Kendrys Morales

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Morales is perhaps most infamous for suffering an ankle injury on May 29, 2010, during a celebration of his walk-off grand slam, which kept him out of Major League Baseball for nearly two years. In 2015 as a member of the Royals, Morales won a Silver Slugger Award and was a member of the Royals' 2015 World Series championship team.

In Their Own Story

On May 29, 2010, at Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Morales hit a walk-off grand slam off Brandon League to secure a 5–1 victory over the Seattle Mariners. As he approached his celebrating teammates, he attempted to stomp on home plate rather than step on it. The awkward landing resulted in a fracture of his lower left leg, requiring surgery and ending his season immediately. This injury kept him out of Major League Baseball for nearly two years; by May 11, 2011, it was confirmed he would miss the entire season due to rehabilitation complications. He finally returned to action on March 22, 2012, in a spring training game against the Kansas City Royals and hit his first post-injury home run on April 16. Later that year, on July 30, Morales became only the third player in MLB history to hit two home runs in the same inning from opposite sides of the plate.

Reader's Guide

Morales played in Cuba's equivalent of the North American Triple-A level. He joined the Cuba national baseball team in 2002 and was the cleanup hitter during its 2003 World Cup championship. He escaped Cuba on a raft in June 2004 and established residency in the Dominican Republic. He signed a six-year deal with the Los Angeles Angels in December 2004. He made his MLB debut on May 23, 2006. He was traded to the Seattle Mariners on December 19, 2012. He later played for the Minnesota Twins, returned to the Mariners, and signed with the Kansas City Royals in December 2014.

Did You Know?

• Morales hit a walk-off grand slam on May 29, 2010, but fractured his lower left leg while celebrating.
• He was the first teenager to make the Cuban national team in nearly 20 years.
• Morales hit two home runs in the same inning on July 30, 2012, one left-handed and one right-handed.
• He set a Royals record with 15 total bases in a game on September 20, 2015.