Houston Astros: World Series hero Charlie Morton signs with Tampa Bay
By Dan Shedd
After two great seasons with the Houston Astros, which included a World Series Championship in 2017, Charlie Morton has signed with Tampa Bay.
Houston Astros fans — the Tampa Bay Times reported that a deal for Charlie Morton is complete. The pact is for two years and Morton will get a cool $30 million guaranteed with a third-year option in 2021. Morton was a free agent after this past season had concluded.
This year with the Astros, Morton posted a 15-3 record with a 3.13 ERA and 201 strikeouts. The 15-3 record was the best win percentage in baseball and the 201 strikeouts put Morton in elite company. He joins Astros teammates Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole as only the fifth duo in major league history to record 200 strikeouts each during a season.
In 2017, he had gone 14-7 with a 3.62 ERA with 125 strikeouts. But Morton will be remembered most for is helping the Astros win the World Series in Los Angeles with an epic performance on the bump, allowing one run in more than four innings of relief.
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In the same cut, he sealed the deal for the Houston Astros with a ground ball final out to win the 2017 October Classic in Game 7. I’ll always remember exactly where I was as well as how I felt at that moment and I’ll never forget it.
Morton also became the first player in major league history to win Game 7’s in the League Championship Series and World Series. Morton went five innings, striking out five and allowing only two hits in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees.
Charlie Morton (@astros) is the 1st MLB pitcher to earn wins in winner-take-all games in the LCS & WS in the same year. (via @EliasSports)
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 2, 2017
Prior coming to Houston, Morton had pitched for Atlanta, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. It didn’t come easy for Charlie as told to New York Times writer Billy Witz after winning the World Series.
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Morton struggled with poor performance and injuries and even had to re-invent how he pitched as told to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports:
"Morton has said that being traded from the Pirates to the Phillies after the 2015 season wastraumatic for him, and that he spent that offseason attempting to become more of a power pitcher. The strategy consisted of, he once described, “Listening to my body. … I don’t think I made any substantial changes, in terms of mechanics, but I think I started trusting myself, what my body was telling me, what my arm was telling me, everything.“It was from then on that I started noticing, ‘Hey, it’s harder to hit 95 miles an hour on your hands than it is 91, 92 down in the zone.’ I started pitching all over the place. I started elevating the cutter. I started throwing a curveball a lot more.”"
It was great to see Charlie redeem himself with the Houston Astros and revive his career. On more than one occasion in his tenure in H-Town, he pitched great when called upon, rightfully earning the nickname CFM or Charlie “Freaking” Morton.
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Best of luck to you in Tampa Bay Charlie! Many Astros fans will be rooting for your continued success!