. According to an interview with ESPN Deportes Marly Rivera on Friday, Morales is retiring from baseball.

Morales was a star in Cuba, a young slugger who was set to become one of the nation’s next superstars. In his three years playing in the Cuban National Series, he posted a .350/.433/.576 batting line, slugging 32 homers and 49 doubles in his 787 plate appearances. He even pitched once, throwing 2.1 scoreless innings as an 18 year old, allowing just one hit while striking out two batters.

The fact that Morales was even able to have a career stateside was nothing short of miraculous. He attempted to defect at least eight times before finally finding success. Almost immediately after establishing residency in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, Morales signed with the Angels, inking a six year deal worth $3 million.

While Morales rocketed through the minors, he was unable to find consistent playing time until 2009. That season, he broke out as an emerging star, belting 35 homers and 43 doubles for the Angels. While he was not named to the All Star Game, Morales finished fifth in the AL MVP vote, and appeared destined for stardom.

That path took a wrong turn the following season. He was off to a hot start, hitting 11 homers in his first 51 games. That last homer of the season, a walk-off grand slam, turned from a moment of joy into one of consternation. He landed awkwardly as he went to jump on home plate, celebrating the homer with emphasis, and broke a bone above his left ankle. That injury forced him to miss the rest of 2010, and all of 2011.

Morales was never quite the same after that injury. While he was still a solid power threat, and one of the few players in Royals history to ever hit 30 homers in a season, Morales was never able to reach the heights of stardom he seemed destined for.

That does not discount his career. He won a Silver Slugger and was part of the Royals World Series winning team in 2015, belting four homers in the postseason. Overall, he finishes his career with a .265/.327/.453 batting line, hitting 231 homers and 257 doubles. He even got to pitch a bit in his time in the majors, allowing one run on one hit and three walks over two innings, striking out one.

Kendrys Morales had plenty of highlights during his career. After 13 years in the majors, the former Kansas City Royals and Los Angeles Angels slugger has called it a career.