Justin Morneau

Did You Know?

• Morneau appears as an Easter egg in the NHL video game NHL 2K8, playing goaltender.
• He was selected for the MLB-All-Stars at the 2014 MLB Japan All-Star Series.
• Morneau's father once attended the training camp of the Minnesota North Stars.

Early life

Justin Morneau was born on May 15, 1981, in New Westminster, British Columbia, the youngest son of George Morneau and Audra Chartrand. His father worked as a hitting coach, childcare worker, and sporting goods store owner, and had played hockey for the Brandon Wheat Kings; his mother was an elementary school teacher and former fast-pitch softball player. Morneau grew up in New Westminster, where he played hockey as a goaltender for the New Westminster Royals and baseball in the New Westminster Minor Baseball Association and the North Delta Blue Jays.

He attended Lord Tweedsmuir Elementary School and later Richard McBride Elementary School, where his mother taught and coached, and enrolled in a French immersion program. In high school, he played basketball, volleyball, and ball hockey. His favorite athletes included hockey players Patrick Roy, Cam Neely, and Ray Bourque, and baseball players John Olerud, Ken Griffey Jr., Jack Morris, and Larry Walker. He attended St. Thomas More Collegiate for eighth grade, then transferred to New Westminster Secondary School, graduating in 1999.

He was named New Westminster High School Athlete of the Year and played on Canadian national champion baseball teams in 1997 and 1998.

Professional career

Morneau was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the third round of the 1999 MLB draft and converted from catcher to first base in 2001 while playing for the Class-A Quad Cities River Bandits. He made his MLB debut on June 10, 2003, against the Colorado Rockies, batting cleanup and singling in his first at-bat. After the Twins traded Doug Mientkiewicz in 2004, Morneau became the starting first baseman, hitting .271 with 19 home runs in 74 games. In 2005 he struggled with illness and a hit by pitch, finishing with a .239 average and 22 home runs.

He was named the 2006 AL MVP and in 2007 became the first Twin since Gary Gaetti to hit 30 home runs in consecutive seasons. Morneau finished runner-up for MVP in 2008 and won the 2008 Home Run Derby. He later won the 2014 National League batting title. Over his career he played for the Twins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Colorado Rockies, and Chicago White Sox, and was a four-time All-Star.

Front office and broadcasting career

After suiting up for Canada in the 2017 World Baseball Classic and remaining unsigned that MLB season, Morneau shifted to a front-office role with the Minnesota Twins as a special assistant, which marked the end of his time as a player. In this position, he helps with scouting and player development, coaches during spring training, and handles community work. Since the 2020 season, he has also been the Twins' lead television analyst on FanDuel Sports Network North.

Personal life

Morneau's parents divorced when he was seven. He married Minnesota native Krista Martin on January 10, 2009, at Landmark Center in St. Paul, Minnesota; the couple have five children. He purchased a house in his hometown of New Westminster, four blocks from Queen's Park where he played as a child. On February 2, 2008, the city renamed Moody Park Diamond #5 to Justin Morneau Field.

Morneau is superstitious: he wore number 33 to honor Patrick Roy, and as a young hockey player would not leave the car for games until the clock read :33 minutes past the hour. Before home games in Minnesota, he stopped at the same Jimmy John's on Grand Avenue in St. Paul for a Turkey Tom with no sprouts, then drank a slurpee made of half Mountain Dew and half red or orange flavor. He and his wife established the Justin Morneau Foundation to support underprivileged communities. Over four years he mailed more than 200 personalized holiday gifts to Twins employees.