Miami Marlins

Miami Marlins | Logan Morrison

Miami Marlins’ Logan Morrison’s offseason work focuses on rehab, charity

 
 

Miami Marlins' Logan Morrison celebrates as he reaches home after hitting a solo home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Friday, July 6, 2012, in St. Louis.
Miami Marlins' Logan Morrison celebrates as he reaches home after hitting a solo home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Friday, July 6, 2012, in St. Louis.
Jeff Roberson / AP

cspencer@MiamiHerald.com

Logan Morrison’s first order of business this baseball offseason: getting healthy following season-ending knee surgery in September.

His second? Helping others do the same through his “LoMo: Camp for a Cure” charity event to raise money for the American Lung Association.

“I heard a pretty good quote the other day,” Morrison said. “You race the course not to beat the competition. In regards to finding cures for cancer, you’re not trying to beat somebody else to a cure. Seeing the smiles on kids’ faces and prolonging a life, that’s the most rewarding thing about it.”

Morrison became involved with the American Lung Association in honor of his father, a nonsmoker who died of lung cancer in 2010.

Because of his extensive charity work, Morrison is one of 10 nominees for the Hutch Award, which is given to the major-league player who best exemplifies the honor, courage and dedication of baseball legend Fred Hutchinson. Morrison also is the Marlins’ nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, which recognizes sportsmanship and community involvement.

The third annual Camp for a Cure baseball academy will be held Jan. 12 and 13 at the ELEV8 Sports Institute in Delray Beach. Morrison said the event has grown from about 30 participants the first year to 55 the second.

“Hopefully, we’ll be able to get more people,” Morrison said, adding that the event raised $60,000 last year.

Morrison is coming off a season in which he was limited to only 93 games because of knee problems that have plagued him the past two seasons. He underwent surgery on the same knee last Dec. 5 but struggled with it throughout spring training and the regular season.

“It already feels better than last year,” said Morrison, who is working out in Scottsdale, Ariz., this offseason. “I feel a lot less rushed.”

Morrison said he has been riding a stationary bike and walking on a treadmill. By January, he said he should be good to go with offering baseball expertise to Camp for a Cure participants.

More information: www.lomo4lungs.org.

• The Marlins on Saturday signed journeyman third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff and former Reds right-hander Jordan Smith to minor-league contracts, with invitations to spring training. Kouzmanoff, 31, was out of the majors last season after hitting .235, with seven homers and 33 RBI for Oakland and Colorado in 2011. Smith, 26, who pitched for Triple A Louisville last season, is 3-2 with a 4.94 ERA in 54 big-league appearances.

Miami Herald sportswriter Barry Jackson contributed to this report.

Read more Miami Marlins stories from the Miami Herald

Join the
Discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere on the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

The Miami Herald uses Facebook's commenting system. You need to log in with a Facebook account in order to comment. If you have questions about commenting with your Facebook account, click here.

Have a news tip? You can send it anonymously. Click here to send us your tip - or - consider joining the Public Insight Network and become a source for The Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald.

Hide Comments

This affects comments on all stories.

Cancel OK

  • Videos

  • Quick Job Search

Enter Keyword(s) Enter City Select a State Select a Category