Morris: challenge the answer ‘no’

Jim Morris spoke yesterday at the keynote presentation supported by Pharmacia.

MAUI, Hawaii — Being in a leadership role means making promises that may be hard to keep, but “you do it because it makes the team better,” said Jim “The Rookie” Morris here at Hawaii 2003: the Royal Hawaiian Eye Meeting.

Originally a top baseball prospect, Jim Morris’ dream of becoming a major league player came to a halt when he suffered serious arm injuries in the lower minors.

At the age of 35 and 11 years after retiring from the minor league, Mr. Morris made a bet with his last-place high school team that if they won the district championship, he would try out for a major league team. Mr. Morris’ story became immortalized in the Disney movie “The Rookie.”

Interspersing humor with his tale, Mr. Morris told attendees that “what it came down to was I made a promise I was going to live up to.” Packing up his three children and some of his pride, Mr. Morris drove an hour to audition for Tampa Bay’s minor league team.

When he had played in the minor leagues in his late teens, Mr. Morris pitched balls somewhere in the mid-80s. During this audition, he was clocked throwing balls at 96 miles per hour.

“My first thought was, ‘Wow, I’m throwing at 96 miles per hour. I’m throwing baseballs at 96-miles-per-hour at high school kids. The lawyers are going to have a field day.’”

“What makes me an inspiration to other people? I don’t honestly know,” he said. “Life is funny. It throws you curves. You gotta be able to do things and put forth an effort like anything else. You have to be able to hear ‘No,’ but not take ‘no’ as an answer. Being a team leader means showing what you’re made of. Dreams do exist and you can make them happen.”

If anything, Mr. Morris said the experience of trying out for a major league baseball team at the age of 35 taught him that “you have to be able to laugh at yourself. Other people are all too willing to stick a knife in your back to prevent you from achieving your goals.”

Speaking about the movie based upon his life, Mr. Morris said, “God had a plan for me. It’s not about me, it’s about an event. Enjoy what you have while you have it. And don’t take ‘no’ as an answer.”