Athletes - Kendry Morales

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	Athletes - Kendry Morales

Kendry Morales (born June 20, 1983 in Fomento, Cuba) is a first baseman currently playing minor league baseball in the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim farm system. He is a switch hitter and throws to his right.

Cuban career

Morales joined the Cuban national baseball team in 2002 and immediately became a star player--despite being the first teenager to make the team in nearly twenty years. He was the cleanup hitter on the team during its dramatic 2003 World Cup championship. His grand slam in the final round against Taiwan secured a 6-3 Cuban victory, one game after hitting a home run that provided the winning runs against Brazil.

In his first--and only-- full season with Havana's Industriales pro team in 2003, Morales had a batting average of .324 with 21 home runs and 82 RBIs, setting seven rookie records in the process.

Morales' stardom in Cuba was short-lived, however. He was sent back to Cuba from Panama during the Olympic qualifying round in November 2003 for making contact with an agent. It was the last time he would suit up as a Cuban.

Coming to America

In late 2003, Morales became the object of a bizarre relationship with Toronto accountant John Di Manno, a wannabe player agent who alternated between supplication and exploitation. The free-spending Di Manno was able to convince Morales to leave Cuba, where he was making only five dollars a month.

By early 2004, Cuba's national team and the Industriales banned Morales from their teams for displinary reasons due to his repeated arrests for attempting to flee the nation in order to pursue his dream of playing Major League Baseball. This all but assured the determined player would escape, if only to play baseball again. He successfully defected from Cuba to the United States of America in June of that year on his eighth attempt to leave the Communist nation.

Since Morales was taken into U.S. custody only after making it to the shores of southern Florida, he was permitted to stay in the country. But, as is the usual practice of defectors, he chose to leave the country to establish foreign residency so as to avoid the MLB draft. He left once again, this time to the Dominican Republic, where he was privately scouted by several Major League teams. The Angels ended up signing him to a 6-year deal with three-million dollars up front. He played Winter ball with Estrella Del Oriente to keep himself in game shape.

By the Spring of 2005, the Angels hoped to have Morales practice in the Cactus League to get ready for a quick ascension through their farm system or possibly even make the team as the designated hitter. Because he was not yet a citizen, the Dominican government held up granting Morales the necessary passport to fly back to the U.S. for several months. He was not able to get all his paperwork in order until late May and he finally made his minor-league debut on May 21 for the single-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.

Professional career

To help his new club scout his ability against U.S. pitching, Morales began his minor-league career with nearby Rancho Cucamonga. After three weeks of easy hitting (his batting average was .344, with 5 home runs), he was moved up to double-A Arkansas Travelers, where he was second on the team in home runs despite playing there for only half the season. When that season ended he was chosen by the Angels to play Fall ball for the Surprise Scorpions, where he currently excels.

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Athletes - Kendry Morales

Cuban career

Coming to America

Professional career

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