Hal Morris Named Angels Director of Scouting

The Angels have hired former Major League first baseman Hal Morris as their director of professional scouting, general manager Jerry Dipoto announced Monday.

New general manager Jerry Dipoto added Morris to his stable of advisors. Last week, he brought in former catcher Scott Servais to be an assistant GM and former Angel Gary DiSarcina to oversee player development.

“Hal brings a very special set of skills to our organization,” Dipoto said in a statement of Morris, who agreed to a multiyear contract.

Morris, 46, played for four teams — the Yankees (1988-89), Reds (1990-97, 1999-2000), Royals (’98) and Tigers (’00) — over parts of 13 seasons as a first baseman. Morris was a career .304 hitter, with 76 home runs and 513 RBIs. He finished second in the National League in hitting (.318) in 1991, trailing the Braves’ Terry Pendleton by one point. He was a member of the 1990 World Series champion Reds.

“His abilities in the areas of player evaluation and qualitative analysis will play a major role in the program we are building here,” Dipoto added.

Following his retirement, Morris graduated with an MBA from Stanford University in 2005 where he studied sports marketing and quantitative analysis among other courses. Morris worked in real estate development before he returned to professional baseball with the Pirates as an amateur scout from 2008-09. He joined the Red Sox in 2010, evaluating players in all stages throughout the system.

"“[Morris’s] abilities in the areas of player evaluation and qualitative analysis will play a major role in the program we are building here.”  -Jerry Dipoto"

One of Dipoto’s primary focuses is on restoring the Angels’ focus on scouting player development. Dipoto said last week he intends to restore the Angels focus on player development and scouting, revamping some of the organization’s offensive philosophies at the minor league level by focusing on on-base percentage and plate discipline.