Fifty-one weeks after the Braves signed Charlie Morton to a one-year, $15 million contract, the veteran pitcher sat at home Thursday in Bradenton, Fla., his surgically repaired right leg in a protective boot. Crutches and a medical scooter were nearby, should he need to move about.
Two of his four young children were playing and talking loudly to dad as he spoke with a reporter about a remarkable season neither Morton nor the rest of the Braves and their fans will ever forget.
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Morton, who turned 38 on Nov. 12, did all the Braves hoped he would in the 2021 season. He set an example of consummate professionalism daily, churned out a team-high 185 2/3 innings, led Atlanta with 216 strikeouts, pitched to a 2.71 ERA and .540 opponents’ OPS in his final 20 starts, and combined with Max Fried for arguably baseball’s finest 1-2 pitching duo after the All-Star break.
Those co-aces were a major reason the Braves were able to not only turn their season around and win a fourth consecutive NL East title, but build momentum that would carry them through a resounding postseason march to Atlanta’s first World Series championship since 1995.
Morton was so good that the Braves, 10 months after giving him that initial contract, re-signed him in September to a one-year, $20 million extension with a $20 million team option for 2023.
But in a cruel twist, Morton, the best big-game postseason pitcher in recent years, had to watch from home when the Braves clinched the World Series in Houston. He broke his leg in the first game of the series after being hit by a screaming one-hopper off the bat of Yuli Gurriel leading off the second inning, which caromed to first baseman Freddie Freeman for the out.
Morton somehow managed to make 16 more pitches and retire the next three batters including two strikeouts. But on a third-strike curveball to his former Astros teammate Jose Altuve to start the third inning, Morton said he literally felt the fibula in his right leg come apart.
Even the resolute pitcher, whose nicknames are Uncle Charlie, Ground Chuck and Charlie F—— Morton (CFM), couldn’t keep pitching through that serious injury.
Morton had surgery Oct. 28, an off day between Games 2 and 3, and was at Truist Park for the middle games of the World Series. But he wasn’t permitted to fly to Houston and risk exposing his freshly repaired leg to the chaos that might — and did — ensue after the Braves finished off the Astros with a stirring 7-0 win in Game 6, which featured six dominant innings from Fried and homers from Jorge Soler, Dansby Swanson and Freeman.
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Six days after his 38th birthday, Morton spoke with The Athletic for more than an hour in his first extended interview since breaking his leg. He talked about the season, the World Series, the injury, and the parade and emotional victory celebration at Truist Park. He also talked about baseball’s labor situation, Freeman’s contract status and what could be ahead for the Braves.
This is part one of two, lightly edited for length and clarity.
Charlie, I was talking with someone the other day about how long and eventful this season felt, what a rollercoaster of different emotions it was, and as an example I pointed to Sean Kazmar. When he retired last week, I had to go back and make sure that his remarkable return-to-the-majors story actually happened this season, because it seemed so long ago. By the way, how about him getting a World Series ring to complete that storybook ending?
Yeah, that felt like a really long time ago. That was in Chicago, right? (Kazmar returned to the majors after a 13-year absence in an April series against the Cubs at Wrigley Field). Good for him … This season was not necessarily like your typical fun season that winds up either going deep in the playoffs or going the whole way. It was a weird year. It just felt like a grind for so much of it.
You’re not the players’ union rep for the Braves, right? Probably glad you’re not right about now?
Yeah, I don’t love that. I was involved with some of the stuff last year (with Tampa Bay). That stuff last year, the drama with all that was going on — that’s like a whole other story. This (current situation), I don’t know. I’m following it but I’m not really that involved to that degree.
Do players worry at all, because the commissioner is trying to paint it like, even if there’s a lockout, the MLB season could still start on time and there could still be spring training. Do you buy that, or are you concerned?
I don’t know. I just think that, like any typical negotiation will go, there’s back and forth. And then a lot of the time, especially in baseball, you have these deadlines that aren’t necessarily hard deadlines, that aren’t precursors to something better or worse. But they’re there just to kind of give both sides a little sense of urgency. So no, I don’t necessarily think that the deadlines (mean that much). This (Dec. 1) deadline is for the lockout, but obviously you hope you have something done Jan. 1. If not, then you hope you have something done certainly by the time pitchers and catchers are supposed to report, because then that’s going to start to affect things to a severe degree.
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Really, most players’ offseasons aren’t going to change because of this (Dec. 1 deadline). But for me personally, if I can’t go to an affiliated site to do rehab — like if I can’t go to North Port (the Braves’ spring training site in Florida) to do my rehab, that’s not going to make it impossible to do my rehab, but I’m sure the Braves would like to have hands and eyes on me. That’s the way it should be (normally). But guys that work out and rehab at team facilities with team personnel — no one’s really supposed to see us (during a lockout), so that’s going to affect guys that do work out at a team facility with team personnel, or guys that are rehabbing.
I guess the medical and training staff could only give you a rehab plan and schedule before the lockout started and hope you follow it, since they aren’t allowed to contact you during a lockout?
Yeah. Any head of any medical staff is going to want their own people to get involved in players’ rehab. You don’t want to just pass off your player to someone you don’t really know. Like, in my case I’m still going to go to someone I am familiar with, but I think for other (rehabbing) players it’s less than ideal. Especially if you don’t live near a facility that has established PTs (physical therapists), ATCs (certified athletic trainers) and strength coaches. I mean, for me personally, my rehab is more straightforward — they screwed the bone back together and plated it, and now I’m playing the waiting game of waiting until it heals. And a lot of the stuff I’m going to be doing from a rehab standpoint is going to be pretty straightforward. But other guys that are doing more involved rehabs — Tommy John surgeries, shoulder surgeries, knee surgeries …
Guys like Ronald Acuña Jr., Mike Soroka …
Yeah, those are the ones that I think will be impacted the most.
Yeah, I don’t think many people have given much thought to how a lockout could affect things like injury rehab. Folks think mostly in terms of starting spring training and the season on time. But yeah, for guys rehabbing, it could be a pretty significant thing for them.
Yeah, because their life as a professional doesn’t stop. I mean, you go from working out at the team facility — I mean, Acuña and Soroka, those guys are working out at the stadium and rehabbing with our PTs — and then you’re on your own. Which I’m sure is probably pretty unsettling, especially if you have, like, franchise-caliber players involved.
Just to make certain, before we go any further, nothing has changed with you regarding your future, right? I ask because, when some people heard your comment at the Truist Park celebration, after the World Series victory parade, your comment about the moment being the best of your career, some fans thought you might be hinting at retirement, after you broke your leg and the team won the World Series. That’s not something you’re considering, right?
No, that didn’t cross my mind at all. That moment, for me — standing on the stage, with those guys, in that moment, in the stadium with our fans, having gone through downtown Atlanta (during the parade) … I’m also thinking about the moments (in the past) that I didn’t realize that was happening, the moments when I didn’t realize that that was the last time I would put on a uniform with one of my teammates. I don’t know how to really say it, but it’s more of a culmination. It wasn’t just the fact that we won the World Series. That’s not what I meant.
I certainly wasn’t trying to, like, build this up so I could announce my retirement. I was more thinking about how special that moment is, and when you’re able to recognize the significance of that moment and how it’s not going to last forever. In fact, it’s not going to last more than, like, another hour (after that celebration). And then we all go our separate ways, and just like that, it’s gone. But you still have that moment on that stage that’s going to last forever. That’s how I was feeling.
But, no, I signed the contract in September, and I wouldn’t do something like that unless I fully intended to keep going.
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Yeah, when I think about it, I get what you were saying, because even when you won a World Series with Houston, you didn’t know what was going to happen after that because you’d never been through it. And now having been through it before, you more than most others could fully appreciate the moment and what happens afterward. Because you don’t know if you’re going to see certain teammates again. Because you went through it after winning in Houston, and so now you’re telling your guys (Braves teammates), hey, this moment — appreciate it. Because you had gone through it before and knew what could happen next.
Yeah, that’s what I meant. Because I wouldn’t say it’s the best moment of my career; I think that’s just too difficult to determine. I think it’s impossible (to narrow it to one moment) because I’ve had a lot of special moments in my career and in my life, and it doesn’t have nearly as much to do with the fact that it was a World Series win solely by itself. It was more a culmination, the sentiment being that this moment, and these moments, are here and then they’re gone. And just the way that we went through the whole season last year, and then the way it ended. And for me personally, feeling like at the end there, and even for some of the postseason — like, I pitched OK, I pitched well in the postseason, but it wasn’t like I was on the mound for Game 7. It wasn’t like in ’19 with the wild-card (game) win. It wasn’t like that.
It was more that I was part of something that was way bigger than me and any moment that I had in this postseason, especially in this postseason in particular. And I was able to really enjoy watching my teammates. Even the fact that I wasn’t able to go to Houston (for Game 6), I was sitting at home watching on TV, and it was literally not about me at all. That was so rewarding. Like, it wasn’t about me at all. That’s a part of it that I really appreciated, and I could root for guys that came up in those moments that had no idea they were even going to be in a postseason, or get innings or get big hits in a postseason. It was a very rewarding experience for me, to be part of it in that way.
What a coincidence, or cruel irony, that you and the man who put together the team — Alex Anthopoulos — were unable to be in Houston for the clinching win, Alex because of a positive COVID-19 test.
Yeah, I felt bad for Alex. In the past, I always felt like (former Pittsburgh Pirates GM Neil Huntington) was as much a fan as he was my general manager; like, he was a friend. And I felt that way with (Tampa Bay Rays GM Erik) Neander, too. And I feel that way with Alex. Like, it’s such a cool thing to go through, when you feel like your general manager, not just your manager or your pitching coaches, but also your general manager is actually involved in your day-to-day, like wants to talk to you and have conversations with you about, just, life in general. I’ve really appreciated that about Alex, that he’s open to talking anytime, and asking your thoughts and your opinions. It’s pretty cool.
You weren’t available for interviews after Game 1 of the World Series, after getting hit by Yuli Gurriel’s hard one-hopper, because you were still being checked out by the doctor afterward. And then you were gone the next day to get further examined (and subsequently have surgery) in Wisconsin. So let me start by going back to the moment and asking whether you’ve ever been hit that hard in the leg, where you felt like it might’ve broken a bone? Or did this hurt even more, like you knew it was more than just a contusion?
So, I still have the bruise where (Adam Duvall) hit me this year in Miami (when Duvall was with the Marlins). You get that hematoma and then it kind of hardens. I still have that; it’s still caused some bruising in my left leg, in my ankle. Duvey’s ball (caromed) to Freddie (Freeman), and somebody else also hit me in the leg this season, and that ball went to Freddie. And then Yuli’s ball hit me and went to Freddie. I don’t think that’s ever happened even one time with me. I think I took a line drive off of my elbow in 2018; I think Altuve caught it (on the carom). But three balls off my leg this year, and all three of them, I think, resulted in a 1-3 (groundout).
But I’ve been hit enough times to know how it feels. I would say that immediately after I got hit (in the World Series) I didn’t really think much of it. I thought, dang, that hurt. Just like it would typically hurt. But I think when I started to notice it the most was in the dugout after that second inning, because that’s when you kind of calm down and the adrenaline starts to taper off, and you start to actually become more aware of it. And I definitely knew that something was different. And that’s why we X-rayed it (after the inning). Sometimes X-rays come back negative; I had that happen to me before with me when I broke my wrist. But I definitely felt like something was different, and that’s why I said whatever I said underneath the dugout, that made people aware of the situation.
So you got it X-rays after that inning, before going back out to pitch?
Yeah, underneath the dugout, they have a little portable (X-ray machine) that they brought down.
And it didn’t show a fracture at that point?
Yeah, it was negative. If it had shown something I don’t know what would’ve happened. I have no idea what we would have done. I assume that I would’ve just been taken out. But when I went back out (to start the third inning), I was aware that I was protecting it. There’s ways to not get into that leg, to not really stress it. And I think I was doing that. And then when I threw that pitch to Altuve — because it was a two-strike pitch and I was more focused on executing the pitch — I think I just really went back to my normal delivery in my lower half and the lower part of my leg. And that’s when I felt the bone, like, actually separate into two pieces.
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Oh, Jesus. That sounds brutal. It was your push-off leg, your right leg, correct?
Yeah, push-off leg.
So you felt it on the push off on that pitch to Altuve?
No, not on my push off. Not the push itself — because the fibula isn’t a primary weight-bearing bone, I probably wouldn’t have felt it anyway. After the ball hit me (in the second inning) I ran over to cover first base. Like, I was still pitching, I could still throw. I think I was more protecting it, and then my primary focus on that pitch (to Altuve) was not protecting it. So that’s when I felt the bone actually separate.
As you were stepping or following through?
I think as I was throwing the ball — as I do, and most guys do, is kind of roll the ankle a little bit. And I think that put pressure on the lateral side of my lower leg. And that’s when I felt it. It wasn’t the push, I think it was just that kind of rolling my ankle that stressed that lateral side, and that’s when I felt it.
So it could have been compromised after being struck, and then the pressure you put on it made the bone separate?
Yeah. I mean, I don’t know how many thousands of throws I’ve made or pitches I’ve thrown, but I’ve never felt anything like that in my lower leg. When I was underneath the dugout after that second inning, there was no doubt in my mind that something was different. It’s just at that point — and I think people doing anything in athletics, or just in their day-to-day, it’s all relative — it’s like some people have tolerance for things that other people don’t. And sometimes you can be injured, your body can be injured worse than you feel like it is, or vice-versa, and it’s all relative. So we’ll never know exactly what happened when it happened. Like, when the ball hit me, and then when I ran over to cover first, and then I threw another how many pitches in the second inning? And then I went underneath the dugout and came back out and threw some warmup pitches. We’ll never know exactly what happened and when. It’s impossible to know. All I know is that, I got hit and it hurt. I got hit and whatever many pitches later, the bone just separated.
When you motioned to the dugout after striking out Altuve to start the third inning, it seemed pretty apparent that you were seriously hurt.
Yeah, I think at that point, when you feel something like that your concern is, was it a compound injury? (In a compound fracture, the bone breaks through skin). You’re thinking, is there something here that could make this a lot worse? Like, did something like that just happen? And then I think that’s why I reached down then to try to feel my ankle, to see if I could feel a protrusion. (He laughs.)
So this was the fibula that was broken, right above the ankle?
Yeah, it’s right where the ball hit me. Probably five or six inches above the ankle.
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And did the bone separate completely when it did finally break?
Yeah.
Wow, and so you walked off the field basically on the other bone, the tibia?
Well, I’ve heard conflicting things about what the fibula’s actually responsible for in terms of weight-bearing. But like you said, you’re pitching in the World Series and your adrenaline’s going. People in athletics, they deal with pain all the time. People perform through a lot of different things. It’s all relative.
So true. For instance, some guys get injections in joints so they can continue playing while injured.
Exactly right.
Charlie, I broke my own ankle — broke the tibia and fibula at the same time, both clean breaks — and the surgeon put the bones back together with pins, a big hook, a bunch of screws and a metal plate attached to the fibula. And eventually I needed to get all that hardware taken out because it was uncomfortable running long distances on it. Do you have a lot of hardware that will eventually have to come out, or have they made such medical advances in recent years that one can just keep the hardware in?
I didn’t broach that subject with the surgeon. My impression is that it might be just optional, just based on how I feel. But I certainly wouldn’t do it (have the hardware removed) while I’m playing. I would wait probably a couple of years. We’ll see, I don’t know.
And what did they put in there, a plate and screws?
Yeah.
Did they show you how long the plate is?
It looks like it’s about 5 1/2 inches, something like that. I think there’s seven screws in there.
But that’s it, though, hardware just on one side of the leg, right?
Yeah. I think the challenge for the surgeon was — you can see it in the X-ray — it looks like there are multiple pieces of bone. His description was that it was kind of fragmented. I guess what you hope is, if it’s gone, that it’s a clean (break). It doesn’t sound like it was that. But it sounded like the right decision was made, so I feel good about that — that our medical staff was really thorough with the imaging and making sure that we went to the right person. And they’ve been nothing but great with me, following up, checking in all the time, making sure that I’m squared away with some of the stuff that I can do. Just taking care of me.
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That was Dr. (William) Anderson that did the surgery in Green Bay, right?
Yeah.
So where are you now with the recovery? You had the cast removed a week or so ago?
Yeah, but I’m fully non-weight bearing for four weeks. And we’ll see where I’m at after that. Then it becomes more feedback with what I can do and where we’re at, with some follow-up imaging (CT scan) and things like that.
Coming in part two: When Morton thinks he’ll pitch again, what he thinks of the Braves’ chances to repeat, what the outpouring of fan support meant to him and his family, and the Freeman free-agent situation.
(Photo by David J. Griffin / Icon Sportswire via AP Images)
