Justin Morneau THROUGH THE YEARS
May 15, 1981: Born in Westminster, British Columbia.
Spring 1999: Selected by the Twins in the third round (89th overall) of the MLB draft. As a catcher.
June 10, 2003: Made major league debut; batted cleanup as DH. Had two of Twins' three hits in 5-0 loss to Colorado at the Metrodome. Got first major league hit, a single, off Colorado's Jason Jennings.
June 17, 2003: Hit his first career home run, a solo shot off Albie Lopez in Kansas City. It was as a pinch hitter.
June 22, 2003: Hit his second career home run, a solo shot to center field off Mike DeJean in Milwaukee. The ball, which hit off the center-field scoreboard at Miller Park, went an estimated 460 feet.
July 16, 2004: Promoted from Class AAA Rochester to become the Twins everyday first baseman for good; Doug Mientkiewicz was traded two weeks later.
June 8, 2006: Morneau, hitting .236 with 11 homers and 38 RBI, had a heart-to-heart talk with manager Ron Gardenhire in Seattle where the manager apparently didn't pull any punches. Both Morneau and the Twins took off soon after that.
Aug. 9, 2006: Reached 30 homers and 100 RBI for the season with a dramatic eighth-inning home run off flamethrower Joel Zumaya in Detroit. The Twins won 4-3. Not since 1987 had a Twins player amassed a 30-100 season.
