Topic: Mike Morse

Michael John Morse (born March 22, 1982 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida) is a Major League Baseball utility player for the Washington Nationals. He was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the 3rd Round (82nd overall) of the 2000 Major League Baseball Draft. Morse attended Nova High School in Davie, Florida, the same school that produced future National Football League players Autry Denson and Omar Smith, and future Major League Soccer player Cory Gibbs.

Morse was acquired by the Mariners along with Miguel Olivo and Jeremy Reed for Freddy Garcia and Ben Davis on June 27, 2004. Beginning the 2005 season with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers, he made his major league debut on May 31, 2005. Although Morse made it to the big leagues as a shortstop, with the arrival of Yuniesky Betancourt, Morse began to develop as a utility player, having spent time at first base and left field.

On July 6, 2006, Morse had surgery to repair a torn medial meniscus of his right knee. In 2008, Morse had the best batting average in the major leagues in spring training batting .492. After playing only 5 games in 2008, Morse suffered a torn labrum diving for a ball against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim; he had surgery to repair it and missed the rest of the season.