Jack Morris, the Hall of Famer

The 1980’s was Jack Morris’ decade. Jack was armed with a fastball, a slider, forkball and, ultimately, a split-fingered fastball.

Morris would soon develop into the intense competitor that Tigers fans relished. Between 1980 and 1982, he would go on the win 47 games and pitch 714.1 innings. Morris’ first 20 games winning season would come in 1983.

That year, he would pitch 293.2 innings with an ERA of 3.34. Before MLB and the ability to watch every game, every day, fans relied on radio and weekend televised games. If you were fortunate, as a fan, your team played in the “Game of the Week”.

It was during this weekly game on April 7, 1984, that Jack Morris pitched the only no-hit game of his career.  Tiger fans knew then there was something special about Jack Morris.During the 80’s, he would pitch an average of 244.2 innings with a 3.70 ERA per season. Jack would have the most wins, innings pitched, complete games and started more games than any other pitcher during this decade.

Following the 1987 season, he would sign a 2-year $4-million salary giving him the highest paid annual salary of any pitcher at that time. Morris was the dominant pitcher of the decade and would have every opening day starts (14 overall).