- California Assembly OKs highest minimum wage in nation
- S. Korea unveils first graphic cigarette warnings
- US joins with South Korea, Japan in bid to deter North Korea
- LPGA golfer Chun In-gee finally back in action
- S. Korea won’t be top seed in final World Cup qualification round
- US men’s soccer misses 2nd straight Olympics
- US back on track in qualifying with 4-0 win over Guatemala
- High-intensity workout injuries spawn cottage industry
- CDC expands range of Zika mosquitoes into parts of Northeast
- Who knew? ‘The Walking Dead’ is helping families connect
Ex-big leaguer Nyjer Morgan booted from Hanwha Eagles’ camp for 2nd time
Former Major League outfielder Nyjer Morgan is having a tough time with his new Korean team. He was kicked out of the Hanwha Eagles’ preseason camp for the second time on Tuesday.
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) club, currently training in Japan, told Morgan to report to the team’s minor league camp in Kochi, Japan.
Morgan, who has 598 big league games under his belt, was first asked to leave the camp on Feb. 2, a week after the Eagles began training. Manager Kim Sung-keun, a famous old-school hardliner, said at the time he wasn’t pleased with Morgan’s preparation.
The outfielder trained with the Eagles’ minor league squad in South Korea for 18 days and rejoined the Eagles last Friday in Okinawa, Japan.
In a practice game on Saturday against another KBO club, the Samsung Lions, Morgan was 0-for-2 and was hit by a pitch. After the game, Kim said he didn’t know what to do with Morgan. Morgan was benched for the Eagles’ next practice game on Sunday against the Kia Tigers and was sent packing on Tuesday.
Morgan, 34, was one of the Eagles’ major offseason acquisitions, with hopes he can at least duplicate production of the now-departed Felix Pie, who batted .326 with 17 homers and 92 RBIs in 119 games as the team’s primary center fielder.
Morgan is a career .282 hitter with 120 steals in the majors. He spent the 2013 season with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars in Japan, batting .294 with 11 home runs and 50 RBIs in 108 games. Morgan returned to the majors with the Cleveland Indians in 2014 but was limited to 15 games.
Last year, a nine-year Major League veteran Luke Scott was cut from the SK Wyverns, after reportedly calling his coach, Lee Man-soo, a “liar” and a “coward” in a heated public confrontation, according to Korean media reports.
________________
Yonhapnews materials were used in this article.
Jim
August 27, 2017 at 1:17 PM
You can also print a special offer, seasonal sales and discount on your EDDM flyers. cheapest eddm service